DORNOCH PATISSERIE & CAFE LTD.

🌳Matureactive
SC285572 · ltd · incorporated 2005-06-01
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 Aug 2024
Net worth
£870
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: Other food services
Sector: Accommodation & food service
Investor take
Pursue
Strong opportunity: asset-holding vehicle with exceptional profile and bankable structure.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 59). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).

Data confidence

Overall: medium (76/100)

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
75
Lenders & charges
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
5 officers (3 active, 5 linked, 2 with DOB)
78
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
53 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
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 declared
Positive net assets
Net assets £870
Net assets shrinking
Down £1,132 YoY

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
£870
↓ 57% YoY
Current Assets
£15k
↓ 46% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£6k£11k£17k£22k£28kAug 2023Aug 2024

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2024-08-312023-08-31
Total assets£870£2.0k
Current assets£15.0k£27.8k
Net assets£870£2.0k

Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.

Recent activity

Last 30 days
1
filing
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 90 days
1
filing
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
1
filing
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (23 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-05-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-05-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-02-19
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  4. 2023-05-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  5. 2022-03-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  6. 2022-02-12
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  7. 2021-05-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  8. 2021-05-26
    📄
    change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortened
    accounts · AA01
  9. 2020-03-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  10. 2018-12-20
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  11. 2018-02-05
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  12. 2016-12-08
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  13. 2016-06-22
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  14. 2015-11-03
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  15. 2015-06-01
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  16. 2005-06-01
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As DORNOCH PATISSERIE & CAFE LTD.
  17. 2005-06-01
    ➕
    RIORDAN, Penny Anne appointed
    secretary
  18. 2005-06-01
    ➕
    RIORDAN, Christopher Vincent appointed
    director
  19. 2005-06-01
    ➕
    RIORDAN, Penny Anne appointed
    director
  20. 2005-06-01
    ➕
    BRIAN REID LTD. appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  21. 2005-06-01
    ➖
    BRIAN REID LTD. resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  22. 2005-06-01
    ➕
    STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD. appointed
    corporate-nominee-director
  23. 2005-06-01
    ➖
    STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD. resigned
    corporate-nominee-director

Owner dependency

84/100
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
  • +Two-director setup: Only two active directors — typical of owner-managed SMEs but limits succession.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 21 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 59 — approaching natural succession window.
  • +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.

Succession & seller-readiness

76/100
Likely off-market candidate

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

SIGNALS
  • secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 59. Early succession window.
  • secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
  • primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 21 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 21 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 Christopher Vincent Riordan
Individual · New Zealander · DOB 09/1967 · age 59
25–50%
—25-50% shares06/04/2016
Mrs Penny Anne Riordan
Individual · British · DOB 01/1972 · age 54
25–50%
—25-50% shares06/04/2016

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

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Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions

6 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 →
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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.

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Company details

Statusactive
Typeltd
Incorporated2005-06-01
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC56290 — Other food services

Registered office

18 Stafford Street
Tain
IV19 1AZ
Scotland

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-05-31
Last made up to: 2024-08-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-04-23
Last: 2026-04-09

Officers (3 active · 2 resigned)

RIORDAN, Penny Anne→
secretary · appointed 2005-06-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
RIORDAN, Christopher Vincent→
director · ~59y · appointed 2005-06-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
RIORDAN, Penny Anne→
director · ~54y · appointed 2005-06-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
BRIAN REID LTD.→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2005-06-01 · resigned 2005-06-01
Resigned
STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD.→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2005-06-01 · resigned 2005-06-01
Resigned

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

Recent filings (53 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-04-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-05-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-04-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-05-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-04-09
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2024-02-19
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-06-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-05-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-06-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-03-30
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2022-02-12
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-06-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-05-27
change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortened
accounts · AA01
2021-05-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-06-02