FILMCREST DISTRIBUTORS LIMITED
Opportunity 78/100 (strong), bankability 57/100. Same-surname younger director in place — likely family handover, not open to sale. Biggest value-creation lever: Consolidate lender relationships. 17 distinct lenders creates friction — refinance into single-lender structure for cleaner diligence. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).
Refinance opportunity
6 live charges · 5 lenders · oldest 44.5y
Refinance path is blocked by complexity. Rethink structure or expect bespoke, expensive terms.
- · Oldest live charge is 44.5 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · 5 lenders named — inter-creditor friction likely.
- · Legal-friction score 35/100 — workable, but lender will want more DD.
Data confidence
Overall: high (83/100)Strong data coverage across all sections. AI outputs should be trusted with minimal caveats.
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declaredKey financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsHover 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £9.0k | £9.0k |
| Current assets | £9.0k | £9.0k |
| Net assets | £9.0k | £9.0k |
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
Recent activity
- • 1 accounts
Corporate timeline (35 events)Click to expand
- 2026-02-02📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2025-02-03📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-01-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-02-21📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-01-19📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-12-08📄appoint-person-director-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP01
- 2021-11-24➕QUESTED, Christopher John appointeddirector
- 2021-06-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2020-01-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2019-02-11📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2018-04-03📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2017-06-05📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2016-08-18📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2015-10-07📄termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM02
- 2015-10-07📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2015-09-30➖B. H. COMPANY SECRETARIAL SERVICES resignedcorporate-secretary
- 2015-07-14📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2000-02-07➖TAN, Selena resignedsecretary
- 2000-02-07➕B. H. COMPANY SECRETARIAL SERVICES appointedcorporate-secretary
- 1995-09-28➖QUESTED, John resignedsecretary
- 1995-09-28➕TAN, Selena appointedsecretary
- 1995-08-21➕QUESTED, Nicholas appointeddirector
- 1995-08-21➖QUESTED, Barbara resigneddirector
- 1995-08-15➖JOHNSTON, Stephen Robert resigneddirector
- 1993-06-11➕QUESTED, Barbara appointeddirector
- 1992-09-14➕QUESTED, John appointedsecretary
- 1992-09-14➖TAN, Selena resignedsecretary
- 1992-09-14➖TAN, Selena resigneddirector
- 1985-11-06🔒Charge registered #6Lender: Midland Bank PLC
- 1985-01-14🔒Charge registered #5Lender: Electra Investment Trust PLC
- 1983-12-31🔒Charge registered #4Lender: National Film Development Corporation Limited
- 1982-07-28🔒Charge registered #3Lender: National Film Development Corporation Limited
- 1982-03-05🔒Charge registered #2Lender: Barlow Limited
- 1981-12-22🔒Charge registered #1Lender: National Film Finance Corporation
- 1976-04-27🏢Company incorporatedAs FILMCREST DISTRIBUTORS LIMITED
Owner dependency
The business appears inseparable from the founder. Acquisition without a serious earn-out or meaningful transition period would likely destroy value.
- +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 31 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 91 — succession pressure is live.
- +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.
Succession & seller-readiness
Some succession indicators present. Worth watching; approach if sector/strategy fits.
- primaryFamily succession underway: Not a takeover target — QUESTED, Christopher John (same surname) appointed 2021-11-24. Pattern consistent with intra-family handover.
- primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 91 years old. Natural succession window is now.
- primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 31 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 50 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
1 lowHeavily leveraged with multiple live security positions — understand the capital structure before proceeding.
Group structure
Goldcrest Investment Holdings Ltd holds 25-50% — a significant corporate investor but not a controlling parent.
Parent relationships inferred from Persons with Significant Control filings. Full subsidiary tree requires reverse-lookup (coming).
Shareholders & ownership
1 active beneficial owner| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Goldcrest Investment Holdings Ltd Corporate entity | — | — | sig. influencesignificant influence | 26/07/2016 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
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 · Leisure & entertainment · W postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ACCELERATE MGMT LTD→ 13395181 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| ACCELERATE TRAVEL LIMITED→ 13707837 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| ACKERMAN STUDIOS LTD.→ 10148071 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| ACTIV-T'S LTD→ 09684988 · est 2015 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 10y | — | — |
| ACTIVE GROUP LIMITED→ 03830260 · est 1999 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 26y | — | — |
| ACTIVE MEANWHILE LIMITED→ 16417405 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ACTIVE SPORT CAPITAL LIMITED→ 12625659 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| ACTON BALLET SCHOOL LIMITED→ 10216326 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| ACTON NETBALL LIMITED→ 07202484 · est 2010 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 16y | — | — |
| ADAMA ENTERTAINMENT LIMITED→ 11148617 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| ADAMS-COHEN COMPANY LTD→ 15874221 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| ADGS HEXAGON JVCO LIMITED→ 15282579 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
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 →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
Registered office
Filing status
Officers (3 active · 7 resigned)
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| outstanding | Midland Bank Midland Bank PLC | Charge over all book debts | 1 property | 06/11/1985 | — | |
| outstanding | Electra Investment Trust / National Film Development Corporation / Godlcrest Films International / International Film Investors LP. / Goldcrest Films and Television / Noble Grossart Investments Electra Investment Trust PLC / National Film Development Corporation Limited / Godlcrest Films International / International Film Investors LP. / Goldcrest Films and Television Limited / Noble Grossart Investments Limited | Charge | 1 property | 14/01/1985 | — | |
| outstanding | National Film Development Corporation / Goldcrest Films and Television / Goldcrest Films International / Electra Investment Trust / International Film Investors LP / Noble Grossart Investments National Film Development Corporation Limited / Goldcrest Films and Television Limited / Goldcrest Films International / Electra Investment Trust Limited / International Film Investors LP / Noble Grossart Investments Limited | Charge | 1 property | 31/12/1983 | — | |
| outstanding | National Film Development Corporation / International Film Investors L P / Ple (Jersey) / Electra Investment Trust . / Goldcrest Films International / Noble Grosseur Investment National Film Development Corporation Limited / International Film Investors L P / Ple (Jersey) Limited / Electra Investment Trust LTD. / Goldcrest Films International / Noble Grosseur Investment Limited | Charge | 1 property | 28/07/1982 | — | |
| outstanding | Barlow Barlow Limited | Charge | 1 property | 05/03/1982 | — | |
| outstanding | National Film Finance Corporation / Goldcrest Films International & Boyds Co Film Production National Film Finance Corporation / Goldcrest Films International & Boyds Co Film Production Limited | Charge | 1 property | 22/12/1981 | — |