BEDFORD ENGINEERING CO.(MANCHESTER)LIMITED
🌳Matureactive
00690575 · ltd · incorporated 1961-04-24
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
approaching window · 12-months
Approaching a transaction window — refinance or sale event plausible in the next 12 months.
- · Oldest live charge 36.5y old — refinance window within 12 months
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Jul 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 25990
Sector: Manufacturing
Investor take
PursueActive trading company with a 76-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 76). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Discharge stale live charges. 2 live charge(s) created 15+ years ago — likely paid but undischarged. Clean register. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
3 live charges · 2 lenders · oldest 36.5y
50/100
clean up first
Refinance viable after a tidy-up — address the highlighted items first.
- · Oldest live charge is 36.5 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Two lenders — manageable, but coordination required.
- · Legal-friction score 25/100 — workable, but lender will want more DD.
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
3 charges (3/3 with lender, 3/3 with type)
90
Directors & officers
4 officers (3 active, 4 linked, 2 with DOB)
80
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
3 connected companies via shared directors
54
Filing history
101 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 | 2025-07-31 | 2024-07-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Average employees | 15 | 1500 |
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
🔒Filing-note intelligence
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
Last 30 days
0
filings
Last 90 days
0
filings
Last 180 days
1
filing
- • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (21 events)Click to expand
- 2026-04-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2025-04-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-04-15📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-01-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-04-08📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-06-29📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2021-04-20📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-08-10📄mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-datemortgage · MR01
- 2020-08-06🔒Charge registered #3Lender: Barclays Security Trustee Limited
- 2020-02-14📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-11-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-11-03📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-04-01📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2016-02-18📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2015-12-17📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2015-06-01📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2007-01-09➕BOOTHBY, Nicholas James appointeddirector
- 1990-07-13🔒Charge registered #2Lender: Midland Bank PLC
- 1990-03-13➖BOOTHBY, Karen resignedsecretary
- 1990-01-19🔒Charge registered #1Lender: Midland Bank PLC
- 1961-04-24🏢Company incorporatedAs BEDFORD ENGINEERING CO.(MANCHESTER)LIMITED
Owner dependency
91/100
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
- +Two-director setup: Only two active directors — typical of owner-managed SMEs but limits succession.
- +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 20 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 76 — succession pressure is live.
- +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.
Succession & seller-readiness
89/100
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 76 years old. Natural succession window is now.
- secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
- secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 20 years.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 65 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
2 active beneficial owners| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Jeffrey John Boothby Individual · British · DOB 04/1950 · age 76 | 50–75% | 50–75% | board control50-75% shares · 50-75% voting · board control | 01/07/2016 |
Mrs Karen Boothby Individual · British · DOB 11/1956 · age 70 | 25–50% | 25–50% | board control25-50% shares · 25-50% voting · board control | 01/07/2016 |
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 · SK postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AUTOMATEDTECHNOLOGIES LTD→ 07248821 · est 2010 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 15y | — | — |
| BAFFLE ACOUSTICS LTD→ 15669547 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| BELLE ENGINEERING (SHEEN) LIMITED→ 00682892 · est 1961 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 65y | — | — |
| BELLE HOLDINGS LIMITED→ 03390592 · est 1997 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 28y | — | — |
| BENRING LIMITED→ 03474924 · est 1997 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 28y | — | — |
| BERWIN INDUSTRIAL POLYMERS LIMITED→ 00592719 · est 1957 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 68y | — | — |
| BESPOKE LASERCUTZ LIMITED→ 10677939 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| BESPOKE LUXURY RUGS BY VOGUE LIMITED→ 16718657 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| BESPOKE PACKING SOLUTION LTD→ 12760923 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| BEST KNITWEAR LIMITED→ 02254685 · est 1988 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 37y | — | — |
| BETA ENGINEERING LIMITED→ 03691975 · est 1999 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 27y | — | — |
| BETA POWER ENGINEERING LIMITED→ 01185900 · est 1974 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 51y | — | — |
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
Incorporated1961-04-24
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC25990 — SIC 25990
Registered office
Bedford Engineering Co.(Manchester) Limited Whitefield Road
Bredbury
Stockport
SK6 2QR
England
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-04-30
Last made up to: 2025-07-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-01-14
Last: 2025-12-31
Officers (3 active · 1 resigned)
Active
Active
BOOTHBY, Nicholas James→
Activedirector · ~45y · appointed 2007-01-09
View their other companies + combined net worth →
BOOTHBY, Karen→
Resignedsecretary · resigned 1990-03-13
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
3
Total charges
3
Outstanding
2
Active lenders
Status:Lender:3 of 3 shown
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| outstanding | Barclays Barclays Security Trustee Limited | A registered charge | — | 06/08/2020 | — | |
| outstanding | Midland Bank Midland Bank PLC | Legal charge | 1 property | 13/07/1990 | — | |
| outstanding | Midland Bank Midland Bank PLC | Fixed and floating charge | 1 property | 19/01/1990 | — |
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.
Recent filings (101 total)
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2026-04-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-12-31
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-04-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-01-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-04-15
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-01-01
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-01-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-01-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-04-08
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-01-17
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2021-06-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-04-20
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-03-02
mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
mortgage · MR01
2020-08-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-02-14