B.C.E.(DISTRIBUTORS) LIMITED

🌳Matureactive

01228770 · ltd · incorporated 1975-10-06

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 Jun 2025

Net worth

£1.59M

book net assets

Opportunity

76/100

Strong

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What this business does

Primary activity: Wholesale of household goods (other than musical instruments) n.e.c.

Sector: Wholesale & retail

Investor take

Pursue

Active trading company. Family succession underway — not a classic acquisition target.

Opportunity 76/100 (strong), bankability 57/100. Same-surname younger director in place — likely family handover, not open to sale. Asset purchase likely safer than share purchase given structural signals. Biggest value-creation lever: Consolidate lender relationships. 16 distinct lenders creates friction — refinance into single-lender structure for cleaner diligence. Most likely exit: family or management succession (50/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

19 live charges · 14 lenders · oldest 47.7y

15/100

under pressure

Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.

· Oldest live charge is 47.7 years old — likely at or near maturity.
· 14 lenders named — inter-creditor friction likely.
· Cashflow trend is negative — lender view likely cautious.

Data confidence

Overall: high (82/100)

Strong data coverage across all sections. AI outputs should be trusted with minimal caveats.

Company profile

address, 1 SIC codes, incorporation date

100

Financials

2 years of iXBRL accounts extracted (YoY deltas available) + narrative notes parsed

Lenders & charges

19 charges (19/19 with lender, 19/19 with type)

Directors & officers

27 officers (5 active, 27 linked, 16 with DOB)

Ownership & PSC

1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared

Director network

12 connected companies via shared directors

Filing history

210 filings on record

Gazette notices

No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)

Opportunity Score

76/100Strong

PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional

Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.

Business quality

Adequate — check latest filings for context.

Acquirability

Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.

Risk profile

Few red flags.

Signal strength

100

Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declared

Positive net assets

Net assets £1,585,339

Net assets shrinking

Down £26,653 YoY

Cash YoY

-25%

Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts

Cash

£376k

↓ 25% YoY

Net Worth

£1.6m

↓ 1.7% YoY

Current Assets

£3.0m

↓ 3.6% YoY

Current Liabilities

—

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown

Metric	2025-06-30	2024-06-30
Total assets	£1.75M	£1.98M
Current assets	£3.03M	£3.15M
Cash	£375.7k	£498.7k
Debtors	£2.22M	£2.20M
Net assets	£1.59M	£1.61M

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

filings

Last 90 days

filing

• 1 accounts

Last 180 days

filing

• 1 accounts

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (98 events)Click to expand

2026-03-31
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-small
accounts · AA
2025-10-13
📍
move-registers-to-sail-company-with-new-address
address · AD03
2025-10-13
📍
change-sail-address-company-with-new-address
address · AD02
2025-10-13
📄
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC05
2025-10-13
📄
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC05
2025-10-10
📄
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC05
2025-03-27
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-small
accounts · AA
2024-11-14
📄
mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
mortgage · MR04
2024-11-14
🔓
Charge satisfied #17
2024-11-05
📄
mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
mortgage · MR01
2024-10-28
🔒
Charge registered #19
Lender: Stuart Jonathan Lacey and Emma Claire Lacey
2024-02-29
📄
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2024-02-29
📄
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2024-02-16
➕
LACEY, Claudia Jasmine appointed
director
2024-02-16
➕
LACEY, Isabella Rose appointed
director
2023-12-27
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-small
accounts · AA
2023-06-14
📄
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2023-06-14
📄
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2023-06-14
📄
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2023-01-20
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-small
accounts · AA
2022-03-29
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-small
accounts · AA
2021-06-30
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-small
accounts · AA
2020-10-15
📄
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC05
2017-02-18
🔓
Charge satisfied #13
2017-02-18
🔓
Charge satisfied #11
2017-02-14
🔒
Charge registered #18
Lender: Secure Trust Bank PLC
2017-02-14
🔒
Charge registered #17
Lender: Emma Lacey
2017-01-30
➕
LACEY, Emma Claire appointed
director
2016-03-31
➖
LACEY, Richard resigned
director
2014-02-15
🔓
Charge satisfied #15
2012-04-04
➕
ADDISON, Benjamin James appointed
secretary
2012-04-04
➖
NORGROVE, David John resigned
secretary
2011-11-18
🔒
Charge registered #16
Lender: Sla Property Company Limited
2011-09-16
🔒
Charge registered #15
Lender: Stuart Jonathan Lacey
2008-09-03
🔒
Charge registered #14
Lender: Hazelmere Holdings PLC
2008-01-22
➕
NORGROVE, David John appointed
secretary
2008-01-22
➖
VICARY, Ian Scott resigned
secretary
2007-06-19
➖
MCKENNA, Bryan John resigned
secretary
2007-06-19
➕
VICARY, Ian Scott appointed
secretary
2007-04-13
➕
MCKENNA, Bryan John appointed
secretary
2007-04-13
➖
VICARY, Ian Scott resigned
secretary
2005-10-28
➕
LACEY, Richard appointed
director
2005-03-02
🔓
Charge satisfied #10
2005-02-21
➖
SIMON, Anthony John resigned
director
2005-02-21
🔒
Charge registered #13
Lender: The Royal Bank of Scotland Commercial Services Limited
2000-06-22
🔒
Charge registered #12
Lender: National Westminster Bank PLC
2000-06-14
➖
BERRILL, Sandra Joy resigned
secretary
2000-06-14
➕
VICARY, Ian Scott appointed
secretary
1999-08-06
🔓
Charge satisfied #9
1999-07-22
🔒
Charge registered #11
Lender: National Westminster Bank PLC

