BUILDING CRAFTSMEN (DUMFRIES) LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
SC056141 · ltd · incorporated 1974-08-08
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.
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Aug 2024
Net worth
£5.01M
book net assets
Opportunity
77/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Construction of commercial buildings
Sector: Construction
ALSO REGISTERED FOR
- 41202Construction of domestic buildings
- 42990Construction of other civil engineering projects n.e.c.
Investor take
PursueActive trading company with a 68-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 77/100 (strong), bankability 67/100. Strong seller-intent signal (78/100, director aged 68). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Consolidate lender relationships. 6 distinct lenders creates friction — refinance into single-lender structure for cleaner diligence. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
5 live charges · 5 lenders · oldest 37.1y
15/100
under pressure
Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.
- · Oldest live charge is 37.1 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · 5 lenders named — inter-creditor friction likely.
- · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.
Data confidence
Overall: high (81/100)Strong data coverage across all sections. AI outputs should be trusted with minimal caveats.
Company profile
address, 3 SIC codes, incorporation date
100
Financials
2 years of iXBRL accounts extracted (YoY deltas available) + narrative notes parsed
75
Lenders & charges
5 charges (5/5 with lender, 5/5 with type)
90
Directors & officers
4 officers (1 active, 4 linked, 2 with DOB)
80
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
10 connected companies via shared directors
75
Filing history
101 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
77/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
70
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
77
Few red flags.
Signal strength
100
Good data coverage for analysis.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declaredPositive net assets
Net assets £5,010,997
Cash YoY
-8%
Year on year
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
£1.4m
↓ 7.9% YoY
Net Worth
£5.0m
↑ 8.8% YoY
Current Assets
£8.9m
↑ 6.5% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2024-08-31 | 2023-08-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £5.07M | £4.69M |
| Current assets | £8.86M | £8.31M |
| Cash | £1.37M | £1.49M |
| Debtors | £1.60M | £1.52M |
| Net assets | £5.01M | £4.60M |
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
0
filings
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (30 events)Click to expand
- 2025-05-21📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2025-04-17📄mortgage-satisfy-charge-fullmortgage · MR04
- 2025-04-17🔓Charge satisfied #2
- 2024-05-03📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-05-11📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-07-26📄mortgage-satisfy-charge-fullmortgage · MR04
- 2022-07-26🔓Charge satisfied #3
- 2022-05-24📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-05-20📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-05-05📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-06-05📄mortgage-satisfy-charge-fullmortgage · MR04
- 2019-06-05🔓Charge satisfied #1
- 2019-05-15📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-04-11📄mortgage-satisfy-charge-fullmortgage · MR04
- 2019-04-11🔓Charge satisfied #5
- 2018-05-21📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-03-30📄mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-datemortgage · MR01
- 2018-03-27🔒Charge registered #5Lender: Stuart Hamilton
- 2018-02-16📄mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-datemortgage · MR01
- 2018-01-30🔒Charge registered #4Lender: Certas Energy UK Limited
- 2017-05-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2017-04-13📄mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-datemortgage · MR01
- 2017-04-06🔒Charge registered #3Lender: Baroness Herries of Terregles
- 2012-12-19🔒Charge registered #2Lender: R&D Construction Group LTD
- 2008-07-07➖HEWITSON, David resignedsecretary
- 1995-07-26➕HEWITSON, David appointedsecretary
- 1995-07-26➖HEWITSON, William James resignedsecretary
- 1995-07-26➖HEWITSON, David resigneddirector
- 1989-02-27🔒Charge registered #1Lender: The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
- 1974-08-08🏢Company incorporatedAs BUILDING CRAFTSMEN (DUMFRIES) LIMITED
Owner dependency
90/100
Critical — business is the founderThe 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 age: Director aged approximately 68 — succession pressure is live.
Succession & seller-readiness
75/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 68. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 52 years old and no new directors in the last 3 years — succession not yet being planned internally.
Red flags
1 med ·Charge satisfaction-then-recreation pattern
mediumMultiple instances where a charge was satisfied and a new charge created within 6 months. Suggests active refinancing cycle.
Shareholders & ownership
1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr William James Hewitson Individual · Scottish · DOB 08/1958 · age 68 | 75–100% | 75–100% | board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control | 06/04/2016 |
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 →Similar companies
Active · Construction · DG postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ALPINE IMPROVEMENTS LTD→ SC877798 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ARCHICRAFT SOLUTIONS LTD→ SC777391 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| BELL LAWRIE OF BIGGAR (DEVELOPMENTS) LIMITED→ SC099927 · est 1986 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 39y | — | — |
| BLADUM ROUGHCASTERS LTD→ SC840498 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| BORDER HOMES LTD→ SC388242 · est 2010 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 15y | — | — |
| BRC CONSTRUCTION LIMITED→ SC832511 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| BUILDING FUTURES GALLOWAY (TRAINING) LIMITED→ SC741111 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| CARPETS AND BLINDS DIRECT LTD→ SC388015 · est 2010 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 15y | — | — |
| CARRUTHERS BROS. (ANNAN) LIMITED→ SC057890 · est 1975 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 50y | — | — |
| CLARK SCAFFOLDING DFS LTD→ SC879090 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| CONSENSUS MANAGEMENT LIMITED→ SC207701 · est 2000 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 25y | — | — |
| COPPER BALL PLUMBING SERVICES LIMITED→ SC579423 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
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
Incorporated1974-08-08
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC41201 — Construction of commercial buildings
Registered office
The Hollies
Peatford
Lockerbie
DG11 1BJ
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-05-31
Last made up to: 2024-08-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-06-07
Last: 2025-05-24
Officers (1 active · 3 resigned)
Active
HEWITSON, David→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 1995-07-26 · resigned 2008-07-07
HEWITSON, William James→
Resignedsecretary · resigned 1995-07-26
HEWITSON, David→
Resigneddirector · ~94y · resigned 1995-07-26
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
5
Total charges
1
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:5 of 5 shown
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| satisfied | Stuart Hamilton / Thomas (Otherwise Tom) Brian Hogan | A registered charge | 1 property | 27/03/2018 | 11/04/2019 | |
| outstanding | Certas Energy UK Certas Energy UK Limited | A registered charge | 1 property | 30/01/2018 | — | |
| satisfied | Baroness Herries of Terregles | A registered charge | 1 property | 06/04/2017 | 26/07/2022 | |
| satisfied | R&D Construction Group R&D Construction Group LTD | Standard security | 1 property | 19/12/2012 | 17/04/2025 | |
| satisfied | Lloyds Banking Group The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC | Bond & floating charge | 1 property | 27/02/1989 | 05/06/2019 |
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.
Recent filings (101 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-06-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-05-21
mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
mortgage · MR04
2025-04-17
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-05-30
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-05-03
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-06-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-05-11
mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
mortgage · MR04
2022-07-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-06-01
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-05-24
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-06-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-05-20
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-05-26
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-05-05
mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
mortgage · MR04
2019-06-05