CAITHNESS CHEMICALS (WICK) LIMITED

🌳Matureactive

SC437650 · ltd · incorporated 2012-11-26

Investment thesis

Established operating company — standard diligence applies, no dominant angle.

Why interesting: Live, filing, normal profile.

Why risky: No standout signals in either direction.

Why now

Window steady · low confidence

Stable recent picture — watch for any upcoming trigger event.

What changed my view

Last 30 days

No material changes in the last 30 days.

Last 90 days

No snapshot from 90 days ago — start tracking from today.

Last 180 days

No snapshot from 180 days ago — start tracking from today.

🔒Estimated value

—

Upgrade to see

Turnover

—

year to Jan 2025

Net worth

£78.2k

book net assets

Opportunity

80/100

Exceptional

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What this business does

Primary activity: SIC 20412

Sector: Manufacturing

Investor take

Pass (distressed without resilience)

Distressed active trading company — structural issues outweigh the discount.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 67/100. Strong seller-intent signal (68/100, director aged 66). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Consolidate lender relationships. 4 distinct lenders creates friction — refinance into single-lender structure for cleaner diligence. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

2 live charges · 2 lenders · oldest 13.3y

30/100

under pressure

Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.

· Oldest live charge is 13.3 years old — likely at or near maturity.
· Two lenders — manageable, but coordination required.
· Cashflow trend is negative — lender view likely cautious.

Data confidence

Overall: high (80/100)

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

Lenders & charges

2 charges (2/2 with lender, 2/2 with type)

Directors & officers

2 officers (2 active, 2 linked, 2 with DOB)

Ownership & PSC

2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared

Director network

1 connected companies via shared directors

Filing history

29 filings on record

Gazette notices

No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)

Opportunity Score

80/100Exceptional

PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional

Strong composite across quality, acquirability, and risk. High-priority target — progress to serious diligence.

Business quality

Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.

Acquirability

Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.

Risk profile

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 £78,229

Very low cash

Cash position: £13

Net assets shrinking

Down £5,575 YoY

Cash draining

Cash down 99% YoY

Cash YoY

-99%

Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts

Cash

£13

↓ 99% YoY

Net Worth

£78k

↓ 6.7% YoY

Current Assets

£96k

↓ 18% YoY

Current Liabilities

—

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown

Metric	2025-01-31	2024-01-31
Total assets	£206.0k	£223.6k
Current assets	£95.5k	£115.9k
Cash	£13	£1.8k
Debtors	£77.8k	£92.6k
Net assets	£78.2k	£83.8k

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

filings

Last 90 days

filings

Last 180 days

filings

• 1 accounts
• 1 confirmation-statement

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (20 events)Click to expand

2026-01-28
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-10-30
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accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-10-27
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-10-28
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-01-28
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-10-23
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-10-30
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2018-10-31
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2017-10-30
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2016-12-17
📄
mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
mortgage · MR01
2016-12-08
🔒
Charge registered #2
Lender: Dorothy Macdonald
2016-10-26
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2016-01-04
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2015-10-29
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2014-12-18
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2014-08-28
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2013-02-11
🔒
Charge registered #1
Lender: James Macdonald & Others
2012-11-26
🏢
Company incorporated
As CAITHNESS CHEMICALS (WICK) LIMITED
2012-11-26
➕
GRAHAM, Gavin appointed
director
2012-11-26
➕
MACKAY, James William appointed
director

Owner dependency

78/100

High — earn-out structure required

Material founder dependency. Consider a 2-3 year earn-out and build in a handover plan before completion.

FACTORS

+Two-director setup: Only two active directors — typical of owner-managed SMEs but limits succession.
+Founder age: Director aged approximately 66 — succession pressure is live.
+No director turnover: Company is 14 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.

Succession & seller-readiness

69/100

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.
secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
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

2 active beneficial owners

Name	Shares	Voting rights	Nature of control	Notified
Mr James William Mackay Individual · British · DOB 10/1960 · age 66	25–50%	—	25-50% shares	06/04/2016
Mr Gavin Graham Individual · British · DOB 05/1972 · age 54	25–50%	—	25-50% shares	06/04/2016

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 →

Similar companies

Active · Manufacturing · KW postcode area

Company	Est. value	Turnover	Net worth	Staff	Age	Opp	Director
BRECKAN LIMITED→ SC198357 · est 1999	—	—	—	23	26y	83	64y
JGC ENGINEERING AND TECHNICAL SERVICES LIMITED→ SC067528 · est 1979 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	47y	83	60y
ORKNEY MEDIA GROUP LIMITED→ SC315893 · est 2007	—	—	—	3300	19y	83	75y
A YARN FROM NORTH RONALDSAY LIMITED→ SC163514 · est 1996	—	—	—	0	30y	82	78y
A. & D. SUTHERLAND LIMITED→ SC030441 · est 1954	—	—	—	23	71y	82	68y
CRAIGIE ENGINEERING LIMITED→ SC144429 · est 1993	—	—	£952.2k	—	33y	82	77y
MAINSTAY NORTH SEA LIMITED→ SC230198 · est 2002	—	—	£288.5k	—	24y	82	66y
ORKNEY AGGREGATES LIMITED→ SC196562 · est 1999	—	—	—	31	27y	82	60y
C S DRILLING SERVICES LIMITED→ SC333773 · est 2007	—	—	£1.73M	—	18y	81	64y
BURRAY BOATYARD LIMITED→ SC503596 · est 2015	—	—	—	14	11y	80	62y
CALDER OFFSHORE LIMITED→ SC366065 · est 2009	—	—	—	—	16y	80	66y
FUTURE ENGINEERING CONSULTANTS LIMITED→ SC272451 · est 2004	—	—	—	2	21y	80	60y

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.

See pricing →

Company details

Statusactive

Typeltd

Incorporated2012-11-26

Jurisdictionscotland

Primary SIC20412 — SIC 20412

Registered office

Unit 43a Airport Industrial Estate

Wick Airport

Wick

KW1 4QS

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: 2026-10-31

Last made up to: 2025-01-31

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2026-12-10

Last: 2025-11-26

Officers (2 active · 0 resigned)

GRAHAM, Gavin→

director · ~54y · appointed 2012-11-26

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

MACKAY, James William→

director · ~66y · appointed 2012-11-26

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

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

Mortgages & charges

Total charges

Outstanding

Active lenders

Status:Lender:2 of 2 shown

			Type	Properties
	outstanding	Dorothy Macdonald / James Macdonald / Caithness Chemicals Dorothy Macdonald / James Macdonald / Caithness Chemicals Limited	A registered charge	1 property	08/12/2016	—
	outstanding	James Macdonald & Others	Floating charge	1 property	11/02/2013	—

Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (29 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full

accounts · AA

2026-01-28

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2025-12-22

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2024-12-05

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full

accounts · AA

2024-10-30

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2023-12-06

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full

accounts · AA

2023-10-27

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2022-12-01

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full

accounts · AA

2022-10-28

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full

accounts · AA

2022-01-28

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2021-12-13

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2020-12-05

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full

accounts · AA

2020-10-23

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2019-12-09

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full

accounts · AA

2019-10-30

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2018-11-29