Showing most recent 50 of 98 events

Owner dependency

66/100

High — earn-out structure required

Material founder dependency. Consider a 2-3 year earn-out and build in a handover plan before completion.

FACTORS

-4 active directors: Broader management team in place — suggests transferable governance.
+Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 28 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
+Senior director age: Director aged approximately 59 — approaching natural succession window.
+Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.

Succession & seller-readiness

20/100

No succession signal

No meaningful acquirability indicators from public data.

SIGNALS

primaryFamily succession underway: Not a takeover target — LACEY, Claudia Jasmine (same surname) appointed 2024-02-16. Pattern consistent with intra-family handover.
secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 59. Early succession window.
primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 28 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
supportingClean filings + long tenure: Disciplined long-tenure operator — classic lifestyle-business pattern that often sells quietly.

Red flags

1 med · 2 low

Charge satisfaction-then-recreation pattern

medium

Multiple instances where a charge was satisfied and a new charge created within 6 months. Suggests active refinancing cycle.

5 live charges

low

Heavily leveraged with multiple live security positions — understand the capital structure before proceeding.

Multiple registered office changes

low

Multiple address changes in a short period can indicate operational instability or admin disorder.

Group structure

Criticalplace Limited is the ultimate parent — holding 75%+ shares. This company sits inside their group.

🏛️

Criticalplace Limited

Corporate parent · holds 75-100% shares

ultimate parent

⬇

B.C.E.(DISTRIBUTORS) LIMITED

This company · 01228770

Parent relationships inferred from Persons with Significant Control filings. Full subsidiary tree requires reverse-lookup (coming).

Shareholders & ownership

1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%

Name	Shares	Voting rights	Nature of control	Notified
Criticalplace Limited Corporate entity	75–100%	—	75-100% shares	06/04/2016

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 →

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ARMADILLO SUPPLIES LIMITED→ 10744319 · est 2017 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	8y	—	—
ARTISAN CIDERS & ALES LTD→ 13192727 · est 2021 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	5y	—	—
ASHFORD ROSS LTD→ 15757287 · est 2024 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	1y	—	—
ASTON ACRES LTD→ 16558673 · est 2025 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
ATLANTIC BEAUTY STORE LIMITED→ 09141726 · est 2014 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	11y	—	—
AUDEN HAZEL LTD→ 16419505 · est 2025 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
AXONORDIC LTD→ 13125152 · est 2021 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	5y	—	—
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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.

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Company details

Statusactive

Typeltd

Incorporated1975-10-06

Jurisdictionengland-wales

Primary SIC46499 — Wholesale of household goods (other than musical instruments) n.e.c.

Registered office

Unit 12b Severn Bridge Industrial Estate

Symondscliffe Way

Caldicot

Monmouthshire

NP26 5PW

Wales

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: 2027-03-31

Last made up to: 2025-06-30

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2026-10-19

Last: 2025-10-05