BREAKAWAY EFFECTS LTD.

🌳Matureactive
03324555 · ltd · incorporated 1997-02-26
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
approaching window · 12-months
Approaching a transaction window — refinance or sale event plausible in the next 12 months.
  • · Oldest live charge 4.5y old — refinance window within 12 months
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Mar 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 23190
Sector: Manufacturing
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company with a 65-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 80/100. Strong seller-intent signal (63/100, director aged 65). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

2 live charges · oldest 4.5y

75/100
ready

Refinance conversation should be productive — structure clean and timing right.

  • · Charge age ~4.5 years — mid-life; refi window approaching.
  • · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
  • · Legal-friction score 15/100 — clean.

Data confidence

Overall: medium (79/100)

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
2 years of iXBRL accounts extracted (YoY deltas available) + narrative notes parsed
75
Lenders & charges
2 charges (2/2 with lender, 2/2 with type)
90
Directors & officers
10 officers (4 active, 10 linked, 5 with DOB)
80
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
1 connected companies via shared directors
48
Filing history
83 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
82/100Exceptional
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

Strong composite across quality, acquirability, and risk. High-priority target — progress to serious diligence.

Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
80
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
100
Good data coverage for analysis.

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
£0£0£0£0£0£0Mar 2024Mar 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2025-03-312024-03-31
Average employees10001000

Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.

🔒Filing-note intelligence

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

Last 30 days
0
filings
Last 90 days
0
filings
Last 180 days
1
filing
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (35 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-06-12
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-08-12
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2023-07-10
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2023-03-06
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  5. 2023-02-28
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  6. 2022-07-11
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  7. 2022-04-25
    📄
    mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
    mortgage · MR01
  8. 2022-04-14
    🔒
    Charge registered #2
    Lender: Lloyds Bank PLC
  9. 2022-01-21
    📄
    mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
    mortgage · MR01
  10. 2022-01-20
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: Lloyds Bank PLC
  11. 2021-06-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  12. 2020-06-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  13. 2020-01-08
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  14. 2019-08-14
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  15. 2018-10-01
    ➕
    UPINGTON, Courtney William Bryan appointed
    director
  16. 2018-10-01
    ➕
    UPINGTON, Finnlay John Neil appointed
    director
  17. 2018-10-01
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  18. 2018-10-01
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  19. 2018-08-08
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  20. 2017-09-06
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  21. 2012-03-07
    ➕
    UPINGTON, Courtney William Bryan appointed
    secretary
  22. 2012-03-07
    ➖
    BURTON, Helen Victoria resigned
    secretary
  23. 2003-12-22
    ➕
    BURTON, Helen Victoria appointed
    secretary
  24. 2003-12-22
    ➖
    UPINGTON, Susan Jacqueline resigned
    secretary
  25. 2003-12-22
    ➖
    UPINGTON, Susan Jacqueline resigned
    director
  26. 2002-03-28
    ➖
    WARD, Sean resigned
    director
  27. 1997-08-12
    ➕
    WARD, Sean appointed
    director
  28. 1997-03-25
    ➖
    UPINGTON, Neil Anthony John resigned
    secretary
  29. 1997-03-25
    ➕
    UPINGTON, Susan Jacqueline appointed
    secretary
  30. 1997-02-26
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As BREAKAWAY EFFECTS LTD.
  31. 1997-02-26
    ➕
    UPINGTON, Neil Anthony John appointed
    director
  32. 1997-02-26
    ➕
    UPINGTON, Neil Anthony John appointed
    secretary
  33. 1997-02-26
    ➕
    SWIFT INCORPORATIONS LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  34. 1997-02-26
    ➖
    SWIFT INCORPORATIONS LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  35. 1997-02-26
    ➕
    UPINGTON, Susan Jacqueline appointed
    director

Owner dependency

83/100
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
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 29 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 65 — succession pressure is live.
  • +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.

Succession & seller-readiness

80/100
Likely off-market candidate

Strong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.

SIGNALS
  • primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 65. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
  • primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 29 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 29 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

clean
No red flags detected from available public data. (This is not a clean bill of health — detailed accounts review still recommended.)

Shareholders & ownership

1 active beneficial owner
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Neil Anthony John Upington
Individual · British · DOB 06/1961 · age 65
50–75%
50–75%50-75% shares · 50-75% voting06/04/2016

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.

See pricing →

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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
Incorporated1997-02-26
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC23190 — SIC 23190

Registered office

Little Tidderson Farm
Rackenford
Tiverton
Devon
EX16 8DN

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-03-06
Last: 2026-02-20

Officers (4 active · 6 resigned)

UPINGTON, Courtney William Bryan→
secretary · appointed 2012-03-07
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
UPINGTON, Courtney William Bryan→
director · ~32y · appointed 2018-10-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
UPINGTON, Finnlay John Neil→
director · ~31y · appointed 2018-10-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
UPINGTON, Neil Anthony John→
director · ~65y · appointed 1997-02-26
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
BURTON, Helen Victoria→
secretary · appointed 2003-12-22 · resigned 2012-03-07
Resigned
UPINGTON, Neil Anthony John→
secretary · appointed 1997-02-26 · resigned 1997-03-25
Resigned
UPINGTON, Susan Jacqueline→
secretary · appointed 1997-03-25 · resigned 2003-12-22
Resigned
SWIFT INCORPORATIONS LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 1997-02-26 · resigned 1997-02-26
Resigned
UPINGTON, Susan Jacqueline→
director · ~61y · appointed 1997-02-26 · resigned 2003-12-22
Resigned
WARD, Sean→
director · ~61y · appointed 1997-08-12 · resigned 2002-03-28
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

2
Total charges
2
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:2 of 2 shown
TypeProperties
outstanding
Lloyds Banking Group
Lloyds Bank PLC
A registered charge2 properties14/04/2022—
outstanding
Lloyds Banking Group
Lloyds Bank PLC
A registered charge—20/01/2022—
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (83 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-03-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-06-12
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-03-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-08-12
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-02-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-07-10
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2023-03-06
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2023-02-28
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-02-24
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-07-11
mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
mortgage · MR01
2022-04-25
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-02-21
mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
mortgage · MR01
2022-01-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-06-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-03-03