CRAFT SPIRITS LIMITED
Opportunity 75/100 (strong), bankability 80/100. High owner-dependency — earn-out structure likely required for clean transition. Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Broaden director team. Sole director creates succession risk and reduces buyer comfort. Appoint a second director or strong #2. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (58/100).
Refinance opportunity
1 live charge · oldest 8.3y
Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.
- · Oldest live charge is 8.3 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
- · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.
Data confidence
Overall: medium (75/100)Adequate coverage. AI outputs are reliable for the sections scored high; verify the rest in diligence.
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Key financials
1 year extracted from filed iXBRL accountsFinancials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102| Metric | 2024-12-31 |
|---|
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
Recent activity
Corporate timeline (22 events)Click to expand
- 2025-06-13📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2024-07-18📄change-account-reference-date-company-current-extendedaccounts · AA01
- 2024-06-07📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC02
- 2024-06-07📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2023-07-25📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2023-07-24📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2022-08-01📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2021-10-11📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2021-08-10📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2020-12-22📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2020-08-17📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2020-08-17📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2020-07-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2020-04-18📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2020-03-31➖WOODS, Brian David resigneddirector
- 2020-03-02📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2019-01-02📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2018-03-01📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2018-01-23🔒Charge registered #1Lender: Clydesdale Bank PLC (Trading as Both Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank) (Company Number SC001111)
- 2013-06-05🏢Company incorporatedAs CRAFT SPIRITS LIMITED
- 2013-06-05➕WATSON, Scott Mcmurray appointeddirector
- 2013-06-05➕WOODS, Brian David appointeddirector
Owner dependency
Material founder dependency. Consider a 2-3 year earn-out and build in a handover plan before completion.
- +Sole director: Only one active director — all governance concentrated on one person.
Succession & seller-readiness
Multiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
- 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
cleanGroup structure
Crucial Brands Holdings Limited is the ultimate parent — holding 75%+ shares. This company sits inside their group.
Parent relationships inferred from Persons with Significant Control filings. Full subsidiary tree requires reverse-lookup (coming).
Shareholders & ownership
1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Crucial Brands Holdings Limited Corporate entity | 75–100% | 75–100% | board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control | 06/04/2016 |
2 historic (ceased) PSCs
- Mr Brian David Woodsceased 31/03/2020· significant influence
- Mr Scott Mcmurray Watsonceased 06/04/2016· significant influence
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Radial SVG graph showing every company connected via shared directors, colour-coded by status.
Available from the Pro tier upwards.
See pricing →Similar companies
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| CAROLLAN SALES LP→ SL017073 · est 2014 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 11y | — | — |
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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 →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
Registered office
Filing status
Officers (1 active · 1 resigned)
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| outstanding | Virgin Money Clydesdale Bank PLC (Trading as Both Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank) (Company Number SC001111) | A registered charge | — | 23/01/2018 | — |