DISTELL.COM LTD
🌳Matureactive
SC445010 · ltd · incorporated 2013-03-13
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
hardening · 12-months
Already tight — no obvious softening catalysts on the horizon.
- · Thesis: well-run, low negotiation leverage
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Mar 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
79/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 26511
Sector: Manufacturing
Investor take
PursueActive trading company with a 77-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 79/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (68/100, director aged 77). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).
Data confidence
Overall: medium (79/100)Adequate coverage. AI outputs are reliable for the sections scored high; verify the rest in diligence.
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
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
3 officers (3 active, 3 linked, 2 with DOB)
83
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
2 connected companies via shared directors
51
Filing history
28 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
75
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102| Metric | 2025-03-31 | 2024-03-31 |
|---|
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
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 (19 events)Click to expand
- 2025-08-19📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2025-06-12📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2025-04-15📄appoint-person-director-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP01
- 2025-04-06➕LITSTER, John Andrew appointeddirector
- 2024-05-08📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2023-12-14📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2022-12-15📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2021-11-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-12-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-12-02📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2018-12-11📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2017-12-14📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2016-12-02📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2016-04-07📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2015-12-14📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2015-04-17📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2013-03-13🏢Company incorporatedAs DISTELL.COM LTD
- 2013-03-13➕FULTON, David appointedsecretary
- 2013-03-13➕FULTON, David Thomas appointeddirector
Owner dependency
73/100
High — earn-out structure requiredMaterial 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 77 — succession pressure is live.
Succession & seller-readiness
79/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 77 years old. Natural succession window is now.
- secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
- secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 13 years.
- supportingClean filings + long tenure: Disciplined long-tenure operator — classic lifestyle-business pattern that often sells quietly.
Red flags
cleanNo 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 · dominant holder ≥75%| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr David Thomas Fulton Individual · British · DOB 12/1949 · age 77 | 75–100% | 75–100% | board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control | 13/03/2017 |
Mr John Andrew Litster Individual · British · DOB 03/1969 · age 57 | — | — | sig. influencesignificant influence · firm interest | 06/04/2025 |
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 · EH postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CLAYMORE LOCK AND SAFE COMPANY LIMITED→ SC219182 · est 2001 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 24y | — | — |
| COCOMEL SOAPS LIMITED→ SC671471 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| COUTTS CARPENTRY EDINBURGH LTD→ SC685118 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| CRAWFORD DOORS SCOTLAND LIMITED→ SC798988 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| D ADAM MECHANICAL SERVICES LIMITED→ SC858484 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| D WATSON ELECTRONICS LIMITED→ SC807396 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| DAR ROPE ACCESS LIMITED→ SC487487 · est 2014 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 11y | — | — |
| DART ENERGY (EUROPE) LIMITED→ SC259898 · est 2003 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 22y | — | — |
| DAVID SHAW LTD→ SC409009 · est 2011 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 14y | — | — |
| DONALDSON, PALMER & ELLIS LTD→ SC837857 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| DOPPELGANGER 33 LIMITED→ SC357734 · est 2009 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 17y | — | — |
| DORICMOR LIMITED→ SC126138 · est 1990 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 35y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2013-03-13
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC26511 — SIC 26511
Registered office
Old Levenseat
Fauldhouse
Bathgate
West Lothian
EH47 9AD
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-09-02
Last: 2025-08-19
Officers (3 active · 0 resigned)
Active
FULTON, David Thomas→
Activedirector · ~77y · appointed 2013-03-13
View their other companies + combined net worth →
LITSTER, John Andrew→
Activedirector · ~57y · appointed 2025-04-06
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (28 total)
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-08-19
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2025-08-19
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2025-06-12
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2025-04-15
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-03-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2024-05-08
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-03-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2023-12-14
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-03-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2022-12-15
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-03-24
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-11-25
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-03-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-12-29
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-03-25