BAYSTART LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
02372736 · ltd · incorporated 1989-04-17
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
—
year to Apr 2025
Net worth
£14.4k
book net assets
Opportunity
74/100
Strong
🔔
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What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 45200
Sector: Wholesale & retail
ALSO REGISTERED FOR
  • 45320Retail trade of motor vehicle parts and accessories
Investor take
Pursue
Strong opportunity: active trading company with strong profile and acceptable with review structure.

Opportunity 74/100 (strong), bankability 67/100. Strong seller-intent signal (68/100, director aged 55). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Consolidate lender relationships. 5 distinct lenders creates friction — refinance into single-lender structure for cleaner diligence. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (58/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

6 live charges · 5 lenders · oldest 33.0y

15/100
under pressure

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

  • · Oldest live charge is 33.0 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · 5 lenders named — inter-creditor friction likely.
  • · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.

Data confidence

Overall: medium (78/100)

Adequate coverage. AI outputs are reliable for the sections scored high; verify the rest in diligence.

Company profile
address, 2 SIC codes, incorporation date
100
Financials
2 years of iXBRL accounts extracted (YoY deltas available) + narrative notes parsed
75
Lenders & charges
6 charges (6/6 with lender, 6/6 with type)
90
Directors & officers
6 officers (1 active, 6 linked, 5 with DOB)
87
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
120 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
74/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

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

Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
60
Some acquirability indicators.
Risk profile
77
Few red flags.
Signal strength
100
Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 102
Positive net assets
Net assets £14,382
Cash YoY
+2065%
Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£7k
↑ 2065% YoY
Net Worth
£14k
↑ 121% YoY
Current Assets
£596k
↑ 18% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
-£70k£63k£196k£330k£463k£596kApr 2024Apr 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2025-04-302024-04-30
Total assets£15.2k£29.1k
Current assets£596.2k£506.1k
Cash£7.1k£329
Debtors£358.1k£228.1k
Net assets£14.4k£-70.1k

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
0
filings
Last 90 days
2
filings
  • • 1 persons-with-significant-control
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
2
filings
  • • 1 persons-with-significant-control
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (34 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-04-28
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  2. 2025-07-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2025-07-15
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
  4. 2025-07-15
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  5. 2025-01-15
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  6. 2023-10-09
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  7. 2023-01-12
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2022-01-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2021-04-16
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2020-01-14
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  11. 2019-04-24
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  12. 2019-02-26
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  13. 2018-09-06
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  14. 2017-11-10
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  15. 2017-08-14
    ➖
    WATERMAN, Kathleen Mary resigned
    secretary
  16. 2017-08-14
    📄
    termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM02
  17. 2015-10-15
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #6
  18. 2015-10-15
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #4
  19. 2013-03-07
    🔒
    Charge registered #6
    Lender: John William Waterman and Kathleen Mary Waterman
  20. 2013-02-14
    🔒
    Charge registered #5
    Lender: Hitachi Capital (UK) PLC T/a Hitachi Capital Invoice Finance
  21. 2012-10-01
    ➖
    WATERMAN, Kathleen Mary resigned
    director
  22. 2011-05-31
    ➖
    ADAMS, Louise Mary resigned
    director
  23. 2009-05-01
    ➕
    WATERMAN, David John appointed
    director
  24. 2009-05-01
    ➕
    ADAMS, Louise Mary appointed
    director
  25. 2009-04-30
    ➖
    WATERMAN, John William resigned
    director
  26. 2008-12-06
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #3
  27. 2008-12-06
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #2
  28. 2008-12-06
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #1
  29. 2004-08-17
    🔒
    Charge registered #4
    Lender: The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland
  30. 1995-12-15
    🔒
    Charge registered #3
    Lender: Midland Bank PLC
  31. 1995-12-15
    🔒
    Charge registered #2
    Lender: Midland Bank PLC
  32. 1994-11-04
    ➖
    WATERMAN, Alan resigned
    director
  33. 1993-07-12
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: Antony George Saunders
  34. 1989-04-17
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As BAYSTART LIMITED

Owner dependency

85/100
Critical — business is the founder

The 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.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 17 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.

Succession & seller-readiness

68/100
Strong succession signal

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

SIGNALS
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
  • secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 17 years.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 37 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 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%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mrs Kathleen Mary Waterman
Individual · British · DOB 05/1942 · age 84
75–100%
75–100%board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control03/03/2025
1 historic (ceased) PSC
  • Mr John William Watermanceased 03/03/2025· 50-75% shares

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

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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.

See pricing →

Company details

Statusactive
Typeltd
Incorporated1989-04-17
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC45200 — SIC 45200

Registered office

3 Lancaster Way
Earls Colne
Colchester
Essex
CO6 2NS
England

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-01-31
Last made up to: 2025-04-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-04-24
Last: 2026-04-10

Officers (1 active · 5 resigned)

WATERMAN, David John→
director · ~55y · appointed 2009-05-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
WATERMAN, Kathleen Mary→
secretary · resigned 2017-08-14
Resigned
ADAMS, Louise Mary→
director · ~53y · appointed 2009-05-01 · resigned 2011-05-31
Resigned
WATERMAN, Alan→
director · ~75y · resigned 1994-11-04
Resigned
WATERMAN, John William→
director · ~83y · resigned 2009-04-30
Resigned
WATERMAN, Kathleen Mary→
director · ~84y · resigned 2012-10-01
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

6
Total charges
1
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:6 of 6 shown
TypeProperties
satisfied
John William Waterman and Kathleen Mary Waterman
Debenture1 property07/03/201315/10/2015
outstanding
Hitachi Capital (UK) T/a Hitachi Capital Invoice Finance
Hitachi Capital (UK) PLC T/a Hitachi Capital Invoice Finance
Debenture1 property14/02/2013—
satisfied
Lloyds Banking Group
The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland
Legal charge1 property17/08/200415/10/2015
satisfied
Midland Bank
Midland Bank PLC
Legal mortgage1 property15/12/199506/12/2008
satisfied
Midland Bank
Midland Bank PLC
Fixed and floating charge1 property15/12/199506/12/2008
satisfied
Antony George Saunders
Debenture1 property12/07/199306/12/2008
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (120 total)

change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2026-04-28
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-04-24
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-07-23
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2025-07-15
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2025-07-15
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-04-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-01-15
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-04-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-10-09
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-04-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-01-12
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-04-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-01-26
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-04-16
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-04-13