JOHNSTON & BULMAN LIMITED
🌳Matureactive
01092205 · ltd · incorporated 1973-01-24
Investment thesis
Established operating company — standard diligence applies, no dominant angle.
Why interesting: Live, filing, normal profile.
Why risky: No standout signals in either direction.
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Dec 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 46130
Sector: Wholesale & retail
Investor take
PursueActive trading company with a 83-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (63/100, director aged 83). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).
Data confidence
Overall: medium (77/100)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
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
7 officers (4 active, 7 linked, 6 with DOB)
87
Ownership & PSC
4 active PSC(s) of 5 total, 5 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
132 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
80/100Exceptional
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
90
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 · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2025-12-31 | 2024-12-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Average employees | 700 | 700 |
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
1
filing
- • 1 accounts
Last 90 days
4
filings
- • 1 accounts
- • 1 persons-with-significant-control
- • 1 officers
Last 180 days
4
filings
- • 1 accounts
- • 1 persons-with-significant-control
- • 1 officers
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (24 events)Click to expand
- 2026-07-13📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2026-05-19📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2026-05-19📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2025-09-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-05-21📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-05-15📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2024-02-06📄termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM02
- 2024-01-30➖BULMAN, Sheila Gordon resignedsecretary
- 2023-06-15📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-04-06➕NORWOOD, James Richard appointeddirector
- 2023-04-06📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2023-04-06📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2023-04-06📄appoint-person-director-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP01
- 2023-04-05📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2023-03-31➖NORWOOD, Peter Malcolm Wilfrid resigneddirector
- 2022-08-01📄change-person-director-companyofficers · CH01
- 2022-07-29📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2022-03-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-04-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-03-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2009-01-01➕BULMAN, Paul Gordon appointeddirector
- 2009-01-01➖BULMAN, Sheila Gordon resigneddirector
- 2002-03-11➕NORWOOD, Richard appointeddirector
- 1973-01-24🏢Company incorporatedAs JOHNSTON & BULMAN LIMITED
Owner dependency
88/100
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
- -4 active directors: Broader management team in place — suggests transferable governance.
- +Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "BULMAN" — strong identity link between founder and business.
- +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 24 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 83 — succession pressure is live.
- +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.
Succession & seller-readiness
90/100
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.
- primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 24 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 53 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
4 active beneficial owners · fragmented| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr James Richard Norwood Individual · British · DOB 11/1996 · age 30 | — | — | sig. influencesignificant influence | 31/03/2023 |
Mr David Edwin Bulman Individual · British · DOB 10/1943 · age 83 | — | — | sig. influencesignificant influence | 30/06/2016 |
Mr Paul Gordon Bulman Individual · British · DOB 03/1981 · age 45 | — | — | sig. influencesignificant influence | 30/06/2016 |
Mr Richard Norwood Individual · British · DOB 01/1964 · age 62 | — | — | sig. influencesignificant influence | 30/06/2016 |
1 historic (ceased) PSC
- Mr Peter Malcolm Wilfrid Norwoodceased 31/03/2023· significant influence
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Similar companies
Active · Wholesale & distribution · CA postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| H.A.C AGRI SERVICES LIMITED→ 10286017 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| HARVEST PARTS LIMITED→ 08084372 · est 2012 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 13y | — | — |
| HOUSE OF MALT LIMITED→ 15378637 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| I'M BIOTECHNOLOGY LIMITED→ 16696838 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| JAZZPOWER LIMITED→ 03778112 · est 1999 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 26y | — | — |
| JB NUTRITION (CARLISLE) LIMITED→ 08539730 · est 2013 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 12y | — | — |
| JOHNSTON EXCAVATORS LTD→ 11632442 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| JOHNSTON TRACTORS LIMITED→ 07860331 · est 2011 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 14y | — | — |
| JOHNSTONS CLEANING & MAINTENANCE PRODUCTS WEST CUMBRIA LTD→ 16658646 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| K-TEC SYSTEMS LTD→ 13508542 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| KARYS ELISE AESTHETICS LTD→ 16512878 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| KCM INNOVATIONS LTD→ 16157015 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions
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 →🔒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
Incorporated1973-01-24
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC46130 — SIC 46130
Registered office
Lancaster Street
Carlisle
Cumbria
CA1 1TD
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-09-30
Last made up to: 2025-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-05-29
Last: 2026-05-15
Officers (4 active · 3 resigned)
Active
BULMAN, Paul Gordon→
Activedirector · ~45y · appointed 2009-01-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
NORWOOD, James Richard→
Activedirector · ~30y · appointed 2023-04-06
View their other companies + combined net worth →
NORWOOD, Richard→
Activedirector · ~62y · appointed 2002-03-11
View their other companies + combined net worth →
BULMAN, Sheila Gordon→
Resignedsecretary · resigned 2024-01-30
BULMAN, Sheila Gordon→
Resigneddirector · ~81y · resigned 2009-01-01
NORWOOD, Peter Malcolm Wilfrid→
Resigneddirector · ~71y · resigned 2023-03-31
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (132 total)
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2026-07-13
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2026-05-19
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2026-05-19
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-05-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-09-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-05-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-05-21
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-05-15
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2024-05-15
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-03-14
termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM02
2024-02-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-06-15
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2023-04-06
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2023-04-06
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2023-04-06