A. DEWAR RATTRAY LIMITED

🌳Matureactive
SC021038 · ltd · incorporated 1939-05-23
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
—
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Turnover
—
year to Mar 2025
Net worth
£1.02M
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 46342
Sector: Wholesale & retail
ALSO REGISTERED FOR
  • 47250SIC 47250
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company with a 87-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (63/100, director aged 87). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Cash flow review and working-capital discipline. Cash down -99% YoY — forensic review of receivables, stock turns, and creditor days. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

2 live charges · 2 lenders · oldest 9.5y

30/100
under pressure

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

  • · Oldest live charge is 9.5 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · Two lenders — manageable, but coordination required.
  • · Cashflow trend is negative — lender view likely cautious.

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, 2 SIC codes, incorporation date
100
Financials
2 years of iXBRL accounts extracted (YoY deltas available) + narrative notes parsed
75
Lenders & charges
2 charges (2/2 with lender, 2/2 with type)
90
Directors & officers
14 officers (4 active, 14 linked, 9 with DOB)
83
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
1 connected companies via shared directors
48
Filing history
126 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
82/100Exceptional
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

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

Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
80
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
85
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 £1,023,699
Net assets shrinking
Down £132,101 YoY
Cash draining
Cash down 99% YoY
Cash YoY
-99%
Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£247
↓ 99% YoY
Net Worth
£1.0m
↓ 11% YoY
Current Assets
£2.7m
↑ 24% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£540k£1.1m£1.6m£2.2m£2.7mMar 2024Mar 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2025-03-312024-03-31
Total assets£1.04M£1.19M
Current assets£2.70M£2.17M
Cash£247£29.4k
Debtors£212.6k£227.3k
Net assets£1.02M£1.16M

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
0
filings
Last 180 days
1
filing
  • • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (42 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-11-10
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-11-14
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  3. 2023-12-15
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  4. 2022-09-26
    📄
    accounts-amended-with-made-up-date
    accounts · AAMD
  5. 2022-06-10
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  6. 2022-05-10
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  7. 2022-05-10
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  8. 2022-05-10
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  9. 2022-04-01
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  10. 2022-03-31
    ➖
    DUPUY, Frances resigned
    director
  11. 2021-12-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  12. 2021-06-02
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  13. 2021-03-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  14. 2021-02-15
    📄
    appoint-person-secretary-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP03
  15. 2021-02-12
    ➕
    MORRISON, Stanley Andrew appointed
    secretary
  16. 2021-02-10
    📄
    termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM02
  17. 2021-02-10
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  18. 2021-02-08
    ➖
    WHITE, Nicholas John resigned
    secretary
  19. 2021-02-08
    ➖
    WHITE, Nicholas John resigned
    director
  20. 2019-10-07
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  21. 2018-10-25
    📄
    mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
    mortgage · MR01
  22. 2018-10-24
    📄
    mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
    mortgage · MR04
  23. 2018-10-24
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #1
  24. 2018-10-05
    🔒
    Charge registered #2
    Lender: Clydesdale Bank PLC
  25. 2016-10-17
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: Adam & Company PLC
  26. 2008-09-24
    ➕
    DUPUY, Frances appointed
    director
  27. 2008-09-24
    ➕
    WHITE, Nicholas John appointed
    director
  28. 2008-09-17
    ➖
    LECKENBY, Stewart resigned
    director
  29. 2007-04-02
    ➖
    COWAN, James Edward resigned
    director
  30. 2006-05-01
    ➕
    MORRISON, Stanley Andrew appointed
    director
  31. 2006-05-01
    ➕
    COWAN, James Edward appointed
    director
  32. 2004-07-09
    ➖
    RAFFEL, Thomas Matthew resigned
    secretary
  33. 2004-07-09
    ➕
    WHITE, Nicholas John appointed
    secretary
  34. 2002-02-01
    ➕
    RAFFEL, Thomas Matthew appointed
    secretary
  35. 2002-01-31
    ➖
    MORRISON, Margaret Edith resigned
    secretary
  36. 2000-06-01
    ➕
    LECKENBY, Stewart appointed
    director
  37. 1994-06-28
    ➕
    MORRISON, Margaret Edith appointed
    director
  38. 1994-06-28
    ➖
    BRUCE, Charles Russell resigned
    secretary
  39. 1994-06-28
    ➕
    MORRISON, Margaret Edith appointed
    secretary
  40. 1994-06-28
    ➖
    BRUCE, Charles Russell resigned
    director
  41. 1994-06-28
    ➖
    BRUCE, Williamina Stewart resigned
    director
  42. 1939-05-23
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As A. DEWAR RATTRAY LIMITED

Owner dependency

83/100
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
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 32 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 87 — succession pressure is live.
  • +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.

Succession & seller-readiness

90/100
Likely off-market candidate

Strong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.

SIGNALS
  • primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 87 years old. Natural succession window is now.
  • primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 32 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 87 years old and no new directors in the last 3 years — succession not yet being planned internally.
  • 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
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Stanley Walker Morrison
Individual · British · DOB 06/1941 · age 85
25–50%
—25-50% shares01/04/2017
Mr Stanley Andrew Morrison
Individual · British · DOB 07/1977 · age 49
25–50%
—25-50% shares28/04/2016

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

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
Incorporated1939-05-23
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC46342 — SIC 46342

Registered office

32 Main Road
Kirkoswald
Maybole
Ayrshire
KA19 8HY

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-05-12
Last: 2025-04-28

Officers (4 active · 10 resigned)

MORRISON, Stanley Andrew→
secretary · appointed 2021-02-12
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
MORRISON, Margaret Edith→
director · ~87y · appointed 1994-06-28
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
MORRISON, Stanley Andrew→
director · ~49y · appointed 2006-05-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
MORRISON, Stanley Walker→
director · ~85y
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
BRUCE, Charles Russell→
secretary · resigned 1994-06-28
Resigned
MORRISON, Margaret Edith→
secretary · appointed 1994-06-28 · resigned 2002-01-31
Resigned
RAFFEL, Thomas Matthew→
secretary · appointed 2002-02-01 · resigned 2004-07-09
Resigned
WHITE, Nicholas John→
secretary · appointed 2004-07-09 · resigned 2021-02-08
Resigned
BRUCE, Charles Russell→
director · ~108y · resigned 1994-06-28
Resigned
BRUCE, Williamina Stewart→
director · ~99y · resigned 1994-06-28
Resigned
COWAN, James Edward→
director · ~51y · appointed 2006-05-01 · resigned 2007-04-02
Resigned
DUPUY, Frances→
director · ~69y · appointed 2008-09-24 · resigned 2022-03-31
Resigned
LECKENBY, Stewart→
director · ~80y · appointed 2000-06-01 · resigned 2008-09-17
Resigned
WHITE, Nicholas John→
director · ~60y · appointed 2008-09-24 · resigned 2021-02-08
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

2
Total charges
1
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:2 of 2 shown
TypeProperties
outstanding
Virgin Money
Clydesdale Bank PLC
A registered charge—05/10/2018—
satisfied
Adam & Company
Adam & Company PLC
A registered charge—17/10/201624/10/2018
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (126 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2025-11-10
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-05-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2024-11-14
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-05-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2023-12-15
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-05-30
accounts-amended-with-made-up-date
accounts · AAMD
2022-09-26
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-06-10
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-05-10
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2022-05-10
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2022-05-10
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2022-05-10
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2022-04-01
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2021-12-21
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-06-02