CATERWARE LIMITED

🌳Matureactive

01306362 · ltd · incorporated 1977-04-01

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

hardening · 12-months

Already tight — no obvious softening catalysts on the horizon.

· Thesis: well-run, low negotiation leverage

🔒Estimated value

—

Upgrade to see

Turnover

—

year to Dec 2025

Net worth

£1.81M

book net assets

Opportunity

78/100

Strong

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What this business does

Primary activity: SIC 46440

Sector: Wholesale & retail

ALSO REGISTERED FOR

46520SIC 46520
47190Other retail sale in non-specialised stores
56210Event catering activities

Investor take

Pursue

Active trading company with a 64-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 78/100 (strong), bankability 80/100. Strong seller-intent signal (65/100, director aged 64). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Cash flow review and working-capital discipline. Cash down -56% YoY — forensic review of receivables, stock turns, and creditor days. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

3 live charges · oldest 44.8y

45/100

under pressure

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

· Oldest live charge is 44.8 years old — likely at or near maturity.
· Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
· Cashflow trend is negative — lender view likely cautious.

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, 4 SIC codes, incorporation date

100

Financials

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

Lenders & charges

3 charges (3/3 with lender, 3/3 with type)

Directors & officers

7 officers (2 active, 7 linked, 5 with DOB)

Ownership & PSC

1 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared

Director network

Network not yet resolved

Filing history

139 filings on record

Gazette notices

No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)

Opportunity Score

78/100Strong

PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional

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

Business quality

Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.

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 £1,810,017

Cash draining

Cash down 56% YoY

Cash YoY

-56%

Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts

Cash

£237k

↓ 56% YoY

Net Worth

£1.8m

↑ 1.2% YoY

Current Assets

£1.7m

↑ 20% YoY

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
Total assets	£1.81M	£1.79M
Current assets	£1.70M	£1.41M
Cash	£236.7k	£542.0k
Debtors	£1.25M	£561.3k
Net assets	£1.81M	£1.79M

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

filing

• 1 confirmation-statement

Last 90 days

filing

• 1 confirmation-statement

Last 180 days

filings

• 1 confirmation-statement
• 1 accounts

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (31 events)Click to expand

2026-02-27
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-03-31
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-small
accounts · AA
2024-04-16
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-small
accounts · AA
2024-03-14
📄
capital-cancellation-shares
capital · SH06
2024-03-14
📄
capital-return-purchase-own-shares
capital · SH03
2023-03-20
📄
capital-return-purchase-own-shares
capital · SH03
2023-03-15
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-small
accounts · AA
2023-03-14
📄
capital-cancellation-shares
capital · SH06
2023-03-03
➖
WHATTAM, Hazel resigned
director
2023-03-03
📄
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2022-07-15
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-01-17
📄
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2021-06-21
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-03-02
📄
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2021-03-02
📄
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2021-03-01
➖
DRAZEN, Bernard resigned
director
2020-12-01
📄
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2020-12-01
📄
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2020-11-30
➖
DRAZEN, Helen resigned
director
2020-04-07
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-small
accounts · AA
2019-03-01
➕
MALLETT, Simon appointed
director
2009-10-19
➖
WHATTAM, Hazel resigned
secretary
2007-01-01
➖
DRAZEN, Helen resigned
secretary
2007-01-01
➕
WHATTAM, Hazel appointed
secretary
1998-01-05
➕
WHATTAM, Hazel appointed
director
1997-04-24
🔓
Charge satisfied #2
1997-04-24
🔓
Charge satisfied #1
1994-04-18
🔒
Charge registered #3
Lender: Barclays Bank PLC
1983-05-23
🔒
Charge registered #2
Lender: Barclays Bank PLC
1981-10-21
🔒
Charge registered #1
Lender: Barclays Bank PLC
1977-04-01
🏢
Company incorporated
As CATERWARE LIMITED

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

+Two-director setup: Only two active directors — typical of owner-managed SMEs but limits succession.
+Senior director age: Director aged approximately 64 — approaching natural succession window.

