BUILDING CRAFTSMEN LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
SC184995 · ltd · incorporated 1998-04-20
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
£51.5k
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: Non-trading company
Sector: Professional, scientific & technical
Investor take
PursueDormant / non-trading with a 68-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 68). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Broaden director team. Sole director creates succession risk and reduces buyer comfort. Appoint a second director or strong #2. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).
Data confidence
Overall: high (80/100)Strong data coverage across all sections. AI outputs should be trusted with minimal caveats.
Company profile
address, 1 SIC codes, incorporation date
100
Financials
2 years of iXBRL accounts extracted (YoY deltas available) + narrative notes parsed
75
Lenders & charges
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
5 officers (1 active, 5 linked, 1 with DOB)
74
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
64 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
🔒Estimated company valuation
Sector-multiple EBITDA, turnover, and NAV-proxy valuation range with confidence tier — derived from extracted iXBRL financials.
Available from the Pro tier upwards.
See pricing →Opportunity Score
80/100Exceptional
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
90
Good data coverage for analysis.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declaredPositive net assets
Net assets £51,457
Cash YoY
+21%
Year on year
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
£209k
↑ 21% YoY
Net Worth
£51k
↑ 156% YoY
Current Assets
—
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 | £51.5k | £20.1k |
| Cash | £208.7k | £172.5k |
| Net assets | £51.5k | £20.1k |
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
🔒Filing-note intelligence
2 signals 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 (26 events)Click to expand
- 2025-05-14📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-05-02📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-05-11📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 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
- 2019-05-15📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-05-21📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-05-15📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2016-05-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2016-04-20📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2015-05-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2015-04-20📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2014-05-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2014-04-22📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2013-05-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2009-05-13➖HEWITSON, David resignedsecretary
- 1998-08-07➕HEWITSON, William James appointeddirector
- 1998-08-07➕HEWITSON, David appointedsecretary
- 1998-08-07➖COMBINED SECRETARIAL SERVICES LIMITED resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 1998-08-07➖COMBINED NOMINEES LIMITED resignedcorporate-nominee-director
- 1998-08-07➖COMBINED SECRETARIAL SERVICES LIMITED resignedcorporate-nominee-director
- 1998-04-20🏢Company incorporatedAs BUILDING CRAFTSMEN LIMITED
- 1998-04-20➕COMBINED SECRETARIAL SERVICES LIMITED appointedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 1998-04-20➕COMBINED NOMINEES LIMITED appointedcorporate-nominee-director
- 1998-04-20➕COMBINED SECRETARIAL SERVICES LIMITED appointedcorporate-nominee-director
Owner dependency
100/100
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.
- +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 28 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 68 — succession pressure is live.
Succession & seller-readiness
95/100
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.
- primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 28 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 28 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
cleanNo red flags detected from available public data. (This is not a clean bill of health — detailed accounts review still recommended.)
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% | 75-100% shares · 75-100% voting | 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 · Holding company · DG postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ALAN YOUNG ENGINEERING HOLDINGS LIMITED→ SC656006 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| ANTARTEX LIMITED→ SC071934 · est 1980 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 45y | — | — |
| AREFOR HOLDINGS LIMITED→ SC758489 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| AUTOMOTIVE BUSINESS CONSULTANCY LIMITED→ SC788211 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| BALLIOL PROPERTY SERVICES LIMITED→ SC706240 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| BORDER TRAVEL HOLDINGS LIMITED→ SC866335 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| BURNHEAD HOLDINGS LIMITED→ SC697895 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| BVR HOLDINGS LTD→ SC541618 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| C & KW HOLDINGS LIMITED→ SC706776 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| C&B RENEWABLES LIMITED→ SC608001 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| CALEDONIAN PROTEINS LIMITED→ SC356746 · est 2009 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 17y | — | — |
| CALLY MAINS LIMITED→ SC842692 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
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
Incorporated1998-04-20
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC74990 — Non-trading company
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: 2026-05-04
Last: 2025-04-20
Officers (1 active · 4 resigned)
HEWITSON, William James→
Activedirector · ~68y · appointed 1998-08-07
View their other companies + combined net worth →
HEWITSON, David→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 1998-08-07 · resigned 2009-05-13
COMBINED SECRETARIAL SERVICES LIMITED→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 1998-04-20 · resigned 1998-08-07
COMBINED NOMINEES LIMITED→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-director · appointed 1998-04-20 · resigned 1998-08-07
COMBINED SECRETARIAL SERVICES LIMITED→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-director · appointed 1998-04-20 · resigned 1998-08-07
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (64 total)
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-05-14
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-05-01
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-05-02
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-04-30
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-05-11
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-05-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-05-24
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-04-28
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-05-20
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-05-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-05-05
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-04-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-05-15
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-05-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2018-05-21