DEWAR'S FAMILY BUTCHERS LTD

💤Zombieactive
SC739789 · ltd · incorporated 2022-07-29
Investment thesis
Zombie company — trading but stalled; unlikely mover.
Why interesting: Quiet, steady; could be a succession or carve-out candidate with the right conversation.
Why risky: No growth signal; thin margin for error on price.
Why now
Window opening · high confidence
More negotiable than before — 4 signals weakening over the last 30 days.
  • · Hygiene score: 90 → 50
  • · Bankability: 70 → 50
  • · Deal-killer verdict: workable → complicated
  • · Opportunity score: 70 → 60
Opportunity decay
softening · 6-months
Softening — cumulative signals suggest this becomes more negotiable over the next 3–6 months.
  • · 4 recent signals weakening vs 1 strengthening
What changed my view
Last 30 days

Picture worsened over the last 30 days — 4 negative signals vs 1 positive.

  • Deal-killer verdict: workablecomplicated
  • Opportunity score: 7060
  • Hygiene score: 9050
  • Bankability: 7050
  • Filings: 1213
  • +1 more
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 Jul 2024
Net worth
book net assets
Opportunity
60/100
Worth a look
🔔
Follow this company (free)
Email alerts on filings, charges, director changes, gazette notices. No account needed.

Unsubscribe any time from any email. GDPR-respectful.

What this business does
Primary activity: Retail sale of meat and meat products in specialised stores
Sector: Wholesale & retail
Investor take
Pass (distressed without resilience)
Distressed active trading company — structural issues outweigh the discount.

Opportunity 60/100 (worth a look), bankability 50/100. High owner-dependency — earn-out structure likely required for clean transition. Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: File overdue accounts. Clears statutory overdue flag — immediate bankability uplift for refinance conversations. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (38/100).

Data confidence

Overall: medium (72/100)

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
1 year of iXBRL accounts extracted (no YoY comparison) + narrative notes parsed
50
Lenders & charges
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
1 officers (1 active, 1 linked, 1 with DOB)
90
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
1 connected companies via shared directors
48
Filing history
13 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
60/100Worth a look
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

Mixed signal. Worth opening the full target workup before deciding to pursue.

Business quality
45
Concerning — overdue filings or status flags present.
Acquirability
50
Some acquirability indicators.
Risk profile
67
Some moderate concerns — review flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.

Key financials

1 year extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
Net Worth
Current Assets
Current Liabilities

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2024-07-31

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
1
filing
  • 1 gazette
Last 90 days
1
filing
  • 1 gazette
Last 180 days
1
filing
  • 1 gazette
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (12 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-07-07
    📄
    gazette-notice-compulsory
    gazette · GAZ1
  2. 2025-06-18
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-10-26
    📄
    gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
    gazette · DISS40
  4. 2024-10-15
    📄
    gazette-notice-compulsory
    gazette · GAZ1
  5. 2024-07-05
    📄
    resolution
    resolution · RESOLUTIONS
  6. 2024-07-04
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  7. 2024-07-04
    📄
    administrative-restoration-company
    restoration · RT01
  8. 2024-01-02
    📄
    gazette-dissolved-compulsory
    gazette · GAZ2
  9. 2023-10-17
    📄
    gazette-notice-compulsory
    gazette · GAZ1
  10. 2022-07-29
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As DEWAR'S FAMILY BUTCHERS LTD
  11. 2022-07-29
    DEWAR, David appointed
    director
  12. 2022-07-29
    📄
    incorporation-company
    incorporation · NEWINC

Owner dependency

90/100
Critical — business is the founder

The business appears inseparable from the founder. Acquisition without a serious earn-out or meaningful transition period would likely destroy value.

FACTORS
  • +Sole director: Only one active director — all governance concentrated on one person.
  • +Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "DEWAR" — strong identity link between founder and business.

Succession & seller-readiness

45/100
Moderate signal

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

SIGNALS
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.

Red flags

1 high ·
Accounts overdue
high

Statutory accounts have not been filed by their due date. Can indicate admin breakdown, cash preservation, or deliberate delay.

Evidence: Next due: 2026-04-30

Shareholders & ownership

1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr David Dewar
Individual · Scottish · DOB 12/1971 · age 55
75100%
75–100%board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control29/07/2022

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 · Retail · EH postcode area
CompanyEst. valueTurnoverNet worthStaffAgeOppDirector
PENTLAND KITCHENS LIMITED
SC307579 · est 2006
£710.4k
£532.8k£888.0k
200019y8363y
LYON & TURNBULL LIMITED
SC191166 · est 1998
£551.7k
£413.8k£689.6k
7527y8577y
FESTIVAL FRINGE TRADING LIMITED
SC130813 · est 1991
£497.4k
£373.1k£621.8k
035y8577y
M&F FUNERAL SERVICES LIMITED
SC365033 · est 2009
£273.1k
£204.9k£341.4k
1116y8861y
DRINX.COM LIMITED
SC203859 · est 2000
£353.7k26y8363y
GLASGOW ARCHITECTURAL SALVAGE LIMITED
SC248258 · est 2003 · no financials extracted
23y8358y
GLENTERRIN LIMITED
SC116076 · est 1989
710037y8364y
GRAHAM TISO LIMITED
SC081944 · est 1983 · no financials extracted
43y8360y
NGS TRADING COMPANY LIMITED
SC312797 · est 2006 · no financials extracted
19y8368y
PLANET FLOWERS LTD.
SC212761 · est 2000
£208.8k25y8378y
THE DORMANT DISTILLERY COMPANY LIMITED
SC172078 · est 1997
6429y8362y
THE GREAT GROG COMPANY LIMITED
SC194873 · est 1999
£501.5k27y8364y
Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions

10 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
Incorporated2022-07-29
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC47220 — Retail sale of meat and meat products in specialised stores

Registered office

13 Union Square
West Calder
EH55 8EY
Scotland

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-04-30OVERDUE
Last made up to: 2024-07-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-08-11
Last: 2025-07-28

Officers (1 active · 0 resigned)

DEWAR, David
director · ~55y · appointed 2022-07-29
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active

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

Recent filings (13 total)

gazette-notice-compulsory
gazette · GAZ1
2026-07-07
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-08-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-06-18
gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
gazette · DISS40
2024-10-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-10-24
gazette-notice-compulsory
gazette · GAZ1
2024-10-15
resolution
resolution · RESOLUTIONS
2024-07-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-07-04
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-07-04
administrative-restoration-company
restoration · RT01
2024-07-04
gazette-dissolved-compulsory
gazette · GAZ2
2024-01-02
gazette-notice-compulsory
gazette · GAZ1
2023-10-17
incorporation-company
incorporation · NEWINC
2022-07-29