BUTTONS BEAR AND FRIENDS LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
01433838 · ltd · incorporated 1979-06-29
Investment thesis
Zombie company — trading but stalled; unlikely mover.
Why interesting: Quiet, steady; could be a succession or carve-out candidate with the right conversation.
Why risky: No growth signal; thin margin for error on price.
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
not disclosed
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
78/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 99999
Sector: Extraterritorial bodies
Investor take
PursueActive trading company with a 74-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 78/100 (strong), bankability 67/100. Strong seller-intent signal (78/100, director aged 74). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Consolidate lender relationships. 3 distinct lenders creates friction — refinance into single-lender structure for cleaner diligence. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
3 live charges · 3 lenders · oldest 43.7y
15/100
under pressure
Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.
- · Oldest live charge is 43.7 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · 3 lenders named — inter-creditor friction likely.
- · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.
Data confidence
Overall: medium (60/100)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
No iXBRL financials extracted
0
Lenders & charges
3 charges (3/3 with lender, 3/3 with type)
90
Directors & officers
10 officers (1 active, 10 linked, 8 with DOB)
86
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
10 connected companies via shared directors
75
Filing history
127 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
78/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
70
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
82
Few red flags.
Signal strength
100
Good data coverage for analysis.
Recent activity
Last 30 days
0
filings
Last 90 days
1
filing
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
1
filing
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (40 events)Click to expand
- 2025-10-02📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2025-05-06📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2025-05-06📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC05
- 2025-05-06📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2025-04-10📄mortgage-satisfy-charge-fullmortgage · MR04
- 2025-04-10📄mortgage-satisfy-charge-fullmortgage · MR04
- 2025-04-10🔓Charge satisfied #3
- 2025-04-10🔓Charge satisfied #2
- 2025-04-08📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC05
- 2025-04-07📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2025-04-07📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2024-10-09📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2024-05-17📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2024-04-19➖JOHNSON, Kevin Andrew resigneddirector
- 2023-09-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2022-11-17📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2021-12-07📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2021-07-10📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2021-05-12📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2020-11-19📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2019-09-18📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2014-07-28➕CHAING, Ben Ka Ping appointeddirector
- 2014-07-28➖GARDNER, Edward Danny resignedsecretary
- 2014-07-28➖GARDNER, Edward Danny resigneddirector
- 2014-07-28➖GARDNER, Gary Timothy resigneddirector
- 2014-07-28➕JOHNSON, Kevin Andrew appointeddirector
- 2005-01-26➖MATTHEWS, Susanna Yin Fan resignedsecretary
- 2005-01-26➕GARDNER, Gary Timothy appointeddirector
- 2005-01-26➖MATTHEWS, Lloyd Harry resigneddirector
- 2004-03-01➕GARDNER, Edward Danny appointedsecretary
- 2004-03-01➕GARDNER, Edward Danny appointeddirector
- 2003-06-30➖MATTHEWS, James Gordon resigneddirector
- 2001-11-26➕MATTHEWS, James Gordon appointeddirector
- 2001-11-26➖MATTHEWS, Susanna Yin Fan resigneddirector
- 1998-07-02➖CHAN, Man Tat resigneddirector
- 1998-07-02➕MATTHEWS, Susanna Yin Fan appointeddirector
- 1987-06-16🔒Charge registered #3Lender: Barclays Bank PLC
- 1983-09-21🔒Charge registered #2Lender: The Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation.
- 1982-09-07🔒Charge registered #1Lender: Bank of China
- 1979-06-29🏢Company incorporatedAs BUTTONS BEAR AND FRIENDS LIMITED
Owner dependency
90/100
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
- +Sole director: Only one active director — all governance concentrated on one person.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 74 — succession pressure is live.
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 74 years old. Natural succession window is now.
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 47 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 lowMultiple registered office changes
lowMultiple address changes in a short period can indicate operational instability or admin disorder.
Group structure
Humatt Limited is the ultimate parent — holding 75%+ shares. This company sits inside their group.
🏛️ultimate parent
Humatt Limited
Corporate parent · holds 75-100% shares · board control
⬇
BUTTONS BEAR AND FRIENDS LIMITED
This company · 01433838
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Humatt Limited Corporate entity | 75–100% | 75–100% | board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control | 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.
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BISLEY GUN CLUB LTD.→ 08753950 · est 2013 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 12y | — | — |
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| CALLISTO MARINE LTD→ 10802517 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| CAMBRIDGE BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT LIMITED→ 08811419 · est 2013 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 12y | — | — |
| CAMPDEN ROAD LLP→ OC446463 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| CAMROSE COURT RESIDENTS ASSOCIATION LIMITED→ 06001234 · est 2006 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 19y | — | — |
Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions
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 →🔒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
Incorporated1979-06-29
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC99999 — SIC 99999
Registered office
Alhambra House
9 St Michael's Road
Croydon
CR0 2ZD
United Kingdom
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last made up to: 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-04-24
Last: 2026-04-10
Officers (1 active · 9 resigned)
CHAING, Ben Ka Ping→
Activedirector · ~74y · appointed 2014-07-28
View their other companies + combined net worth →
GARDNER, Edward Danny→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 2004-03-01 · resigned 2014-07-28
MATTHEWS, Susanna Yin Fan→
Resignedsecretary · resigned 2005-01-26
CHAN, Man Tat→
Resigneddirector · ~94y · resigned 1998-07-02
GARDNER, Edward Danny→
Resigneddirector · ~80y · appointed 2004-03-01 · resigned 2014-07-28
GARDNER, Gary Timothy→
Resigneddirector · ~75y · appointed 2005-01-26 · resigned 2014-07-28
JOHNSON, Kevin Andrew→
Resigneddirector · ~57y · appointed 2014-07-28 · resigned 2024-04-19
MATTHEWS, James Gordon→
Resigneddirector · ~46y · appointed 2001-11-26 · resigned 2003-06-30
MATTHEWS, Lloyd Harry→
Resigneddirector · ~74y · resigned 2005-01-26
MATTHEWS, Susanna Yin Fan→
Resigneddirector · ~80y · appointed 1998-07-02 · resigned 2001-11-26
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
3
Total charges
1
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:3 of 3 shown
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| satisfied | Barclays Barclays Bank PLC | Debenture | 1 property | 16/06/1987 | 10/04/2025 | |
| satisfied | HSBC The Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation. | Debenture | 1 property | 21/09/1983 | 10/04/2025 | |
| outstanding | Bank of China | Debenture | 1 property | 07/09/1982 | — |
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.
Recent filings (127 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-04-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2025-10-02
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2025-05-06
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC05
2025-05-06
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2025-05-06
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-04-14
mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
mortgage · MR04
2025-04-10
mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
mortgage · MR04
2025-04-10
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC05
2025-04-08
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2025-04-07
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2025-04-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2024-10-09
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2024-05-17
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-04-19
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2023-09-28