BIRFORD CABLE & HARNESS LIMITED
Opportunity 73/100 (strong), bankability 70/100. High owner-dependency — earn-out structure likely required for clean transition. Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Discharge stale live charges. 3 live charge(s) created 15+ years ago — likely paid but undischarged. Clean register. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (58/100).
Refinance opportunity
5 live charges · oldest 46.1y
Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.
- · Oldest live charge is 46.1 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
- · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.
Data confidence
Overall: high (80/100)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 · FRS 102Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsHover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102| Metric | 2025-12-31 | 2024-12-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £1.53M | £1.71M |
| Current assets | £1.69M | £1.80M |
| Cash | £527.9k | £520.7k |
| Debtors | £729.5k | £763.4k |
| Net assets | £1.46M | £1.63M |
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
2 signals 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
- • 1 accounts
- • 1 accounts
- • 1 accounts
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Corporate timeline (30 events)Click to expand
- 2026-07-09📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2025-04-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-03-12📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-03-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-01-17📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2022-03-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-09-08📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-05-12📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-06-12📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-04-16📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC05
- 2018-09-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-07-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-01-30📄termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM02
- 2017-01-25📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2016-12-22➖WASE, Thomas William David resignedsecretary
- 2016-12-22➖WASE, Thomas William David resigneddirector
- 2013-09-25🔒Charge registered #5Lender: Barclays Bank PLC
- 2013-06-24🔒Charge registered #4Lender: Barclays Bank PLC
- 2001-01-01➕WASE, Christopher Daniel appointeddirector
- 2000-12-31➖BRIGGS, Michael John resigneddirector
- 1996-04-03🔒Charge registered #3Lender: Barclays Bank PLC
- 1995-07-21➖MOUNTFORD, John Thomas resignedsecretary
- 1995-07-21➕WASE, Thomas William David appointedsecretary
- 1995-07-21➕BRIGGS, Michael John appointeddirector
- 1995-07-21➖HACKETT, Frederick Bernard resigneddirector
- 1995-07-21➖MOUNTFORD, John Thomas resigneddirector
- 1995-07-21➕WASE, Thomas William David appointeddirector
- 1984-06-25🔒Charge registered #2Lender: Barclays Bank PLC
- 1980-05-21🔒Charge registered #1Lender: Barclays Bank PLC
- 1978-08-03🏢Company incorporatedAs BIRFORD CABLE & HARNESS LIMITED
Owner dependency
The business appears inseparable from the founder. Acquisition without a serious earn-out or meaningful transition period would likely destroy value.
- +Sole director: Only one active director — all governance concentrated on one person.
- +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 26 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
Succession & seller-readiness
Strong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
- primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 26 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 48 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
Cdw Holdings Limited is the ultimate parent — holding 75%+ shares. This company sits inside their group.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Cdw Holdings Limited Corporate entity | 75–100% | — | 75-100% shares | 01/08/2016 |
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 · Manufacturing · WV postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| B.O.E. (BOWMEN OF ENGLAND) LIMITED→ 03042677 · est 1995 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 31y | — | — |
| BESPOKE (MIDLANDS) LIMITED→ 05450529 · est 2005 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 20y | — | — |
| BEST QUALITY WINDOWS & DOORS LIMITED→ 16573650 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| BETAPRINT PRESS LIMITED→ 01268310 · est 1976 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 49y | — | — |
| BIG POINT LIMITED→ 12443324 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| BIG TIMBER LTD→ 15105608 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| BIGTEN SPORTS LTD→ 16667201 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| BIKONIK LTD→ 08627969 · est 2013 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 12y | — | — |
| BIO INNOVATION VENTURES LIMITED→ 16553193 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| BJ FLEETS LTD→ 13823720 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| BL WATCH REPAIR LTD→ 13970395 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| BLACK BONES JEWELLERY LTD→ 16378272 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
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 (1 active · 6 resigned)
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| outstanding | Barclays Barclays Bank PLC | A registered charge | 1 property | 25/09/2013 | — | |
| outstanding | Barclays Barclays Bank PLC | A registered charge | 1 property | 24/06/2013 | — | |
| outstanding | Barclays Barclays Bank PLC | Debenture | 1 property | 03/04/1996 | — | |
| outstanding | Barclays Barclays Bank PLC | Legal charge | 1 property | 25/06/1984 | — | |
| outstanding | Barclays Barclays Bank PLC | Debenture | 1 property | 21/05/1980 | — |