BEN NEVIS DISTILLERY (FORT WILLIAM) LIMITED

🌳Matureactive

SC022667 · ltd · incorporated 1944-02-05

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 Dec 2024

Net worth

—

book net assets

Opportunity

79/100

Strong

🔒Generate AI memo →🔒Outreach pack →🔒Corporate story →📑 Reports →Sign in to watch

What this business does

Primary activity: SIC 11010

Sector: Manufacturing

Investor take

Pursue

Active trading company with a 65-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 79/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (68/100, director aged 65). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).

Data confidence

Overall: medium (77/100)

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

Lenders & charges

Confirmed no charges registered

Directors & officers

25 officers (2 active, 25 linked, 19 with DOB)

Ownership & PSC

1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared

Director network

Network not yet resolved

Filing history

155 filings on record

Gazette notices

No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)

Opportunity Score

79/100Strong

PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional

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

Business quality

Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.

Acquirability

Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.

Risk profile

Few red flags.

Signal strength

Good data coverage for analysis.

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts

Cash

—

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	2024-12-31	2023-12-31
Average employees	3000	2800

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

filings

Last 90 days

filings

Last 180 days

filings

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (66 events)Click to expand

2025-10-16
📍
change-sail-address-company-with-old-address-new-address
address · AD02
2025-07-28
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-small
accounts · AA
2024-11-07
📄
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2024-05-07
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-small
accounts · AA
2023-10-31
📄
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2023-06-22
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-small
accounts · AA
2023-06-15
📄
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2023-06-12
➖
OGILVIE, Pauline resigned
director
2022-05-06
📄
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2022-04-26
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-full
accounts · AA
2022-04-21
📄
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2022-04-01
➕
SUGAWARA, Hisayoshi appointed
director
2022-04-01
➖
MOTOJIMA, Yoshisuke resigned
director
2021-10-05
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-full
accounts · AA
2021-09-07
📄
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2021-09-07
📄
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2021-08-23
➕
OGILVIE, Pauline appointed
director
2021-08-20
➖
ROBERTSON, James Taylor resigned
director
2021-05-29
📄
gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
gazette · DISS40
2021-05-28
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-full
accounts · AA
2021-04-06
📄
gazette-notice-compulsory
gazette · GAZ1
2019-12-12
📄
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2019-11-25
📄
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2019-11-18
➕
ROBERTSON, James Taylor appointed
director
2019-09-30
➖
ROSS, Alexander Walter resigned
director
2019-06-01
➕
HARADA, Soichiro appointed
director
2019-06-01
➖
HISAMITSU, Tetsuji resigned
director
2017-12-01
➕
MOTOJIMA, Yoshisuke appointed
director
2017-12-01
➖
YAMAMOTO, Eishi resigned
director
2016-03-17
➕
HISAMITSU, Tetsuji appointed
director
2016-03-17
➖
KISHIMOTO, Taketoshi resigned
director
2013-03-29
➕
KISHIMOTO, Taketoshi appointed
director
2013-03-29
➖
YAMASHITA, Hiroshi resigned
director
2010-04-06
➖
KISHIMOTO, Taketoshi resigned
director
2010-04-06
➕
YAMAMOTO, Eishi appointed
director
2009-09-24
➖
NISHIKAWA, Koichi resigned
secretary
2009-09-24
➕
KISHIMOTO, Taketoshi appointed
director
2009-09-24
➖
YAMAJI, Hiroaki resigned
director
2005-10-01
➖
HARADA, Soichiro resigned
secretary
2005-10-01
➕
NISHIKAWA, Koichi appointed
secretary
2005-05-27
➖
UNO, Masahiro resigned
director
2005-05-27
➕
YAMAJI, Hiroaki appointed
director
2005-03-25
➖
SUGIURA, Tadashi resigned
director
2005-03-25
➕
YAMASHITA, Hiroshi appointed
director
2003-02-03
➕
SUGIURA, Tadashi appointed
director
2003-02-03
➖
YAMASHITA, Hiroshi resigned
director
2001-04-01
➖
TAKAHASHI, Tatsushiro resigned
director
2001-04-01
➕
UNO, Masahiro appointed
director
2001-01-01
➕
HARADA, Soichiro appointed
secretary
2001-01-01
➖
SAKUMA, Tadashi resigned
secretary

Showing most recent 50 of 66 events

Owner dependency

73/100

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.
+Founder age: Director aged approximately 65 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

66/100

Strong succession signal

Multiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.

