BIRMINGHAM GUN BARREL COMPANY, LIMITED(THE)
💤Zombieactive
00515922 · ltd · incorporated 1953-02-09
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 Dec 2024
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: Machining
Sector: Manufacturing
Investor take
PursueActive trading company with a 83-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 80/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 83). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Discharge stale live charges. 1 live charge(s) created 15+ years ago — likely paid but undischarged. Clean register. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
1 live charge · oldest 43.3y
45/100
under pressure
Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.
- · Oldest live charge is 43.3 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
- · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.
Data confidence
Overall: medium (79/100)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
1 charges (1/1 with lender, 1/1 with type)
90
Directors & officers
6 officers (1 active, 6 linked, 4 with DOB)
83
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
2 connected companies via shared directors
51
Filing history
105 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
82/100Exceptional
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
100
Good data coverage for analysis.
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102| Metric | 2024-12-31 | 2023-12-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Average employees | 200 | 200 |
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
- 2025-09-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-09-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-09-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-10-03📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-10-01📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-01-04📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-10-02📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-09-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-10-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-07-25📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2017-02-22📄termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM02
- 2017-02-21➖WESTWOOD, Joy Lilian resignedsecretary
- 2016-09-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2016-07-22📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2015-09-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2015-08-21📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2003-05-31➖WESTWOOD, Joy Lilian resigneddirector
- 1993-05-24➕WESTWOOD, Roger Keith appointeddirector
- 1993-05-24➖BRETTELL, Roger Melvin resignedsecretary
- 1993-05-24➖BRETTELL, Roger Melvin resigneddirector
- 1993-05-24➖PRIEST, Maurice William Dallow resigneddirector
- 1983-03-25🔒Charge registered #1Lender: Barclays Bank PLC
- 1953-02-09🏢Company incorporatedAs BIRMINGHAM GUN BARREL COMPANY, LIMITED(THE)
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 33 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 83 — succession pressure is live.
Succession & seller-readiness
100/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 83 years old. Natural succession window is now.
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
- primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 33 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 73 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 Roger Keith Westwood Individual · British · DOB 05/1943 · age 83 | 75–100% | 75–100% | board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control | 18/06/2017 |
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 · Manufacturing · WS postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ARKRITE FENCING MANUFACTURERS LIMITED→ 01145068 · est 1973 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 52y | — | — |
| B & R (2005) LIMITED→ 00260132 · est 1931 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 94y | — | — |
| BARNFATHER WIRE (MIDLANDS) LIMITED→ 06437348 · est 2007 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 18y | — | — |
| BARNFATHER WIRE LIMITED→ 07030126 · est 2009 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 16y | — | — |
| BEACON DESIGN & ENGINEERING LIMITED→ 03550810 · est 1998 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 27y | — | — |
| BENHILL PRESS LIMITED(THE)→ 00491918 · est 1951 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 75y | — | — |
| BJS MANUFACTURING UK LIMITED→ 15543586 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| BLACK COUNTRY ELECTRICAL SUPPLIES LTD→ 13572157 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| BLACK COUNTRY GLASS LTD→ 11100646 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| BLACK COUNTRY SADDLES LIMITED→ 04513414 · est 2002 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 23y | — | — |
| BLACK COUNTRY WINDOWS LIMITED→ 02607284 · est 1991 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 34y | — | — |
| BLACK LAKE KITCHENS LIMITED→ 08970762 · est 2014 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 12y | — | — |
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
Incorporated1953-02-09
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC25620 — Machining
Registered office
70 Lower High Street
Wednesbury
West Midlands
WS10 7AP
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last made up to: 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-07-02
Last: 2026-06-18
Officers (1 active · 5 resigned)
WESTWOOD, Roger Keith→
Activedirector · ~83y · appointed 1993-05-24
View their other companies + combined net worth →
BRETTELL, Roger Melvin→
Resignedsecretary · resigned 1993-05-24
WESTWOOD, Joy Lilian→
Resignedsecretary · resigned 2017-02-21
BRETTELL, Roger Melvin→
Resigneddirector · ~95y · resigned 1993-05-24
PRIEST, Maurice William Dallow→
Resigneddirector · ~107y · resigned 1993-05-24
WESTWOOD, Joy Lilian→
Resigneddirector · ~84y · resigned 2003-05-31
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
1
Total charges
1
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:1 of 1 shown
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| outstanding | Barclays Barclays Bank PLC | Debenture | 1 property | 25/03/1983 | — |
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.
Recent filings (105 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-06-24
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-09-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-06-26
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-09-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-07-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-09-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-06-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-10-03
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-06-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-10-01
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-06-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-01-04
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-06-25
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-10-02
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-07-03