D W MACKAY LIMITED
Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 60). 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: medium (78/100)Adequate coverage. AI outputs are reliable for the sections scored high; verify the rest in diligence.
Strong composite across quality, acquirability, and risk. High-priority target — progress to serious diligence.
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsHover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2025-01-31 | 2024-01-31 |
|---|
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
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
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Corporate timeline (17 events)Click to expand
- 2025-10-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-10-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-10-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-10-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-10-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-08-26📄legacymiscellaneous · RPCH01
- 2020-10-18📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2019-10-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2018-10-03📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2017-10-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2016-10-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2015-10-23📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2015-10-14📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2014-10-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2014-10-27📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2009-10-23🏢Company incorporatedAs D W MACKAY LIMITED
- 2009-10-23➕MACKAY, David William appointeddirector
Owner dependency
The business appears inseparable from the founder. Acquisition without a serious earn-out or meaningful transition period would likely destroy value.
- +Sole director: Only one active director — all governance concentrated on one person.
- +Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "MACKAY" — strong identity link between founder and business.
- +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 17 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 60 — approaching natural succession window.
- +No director turnover: Company is 17 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.
Succession & seller-readiness
Strong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
- secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 60. Early succession window.
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
- secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 17 years.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 17 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
cleanShareholders & ownership
1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr David William Mackay Individual · Scottish · DOB 11/1966 · age 60 | 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.
Similar companies
Active · Trade services · IV postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DONNACHAIDH PROPERTY LIMITED→ SC259850 · est 2003 | — | — | — | 0 | 22y | 84 | 81y |
| ANKERVILLE NURSERY (ALNESS) LTD.→ SC304455 · est 2006 | — | — | £1.27M | — | 19y | 83 | 67y |
| GARDENWOOD LIMITED→ SC158110 · est 1995 | — | — | £733.6k | — | 30y | 83 | 72y |
| INDEPENDENT CARE PLANS U.K. LTD.→ SC156942 · est 1995 | — | — | £331.4k | — | 31y | 83 | 69y |
| LOGIC ALARMS LIMITED→ SC211267 · est 2000 | — | — | £1.90M | — | 25y | 83 | 74y |
| MORAY FIRTH TRAINING GROUP→ SC104619 · est 1987 | — | — | — | 6 | 38y | 83 | 79y |
| QHS SCOTLAND LTD→ SC315075 · est 2007 | — | — | £1.30M | — | 19y | 83 | 64y |
| ROSEFIELD SALVAGE LIMITED→ SC184024 · est 1998 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 28y | 83 | 65y |
| TARVIE CROFTING ENTERPRISE→ SC191732 · est 1998 | — | — | — | 0 | 27y | 83 | 73y |
| A HORNE PROPERTIES LTD.→ SC377750 · est 2010 | — | — | £713.0k | — | 16y | 82 | 65y |
| ALASTAIR STEWART & SON MEMORIALS LIMITED→ SC360633 · est 2009 | — | — | — | 3 | 16y | 82 | 60y |
| ALLAN W J WILSON LIMITED→ SC096831 · est 1986 | — | — | £98.3k | — | 40y | 82 | 72y |
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 →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
Registered office
Filing status
Officers (1 active · 0 resigned)
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.