WILLIAM STEWART LIMITED

Risk Rating: HIGH Justification: The company is currently in liquidation and exhibits profound balance sheet insolvency. Net liabilities stand at -£233,745, and current liabilities exceed current assets by over £208,000. The company is entirely reliant on the formal liquidation process to address its outstanding obligations and poses a complete loss risk for any equity investment or unsecured creditor engagement.

Key Concerns: * Active Liquidation Status: The company data explicitly confirms the entity is in liquidation. This means the company has ceased normal operations and is under a formal process to wind up its affairs, typically realizing assets to pay off creditors. Investing in or extending credit to this entity is not viable. * Balance Sheet Insolvency: The latest filed accounts (year ending 30 June 2025) show net liabilities of £233,745. While the structured data represents these as positive figures, the filed accounts text clearly uses parentheses to denote negative values for both net current assets (-£208,895) and total net assets (-£233,745). The company's liabilities vastly exceed its assets. * Severe Liquidity Deficit: Current assets stand at a mere £14,258 against current liabilities of £223,153. This leaves a massive working capital deficit, confirming the company has no capacity to meet its short-term debts outside of the liquidation process.

Positive Indicators: * Regulatory Filing Compliance: Despite being in liquidation, the company has maintained its filing requirements. The latest accounts were approved on 22 January 2026, and the confirmation statement is up to date, with the next due in April 2027. This suggests the liquidation or the director is administering the process transparently. * Dormant/Non-Trading Status: The SIC code is 99999 (Dormant Company), and the accounts are prepared under FRS 105 for dormant entities. This indicates the company is not actively trading or accumulating new operational debts, limiting further deterioration of the balance sheet.

Due Diligence Notes: * Type of Liquidation: It is critical to determine whether this is a Members' Voluntary Liquidation (MVL—solvent) or a Creditors' Voluntary Liquidation (CVL—insolvent). Given the negative net assets, it is highly likely to be a CVL, but the official liquidator's details and the specific liquidation route must be confirmed via the Gazette or Companies House filings. * Composition of Liabilities: The nature of the £248,003 in total liabilities (£223,153 current + £24,850 long-term) should be investigated. In dormant, closely-held companies, this often represents director loans or related party debt. Understanding who the primary creditors are will dictate the outcome of the liquidation. * Related Party Interests: Mr. Stewart Burrough owns more than 75% of the shares and is the sole director. As a likely major creditor (if the debt is director-funded) and the sole shareholder, his interests and any security he holds over the assets will dictate the distribution waterfall. * Asset Realization: The £14,258 in current assets (likely cash) is insufficient to cover the liabilities. An investigator must determine if there are any undisclosed fixed assets, intellectual property, or contingent assets that could satisfy the £233k deficit, or if the liabilities will simply be written off as unrecoverable.