DUNNET BAY DISTILLERS LTD.

🌳Matureactive
SC454474 · ltd · incorporated 2013-07-15
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 · high confidence
Thesis has shifted recently — watch for confirmation.
  • · Investment thesis: well_run_hard_buy → unclassified
  • · Deal-killer verdict: clean → complicated
  • · Live charges: 5 → 7
What changed my view
Last 30 days

Picture worsened over the last 30 days — 2 negative signals vs 0 positive.

  • ·Investment thesis: well_run_hard_buy → unclassified
  • ↓Deal-killer verdict: clean → complicated
  • ↓Live charges: 5 → 7
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 Dec 2024
Net worth
£2.85M
book net assets
Opportunity
71/100
Strong
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What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 11010
Sector: Manufacturing
ALSO REGISTERED FOR
  • 11060Manufacture of malt
Investor take
Pursue
Strong opportunity: active trading company with strong profile and acceptable with review structure.

Opportunity 71/100 (strong), bankability 57/100. High owner-dependency — earn-out structure likely required for clean transition. 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 (58/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

7 live charges · 4 lenders · oldest 12.3y

15/100
under pressure

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

  • · Oldest live charge is 12.3 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · 4 lenders named — inter-creditor friction likely.
  • · Cashflow trend is negative — lender view likely cautious.

Data confidence

Overall: high (81/100)

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

Company profile
address, 2 SIC codes, incorporation date
100
Financials
2 years of iXBRL accounts extracted (YoY deltas available) + narrative notes parsed
75
Lenders & charges
7 charges (7/7 with lender, 7/7 with type)
90
Directors & officers
2 officers (2 active, 2 linked, 2 with DOB)
90
Ownership & PSC
3 active PSC(s) of 3 total, 3 with control declared
90
Director network
3 connected companies via shared directors
54
Filing history
49 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
71/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

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

Business quality
60
Adequate — check latest filings for context.
Acquirability
55
Some acquirability indicators.
Risk profile
82
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 £2,854,326
Cash draining
Cash down 44% YoY
Cash YoY
-44%
Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£642k
↓ 44% YoY
Net Worth
£2.9m
↑ 15% YoY
Current Assets
£1.5m
↓ 27% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£571k£1.1m£1.7m£2.3m£2.9mDec 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£5.45M£3.75M
Current assets£1.47M£2.03M
Cash£641.9k£1.15M
Debtors£374.3k£384.5k
Net assets£2.85M£2.49M

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
5
filings
  • • 5 mortgage
Last 180 days
5
filings
  • • 5 mortgage
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (33 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-05-23
    📄
    mortgage-alter-floating-charge-with-number
    mortgage · 466(Scot)
  2. 2026-05-22
    📄
    mortgage-alter-floating-charge-with-number
    mortgage · 466(Scot)
  3. 2026-05-21
    📄
    mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
    mortgage · MR01
  4. 2026-05-21
    📄
    mortgage-alter-floating-charge-with-number
    mortgage · 466(Scot)
  5. 2026-05-15
    📄
    mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
    mortgage · MR01
  6. 2026-05-05
    🔒
    Charge registered #7
    Lender: Alastair Borthwick
  7. 2026-05-05
    🔒
    Charge registered #6
    Lender: Alastair Borthwick
  8. 2025-09-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2025-04-02
    📄
    resolution
    resolution · RESOLUTIONS
  10. 2025-03-25
    📄
    capital-allotment-shares
    capital · SH01
  11. 2024-09-17
    📄
    mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
    mortgage · MR04
  12. 2024-09-17
    📄
    mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
    mortgage · MR01
  13. 2024-09-17
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #2
  14. 2024-09-12
    📄
    mortgage-alter-floating-charge-with-number
    mortgage · 466(Scot)
  15. 2024-09-06
    📄
    mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
    mortgage · MR01
  16. 2024-09-06
    🔒
    Charge registered #5
    Lender: Hsbc UK Bank PLC
  17. 2024-09-06
    🔒
    Charge registered #4
    Lender: Historic Environment Scotland
  18. 2024-09-05
    📄
    mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
    mortgage · MR01
  19. 2024-09-05
    📄
    mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
    mortgage · MR01
  20. 2024-09-02
    🔒
    Charge registered #3
    Lender: Hsbc UK Bank PLC
  21. 2024-09-02
    🔒
    Charge registered #2
    Lender: Hsbc UK Bank PLC
  22. 2024-06-20
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
  23. 2024-04-25
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  24. 2024-03-04
    📄
    capital-allotment-shares
    capital · SH01
  25. 2023-06-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  26. 2022-11-04
    📄
    memorandum-articles
    incorporation · MA
  27. 2022-11-04
    📄
    resolution
    resolution · RESOLUTIONS
  28. 2022-11-03
    📄
    capital-allotment-shares
    capital · SH01
  29. 2022-08-15
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  30. 2014-03-28
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: Hsbc Bank PLC
  31. 2013-07-15
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As DUNNET BAY DISTILLERS LTD.
  32. 2013-07-15
    ➕
    MURRAY, Claire Margaret appointed
    director
  33. 2013-07-15
    ➕
    MURRAY, Martin John appointed
    director

