JOHN O'GROATS BREWERY LTD

🌳Matureactive
SC424589 · ltd · incorporated 2012-05-22
Investment thesis
Well-run mature business — low negotiation leverage; premium likely.
Why interesting: Textbook target; clean filings, stable trading.
Why risky: No pressure on seller; any deal likely at full price.
Opportunity decay
approaching window · 12-months
Approaching a transaction window — refinance or sale event plausible in the next 12 months.
  • · Oldest live charge 6.3y old — refinance window within 12 months
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Dec 2024
Net worth
£40.8k
book net assets
Opportunity
79/100
Strong
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What this business does
Primary activity: Manufacture of beer
Sector: Manufacturing
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company with a 66-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 79/100 (strong), bankability 80/100. Strong seller-intent signal (63/100, director aged 66). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

1 live charge · oldest 6.3y

85/100
ready

Refinance conversation should be productive — structure clean and timing right.

  • · Oldest live charge is 6.3 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
  • · Legal-friction score 15/100 — clean.

Data confidence

Overall: high (81/100)

Strong data coverage across all sections. AI outputs should be trusted with minimal caveats.

Company profile
address, 1 SIC codes, incorporation date
100
Financials
2 years of iXBRL accounts extracted (YoY deltas available) + narrative notes parsed
75
Lenders & charges
1 charges (1/1 with lender, 1/1 with type)
90
Directors & officers
4 officers (4 active, 4 linked, 4 with DOB)
90
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
3 connected companies via shared directors
54
Filing history
36 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
79/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.

Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
70
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
100
Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declared
Positive net assets
Net assets £40,824
Net assets shrinking
Down £7,782 YoY
Cash YoY
-10%
Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£38k
↓ 10% YoY
Net Worth
£41k
↓ 16% YoY
Current Assets
£89k
↑ 5.2% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£18k£36k£54k£72k£89kDec 2023Dec 2024

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2024-12-312023-12-31
Total assets£145.4k£143.7k
Current assets£89.5k£85.0k
Cash£37.7k£42.1k
Debtors£13.6k£2.3k
Net assets£40.8k£48.6k

Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.

🔒Filing-note intelligence

1 signal detected in this company's narrative notes — going-concern language, audit opinion, contingent liabilities, related-party transactions.

Available from the Pro tier upwards.

See pricing →

Recent activity

Last 30 days
0
filings
Last 90 days
0
filings
Last 180 days
0
filings
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (22 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-08-08
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-09-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2023-10-09
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  4. 2023-09-11
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  5. 2023-03-29
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  6. 2022-09-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  7. 2021-09-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2020-12-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2020-01-22
    📄
    mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
    mortgage · MR01
  10. 2020-01-21
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
  11. 2019-09-20
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  12. 2018-09-25
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  13. 2017-08-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  14. 2017-06-26
    📄
    resolution
    resolution · RESOLUTIONS
  15. 2016-09-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  16. 2016-05-27
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  17. 2016-05-04
    📄
    capital-allotment-shares
    capital · SH01
  18. 2012-08-03
    ➕
    COTTAM, Simon Garth appointed
    director
  19. 2012-08-03
    ➕
    FARQUHAR, Allan appointed
    director
  20. 2012-08-03
    ➕
    MAINPRIZE, John Barrington appointed
    director
  21. 2012-05-22
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As JOHN O'GROATS BREWERY LTD
  22. 2012-05-22
    ➕
    MOWAT, Andrew Walter appointed
    director

Owner dependency

55/100
Moderate — manageable with handover

Some founder dependency, but not acute. A structured handover period should cover most risk.

FACTORS
  • -4 active directors: Broader management team in place — suggests transferable governance.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 66 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

63/100
Strong succession signal

Multiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.

SIGNALS
  • primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 66. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
  • secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 14 years.
  • supportingClean filings + long tenure: Disciplined long-tenure operator — classic lifestyle-business pattern that often sells quietly.

Red flags

clean
No red flags detected from available public data. (This is not a clean bill of health — detailed accounts review still recommended.)

Shareholders & ownership

1 active beneficial owner
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Simon Garth Cottam
Individual · British · DOB 04/1978 · age 48
25–50%
25–50%25-50% shares · 25-50% voting10/10/2016

From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.

🔒Co-director network graph

Radial SVG graph showing every company connected via shared directors, colour-coded by status.

Available from the Pro tier upwards.

See pricing →

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CompanyEst. valueTurnoverNet worthStaffAgeOppDirector
ARGO'S BAKERY LIMITED→
SC082881 · est 1983
——£550.3k—43y8366y
CRANTIT DAIRY→
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————33y7980y
LRM TRADING LTD→
SC285556 · est 2005
——£228.3k—20y7959y
NORTH COAST DISTILLERS LIMITED→
SC652661 · est 2020
——£486.5k—6y7967y
ORKNEY CHEESE COMPANY LIMITED→
SC196090 · est 1999
——£4.76M—27y7964y
HIGHLAND BREWING COMPANY LIMITED→
SC263315 · est 2004
———622y7765y
JOHNSTONS OF THURSO LTD→
SC619863 · est 2019
————7y7663y
DUNNET BAY DISTILLERS LTD.→
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——£2.85M—12y7545y
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SC439693 · est 2013
——£57.1k—13y7334y
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SC555799 · est 2017
——£16.1k—9y7335y
DUNROBIN HIGHLAND DISTILLERY LIMITED→
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—————7141y
Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions

7 specific questions generated from this company's actual signals — liquidity, leverage, director age, charge count, red flags, age-of-company.

Available from the Pro tier upwards.

See pricing →
🔒Advanced scoring suite

Exit-route ranking, improvement thesis, quiet-distress detector, covenant-pressure proxy, extraction monitor, approaching triggers, ownership drift, local cluster, value trap, debt capacity, archetype classification — 48+ scoring modules.

Available from the Pro tier upwards.

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Company details

Statusactive
Typeltd
Incorporated2012-05-22
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC11050 — Manufacture of beer

Registered office

Last House
County Rd
John O' Groats
Caithness
KW1 4YR
Scotland

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last made up to: 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-06-05
Last: 2025-05-22

Officers (4 active · 0 resigned)

COTTAM, Simon Garth→
director · ~48y · appointed 2012-08-03
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
FARQUHAR, Allan→
director · ~66y · appointed 2012-08-03
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
MAINPRIZE, John Barrington→
director · ~61y · appointed 2012-08-03
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
MOWAT, Andrew Walter→
director · ~49y · appointed 2012-05-22
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active

Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.

Mortgages & charges

1
Total charges
1
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:1 of 1 shown
TypeProperties
outstanding
Lloyds Banking Group
The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
A registered charge—21/01/2020—
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (36 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-08-08
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-05-25
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-09-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-05-22
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2023-10-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-09-11
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-05-22
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2023-03-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-09-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-05-22
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-09-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-05-22
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-12-21
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-05-23
mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
mortgage · MR01
2020-01-22