BARKHAM OFFICE FURNITURE LIMITED

🌳Matureactive
04126900 · ltd · incorporated 2000-12-18
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 19.2y old — refinance window within 12 months
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Apr 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
🔔
Follow this company (free)
Email alerts on filings, charges, director changes, gazette notices. No account needed.

Unsubscribe any time from any email. GDPR-respectful.

🔒Generate AI memo →🔒Outreach pack →🔒Corporate story →📑 Reports →Sign in to watch
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 46650
Sector: Wholesale & retail
Investor take
Pursue
Strong opportunity: active trading company with exceptional profile and bankable structure.

Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 85/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 58). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

1 live charge · oldest 19.2y

85/100
ready

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

  • · Oldest live charge is 19.2 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
  • · Legal-friction score 15/100 — clean.

Data confidence

Overall: medium (76/100)

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
1 charges (1/1 with lender, 1/1 with type)
90
Directors & officers
5 officers (3 active, 5 linked, 2 with DOB)
78
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
71 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£0Apr 2024Apr 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2025-04-302024-04-30
Average employees1100900

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
0
filings
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (25 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-01-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-01-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2023-11-01
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2023-01-25
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  5. 2022-01-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  6. 2021-01-25
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  7. 2020-01-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2019-01-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2018-01-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2017-09-21
    📄
    mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
    mortgage · MR04
  11. 2017-09-21
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #1
  12. 2017-01-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  13. 2016-01-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  14. 2015-12-24
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  15. 2015-02-04
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  16. 2015-01-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  17. 2007-05-21
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: R R Waterer & Co
  18. 2000-12-18
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As BARKHAM OFFICE FURNITURE LIMITED
  19. 2000-12-18
    ➕
    THORBURN, Joanna appointed
    secretary
  20. 2000-12-18
    ➕
    THORBURN, Joanna appointed
    director
  21. 2000-12-18
    ➕
    THORBURN, Martin appointed
    director
  22. 2000-12-18
    ➕
    TEMPLE SECRETARIES LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  23. 2000-12-18
    ➖
    TEMPLE SECRETARIES LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  24. 2000-12-18
    ➕
    COMPANY DIRECTORS LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-director
  25. 2000-12-18
    ➖
    COMPANY DIRECTORS LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-director

Owner dependency

84/100
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
  • +Two-director setup: Only two active directors — typical of owner-managed SMEs but limits succession.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 26 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 58 — approaching natural succession window.
  • +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.

Succession & seller-readiness

76/100
Likely off-market candidate

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

SIGNALS
  • secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 58. Early succession window.
  • secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
  • primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 26 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 26 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 Martin Thorburn
Individual · British · DOB 11/1968 · age 58
50–75%
50–75%50-75% shares · 50-75% voting17/12/2016

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

Similar companies

Active · Wholesale & distribution · RG postcode area
CompanyEst. valueTurnoverNet worthStaffAgeOppDirector
AXUNIO LTD→
15677540 · est 2024 · no financials extracted
————1y——
BALDERTECH LTD→
11852754 · est 2019 · no financials extracted
————7y——
BARBARY GROUP LIMITED→
15861109 · est 2024 · no financials extracted
————1y——
BASHIR INTERNATIONAL LIMITED→
15794459 · est 2024 · no financials extracted
————1y——
BC SOFTWEAR HOLDINGS LIMITED→
11710222 · est 2018 · no financials extracted
————7y——
BC SOFTWEAR LIMITED→
04340811 · est 2001 · no financials extracted
————24y——
BEAUMONT PHARMA LTD→
12518247 · est 2020 · no financials extracted
————6y——
BEBELANE LTD→
16405073 · est 2025 · no financials extracted
———————
BECTON DICKINSON (CME) U.K. LIMITED→
04236707 · est 2001 · no financials extracted
————24y——
BEE GENTLE LIMITED→
13448312 · est 2021 · no financials extracted
————4y——
BEER COUNTER PACKAGING LTD→
09959902 · est 2016 · no financials extracted
————10y——
BELAL TRADING LTD→
11172491 · est 2018 · no financials extracted
————8y——
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
Incorporated2000-12-18
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC46650 — SIC 46650

Registered office

44 London Street
Reading
Berkshire
RG1 4SQ

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-01-31
Last made up to: 2025-04-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-01-01
Last: 2025-12-18

Officers (3 active · 2 resigned)

THORBURN, Joanna→
secretary · appointed 2000-12-18
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
THORBURN, Joanna→
director · ~58y · appointed 2000-12-18
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
THORBURN, Martin→
director · ~58y · appointed 2000-12-18
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
TEMPLE SECRETARIES LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2000-12-18 · resigned 2000-12-18
Resigned
COMPANY DIRECTORS LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2000-12-18 · resigned 2000-12-18
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

1
Total charges
0
Outstanding
0
Active lenders
Status:Lender:1 of 1 shown
TypeProperties
satisfied
R R Waterer & Co
Rent deposit deed1 property21/05/200721/09/2017

Recent filings (71 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2026-01-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-01-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-01-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-12-18
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-12-22
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-11-01
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-01-25
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-12-19
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-01-21
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-12-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-01-25
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-12-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-01-28
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-12-19
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-01-23