What a buyer sees
THOMSON SAWMILLS LIMITED
Sawmilling and planing of wood · Norwich · 03179745
56staff · FY2023
30years trading
—oldest owner on file
£74kcash at bank
Your turnover is on public record
filed£18Mfor the year to 2023
Unusual at this size, and it works in your favour: a buyer is reading your number rather than guessing at one.
What your filings show moving
Staff56
202157 → 562023
Cash at bank£74k
2021£823k → £74k2023
How you sit in your trade
slowest tenth typical fastest tenth youSales per employee£317,184in the top quarter
£138,710£230,370£499,190
Debtor daysdays62in the middle half
174876
Creditor daysdays40
142845
Stock daysdays36in the bottom quarter
2365101
Each spread is companies in the same trade and size that did publish a turnover. Creditor days are shown but not marked: neither end of that one is plainly good.
What a buyer would ask 2
- The newest accounts on file are 37 months oldAnyone looking at the company today is reading a year that has already ended. Whatever has improved since is invisible.
- No website on file against the companyThe first thing anyone does with a company number is look for the business behind it. Finding nothing is its own answer.
What a buyer would like 4
- 30 years of trading on fileLongevity is the cheapest evidence there is that the business is not one contract.
- Sales per employee better than three quarters of your tradeYours is 317,184 against 230,370 for the middle of 30 comparable companies.
- Stock days better than three quarters of your tradeYours is 36 against 65 for the middle of 32 comparable companies.
- A board that has been together ten years or moreContinuity a buyer does not have to take on trust.
What the register says
Owners
Nobody recorded with significant control.
Directors
- 70since 1996
- 68since 1996
- 47since 2008
- 46since 2008
- 38since 2008
- 35since 2010
| Year to | Turnover | Staff | Cash |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-07-31 | £18M | 56 | £74k |
| 2022-07-31 | £25M | 59 | £330k |
| 2021-07-31 | £20M | 57 | £823k |
A rough bracket, and why it is only that
0.4–0.9× sales£7.1M£16M
The turnover range is fitted on UK companies that did file one. The multiple is a published sector average from Dutch mid-market deals, not from your own numbers and not from your own market. Treat this as the opening bracket of a conversation, not a valuation.