SIGNALS

primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 65. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 82 years old and no new directors in the last 3 years — succession not yet being planned internally.

Red flags

clean

No red flags detected from available public data. (This is not a clean bill of health — detailed accounts review still recommended.)

Group structure

Demball Limited is the ultimate parent — holding 75%+ shares. This company sits inside their group.

🏛️

Demball Limited

Corporate parent · holds 75-100% shares

ultimate parent

⬇

BEN NEVIS DISTILLERY (FORT WILLIAM) LIMITED

This company · SC022667

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
Demball Limited Corporate entity	75–100%	—	75-100% shares	06/04/2016

From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.

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GRANDTULLY BRIDGE GALLERIES LIMITED→ SC277888 · est 2004 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	21y	—	—
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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

Incorporated1944-02-05

Jurisdictionscotland

Primary SIC11010 — SIC 11010

Registered office

Ben Nevis Distillery

Lochy Bridge

Fort William

PH33 6TJ

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: 2026-09-30

Last made up to: 2024-12-31

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2026-10-26

Last: 2025-10-12

Officers (2 active · 23 resigned)

HARADA, Soichiro→

director · ~65y · appointed 2019-06-01

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

SUGAWARA, Hisayoshi→

director · ~61y · appointed 2022-04-01

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

HARA, Nobuo→

secretary · appointed 1989-04-07 · resigned 1993-09-21

Resigned

HARADA, Soichiro→

secretary · appointed 2001-01-01 · resigned 2005-10-01

Resigned

KAMIGUCHI, Naofumi→

secretary · appointed 1993-09-21 · resigned 1996-01-01

Resigned

NISHIKAWA, Koichi→

secretary · appointed 2005-10-01 · resigned 2009-09-24

Resigned

SAKUMA, Tadashi→

secretary · appointed 1996-01-01 · resigned 2001-01-01

Resigned

HARA, Nobuo→

director · ~88y · appointed 1991-09-10 · resigned 1993-09-21

Resigned

HISAMITSU, Tetsuji→

director · ~68y · appointed 2016-03-17 · resigned 2019-06-01

Resigned

KAMIGUCHI, Naofumi→

director · ~74y · appointed 1993-09-21 · resigned 1996-01-01

Resigned

KISHIMOTO, Taketoshi→

director · ~67y · appointed 2013-03-29 · resigned 2016-03-17

Resigned

KISHIMOTO, Taketoshi→

director · ~67y · appointed 2009-09-24 · resigned 2010-04-06

Resigned

MOTOJIMA, Yoshisuke→

director · ~62y · appointed 2017-12-01 · resigned 2022-04-01

Resigned

OGILVIE, Pauline→

director · ~54y · appointed 2021-08-23 · resigned 2023-06-12

Resigned

ROBERTSON, James Taylor→

director · ~65y · appointed 2019-11-18 · resigned 2021-08-20

Resigned

ROSS, Alexander Walter→

director · ~78y · appointed 1989-04-07 · resigned 2019-09-30

Resigned

SAKUMA, Tadashi→

director · ~66y · appointed 1996-01-01 · resigned 2001-01-01

Resigned

SUGIURA, Tadashi→

director · ~82y · appointed 2003-02-03 · resigned 2005-03-25

Resigned

TAKAHASHI, Tatsushiro→

director · ~86y · appointed 2000-06-07 · resigned 2001-04-01

Resigned

TAKETSURO, Takeshi→

director · resigned 2000-06-07

Resigned

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

Recent filings (155 total)

change-sail-address-company-with-old-address-new-address

address · AD02

2025-10-16

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2025-10-16

accounts-with-accounts-type-small

accounts · AA

2025-07-28

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2024-11-07

change-person-director-company-with-change-date

officers · CH01

2024-11-07

accounts-with-accounts-type-small

accounts · AA

2024-05-07

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2023-10-31

change-person-director-company-with-change-date

officers · CH01

2023-10-31

accounts-with-accounts-type-small

accounts · AA

2023-06-22

termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date

officers · TM01

2023-06-15

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2022-10-19

appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date

officers · AP01

2022-05-06

accounts-with-accounts-type-full

accounts · AA

2022-04-26

termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date

officers · TM01

2022-04-21

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2021-10-12