BELL HOUSE FOODS LIMITED

🌳Matureactive
04199575 · ltd · incorporated 2001-04-12
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 24.6y old — refinance window within 12 months
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Apr 2025
Net worth
£1.31M
book net assets
Opportunity
83/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: Manufacture of prepared meals and dishes
Sector: Manufacturing
Investor take
Pursue
Asset-holding vehicle with a 77-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 83/100 (exceptional), bankability 85/100. Strong seller-intent signal (73/100, director aged 77). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

2 live charges · 2 lenders · oldest 24.6y

70/100
ready

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

  • · Oldest live charge is 24.6 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · Two lenders — manageable, but coordination required.
  • · 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
7 officers (5 active, 7 linked, 5 with DOB)
84
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
2 connected companies via shared directors
51
Filing history
74 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
83/100Exceptional
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
85
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
100
Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declared
Positive net assets
Net assets £1,309,966
Cash YoY
+10%
Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£799k
↑ 10% YoY
Net Worth
£1.3m
↑ 15% YoY
Current Assets
£1.4m
↑ 6.8% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£271k£542k£813k£1.1m£1.4mApr 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
Total assets£1.34M£1.17M
Current assets£1.36M£1.27M
Cash£798.8k£725.4k
Debtors£482.7k£458.3k
Net assets£1.31M£1.14M

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
0
filings
Last 180 days
1
filing
  • • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (28 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-01-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-07-07
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  3. 2025-07-07
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
  4. 2025-01-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  5. 2024-01-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  6. 2023-01-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  7. 2022-03-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2021-02-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2020-01-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2019-01-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  11. 2018-01-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  12. 2017-01-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  13. 2017-01-20
    📄
    mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
    mortgage · MR04
  14. 2017-01-20
    📄
    mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
    mortgage · MR04
  15. 2017-01-20
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #2
  16. 2017-01-20
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #1
  17. 2006-06-27
    🔒
    Charge registered #2
    Lender: Heygates Limited
  18. 2002-05-20
    ➕
    BOTLEY, Joanna Carolyn appointed
    director
  19. 2001-10-30
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: Hsbc Bank PLC
  20. 2001-04-12
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As BELL HOUSE FOODS LIMITED
  21. 2001-04-12
    ➕
    BOTLEY, Susan Carol appointed
    secretary
  22. 2001-04-12
    ➕
    BOTLEY, Colin John appointed
    director
  23. 2001-04-12
    ➕
    BOTLEY, Matthew James appointed
    director
  24. 2001-04-12
    ➕
    BOTLEY, Susan Carol appointed
    director
  25. 2001-04-12
    ➕
    GRAEME, Dorothy May appointed
    nominee-secretary
  26. 2001-04-12
    ➖
    GRAEME, Dorothy May resigned
    nominee-secretary
  27. 2001-04-12
    ➕
    GRAEME, Lesley Joyce appointed
    nominee-director
  28. 2001-04-12
    ➖
    GRAEME, Lesley Joyce resigned
    nominee-director

Owner dependency

73/100
High — earn-out structure required

Material founder dependency. Consider a 2-3 year earn-out and build in a handover plan before completion.

FACTORS
  • -4 active directors: Broader management team in place — suggests transferable governance.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 25 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 77 — succession pressure is live.
  • +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.

Succession & seller-readiness

90/100
Likely off-market candidate

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

SIGNALS
  • primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 77 years old. Natural succession window is now.
  • primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 25 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 25 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

2 active beneficial owners
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Susan Botley
Individual
25–50%
—25-50% shares14/07/2016
Mr Colin John Botley
Individual · British · DOB 05/1949 · age 77
25–50%
—25-50% shares14/07/2016

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
Incorporated2001-04-12
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC10850 — Manufacture of prepared meals and dishes

Registered office

Bell House
Bounds Cross Biddenden
Ashford
Kent
TN27 8LD

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-01-31
Last made up to: 2025-04-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-07-14
Last: 2025-06-30

Officers (5 active · 2 resigned)

BOTLEY, Susan Carol→
secretary · appointed 2001-04-12
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
BOTLEY, Colin John→
director · ~77y · appointed 2001-04-12
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
BOTLEY, Joanna Carolyn→
director · ~44y · appointed 2002-05-20
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
BOTLEY, Matthew James→
director · ~45y · appointed 2001-04-12
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
BOTLEY, Susan Carol→
director · ~74y · appointed 2001-04-12
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
GRAEME, Dorothy May→
nominee-secretary · appointed 2001-04-12 · resigned 2001-04-12
Resigned
GRAEME, Lesley Joyce→
nominee-director · ~73y · appointed 2001-04-12 · resigned 2001-04-12
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

2
Total charges
0
Outstanding
0
Active lenders
Status:Lender:2 of 2 shown
TypeProperties
satisfied
Heygates
Heygates Limited
Bill of sale2 properties27/06/200620/01/2017
satisfied
HSBC
Hsbc Bank PLC
Debenture1 property30/10/200120/01/2017

Recent filings (74 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2026-01-23
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2025-07-07
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-07-07
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2025-07-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-01-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-07-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-01-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-07-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-01-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-08-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-03-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-07-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-02-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-07-06
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-06-30