Owner dependency

71/100
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.
  • +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.
  • +No director turnover: Company is 13 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.

Succession & seller-readiness

49/100
Moderate signal

Some succession indicators present. Worth watching; approach if sector/strategy fits.

SIGNALS
  • 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

1 low
6 live charges
low

Heavily leveraged with multiple live security positions — understand the capital structure before proceeding.

Shareholders & ownership

3 active beneficial owners
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Alastair Menzies Borthwick
Individual · American,British · DOB 07/1968 · age 58
25–50%
—25-50% shares27/10/2022
Mr Martin John Murray
Individual · British · DOB 05/1981 · age 45
25–50%
—25-50% shares06/04/2016
Mrs Claire Margaret Murray
Individual · British · DOB 09/1981 · age 45
25–50%
—25-50% shares06/04/2016

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 →

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Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions

8 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
Incorporated2013-07-15
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC11010 — SIC 11010

Registered office

Dunnet Bay Distillery
Dunnet
Thurso
KW14 8XD
Scotland

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last made up to: 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-07-29
Last: 2025-07-15

Officers (2 active · 0 resigned)

MURRAY, Claire Margaret→
director · ~45y · appointed 2013-07-15
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
MURRAY, Martin John→
director · ~45y · appointed 2013-07-15
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active

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

Mortgages & charges

7
Total charges
6
Outstanding
3
Active lenders
Status:Lender:7 of 7 shown
TypeProperties
outstanding
Alastair Borthwick
A registered charge—05/05/2026—
outstanding
Alastair Borthwick
A registered charge—05/05/2026—
outstanding
HSBC
Hsbc UK Bank PLC
A registered charge2 properties06/09/2024—
outstanding
Historic Environment Scotland
A registered charge2 properties06/09/2024—
outstanding
HSBC
Hsbc UK Bank PLC
A registered charge1 property02/09/2024—
satisfied
HSBC
Hsbc UK Bank PLC
A registered charge2 properties02/09/202417/09/2024
outstanding
HSBC
Hsbc Bank PLC
A registered charge—28/03/2014—
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (49 total)

mortgage-alter-floating-charge-with-number
mortgage · 466(Scot)
2026-05-23
mortgage-alter-floating-charge-with-number
mortgage · 466(Scot)
2026-05-22
mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
mortgage · MR01
2026-05-21
mortgage-alter-floating-charge-with-number
mortgage · 466(Scot)
2026-05-21
mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
mortgage · MR01
2026-05-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-09-29
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-08-05
resolution
resolution · RESOLUTIONS
2025-04-02
capital-allotment-shares
capital · SH01
2025-03-25
mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
mortgage · MR04
2024-09-17
mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
mortgage · MR01
2024-09-17
mortgage-alter-floating-charge-with-number
mortgage · 466(Scot)
2024-09-12
mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
mortgage · MR01
2024-09-06
mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
mortgage · MR01
2024-09-05
mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
mortgage · MR01
2024-09-05