Succession & seller-readiness

66/100

Strong succession signal

Multiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.

SIGNALS

primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 64. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 49 years old and no new directors in the last 3 years — succession not yet being planned internally.

Red flags

1 med ·

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.

Shareholders & ownership

1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%

Name	Shares	Voting rights	Nature of control	Notified
Mr Mark Julian Drazen Individual · British · DOB 12/1962 · age 64	75–100%	75–100%	75-100% shares · 75-100% voting	06/04/2016

1 historic (ceased) PSC

Mr Bernard Drazenceased 01/03/2021· 50-75% shares · 50-75% voting · board control

From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.

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Active · Wholesale & distribution · FY postcode area

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BIGBUOY UK LTD→ 16361138 · est 2025 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	1y	—	—
BLUE PROMOTIONS LIMITED→ 15858364 · est 2024 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	1y	—	—
CARDWELL BUTCHERS LIMITED→ 15108848 · est 2023 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	2y	—	—
CARTMELL CONISTON LTD→ 16381636 · est 2025 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	1y	—	—
CATTON RECYCLING LIMITED→ 11502907 · est 2018 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	7y	—	—
CCHS1 LTD→ 16341724 · est 2025 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	1y	—	—
CECIL ELMS LTD→ 16362821 · est 2025 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	1y	—	—
CELPLAS PVC LIMITED→ 04324344 · est 2001 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	24y	—	—
CENTRAL WHOLESALE LIMITED→ 05874040 · est 2006 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	19y	—	—
CHESTER MACINTOSH UK LTD→ 16354680 · est 2025 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	1y	—	—
CHOSELEY ORCHARD LTD→ 16387461 · est 2025 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	1y	—	—
CHRISTIAN FOWLER UK LIMITED→ 16350088 · est 2025 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	1y	—	—

Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →

🔒Tailored diligence questions

6 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

Incorporated1977-04-01

Jurisdictionengland-wales

Primary SIC46440 — SIC 46440

Registered office

Caterware House

Welbeck Avenue Vicarage Lane

Blackpool

Lancashire

FY4 4ES

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: 2027-09-30

Last made up to: 2025-12-31

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2027-07-30

Last: 2026-07-16

Officers (2 active · 5 resigned)

DRAZEN, Mark Julian→

director · ~64y

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

MALLETT, Simon→

director · ~59y · appointed 2019-03-01

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

DRAZEN, Helen→

secretary · resigned 2007-01-01

Resigned

WHATTAM, Hazel→

secretary · appointed 2007-01-01 · resigned 2009-10-19

Resigned

DRAZEN, Bernard→

director · ~94y · resigned 2021-03-01

Resigned

DRAZEN, Helen→

director · ~91y · resigned 2020-11-30

Resigned

WHATTAM, Hazel→

director · ~61y · appointed 1998-01-05 · resigned 2023-03-03

Resigned

Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.

Mortgages & charges

Total charges

Outstanding

Active lenders

Status:Lender:3 of 3 shown

		Type	Properties
outstanding	Barclays Barclays Bank PLC	Legal charge	1 property	18/04/1994	—
satisfied	Barclays Barclays Bank PLC	Legal charge	1 property	23/05/1983	24/04/1997
satisfied	Barclays Barclays Bank PLC	Legal charge	1 property	21/10/1981	24/04/1997

Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (139 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2026-07-20

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full

accounts · AA

2026-02-27

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2025-07-21

accounts-with-accounts-type-small

accounts · AA

2025-03-31

confirmation-statement-with-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2024-07-16

accounts-with-accounts-type-small

accounts · AA

2024-04-16

capital-cancellation-shares

capital · SH06

2024-03-14

capital-return-purchase-own-shares

capital · SH03

2024-03-14

confirmation-statement-with-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2023-07-20

capital-return-purchase-own-shares

capital · SH03

2023-03-20

accounts-with-accounts-type-small

accounts · AA

2023-03-15

capital-cancellation-shares

capital · SH06

2023-03-14

termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date

officers · TM01

2023-03-03

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2022-07-21

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full

accounts · AA

2022-07-15