BARTON, REED AND CO LIMITED

💤Zombieactive

04223705 · ltd · incorporated 2001-05-29

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

—

year to May 2025

Net worth

£7.9k

book net assets

Opportunity

80/100

Exceptional

🔒Generate AI memo →🔒Outreach pack →🔒Corporate story →📑 Reports →Sign in to watch

What this business does

Primary activity: Wholesale of household goods (other than musical instruments) n.e.c.

Sector: Wholesale & retail

Investor take

Pursue

Asset-holding vehicle with a 69-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 69). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Broaden director team. Sole director creates succession risk and reduces buyer comfort. Appoint a second director or strong #2. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).

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

Lenders & charges

Confirmed no charges registered

Directors & officers

4 officers (1 active, 4 linked, 2 with DOB)

Ownership & PSC

1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared

Director network

Network not yet resolved

Filing history

59 filings on record

Gazette notices

No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)

Opportunity Score

80/100Exceptional

PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional

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

Business quality

Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.

Acquirability

Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.

Risk profile

Few red flags.

Signal strength

Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 105 (micro)

Positive net assets

Net assets £7,866

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts

Cash

—

Net Worth

£8k

↑ 157% YoY

Current Assets

£92k

↓ 6.4% YoY

Current Liabilities

—

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 105 (micro)

Metric	2025-05-31	2024-05-31
Total assets	£7.9k	£-13.9k
Current assets	£92.1k	£98.4k
Net assets	£7.9k	£-13.9k

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

filings

Last 90 days

filing

• 1 confirmation-statement

Last 180 days

filing

• 1 confirmation-statement

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (23 events)Click to expand

2025-07-29
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-09-23
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-09-07
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-10-11
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-11-25
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-10-09
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2019-12-06
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2018-12-12
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2017-12-07
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2016-10-25
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2016-06-10
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2015-12-04
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2015-06-22
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2015-03-06
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2014-07-23
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2008-04-06
➖
NATIONWIDE COMPANY SECRETARIES LTD resigned
corporate-secretary
2001-05-29
🏢
Company incorporated
As BARTON, REED AND CO LIMITED
2001-05-29
➕
MOORE, David John appointed
director
2001-05-29
➕
BREWER, Suzanne appointed
nominee-secretary
2001-05-29
➖
BREWER, Suzanne resigned
nominee-secretary
2001-05-29
➕
NATIONWIDE COMPANY SECRETARIES LTD appointed
corporate-secretary
2001-05-29
➕
BREWER, Kevin, Dr appointed
nominee-director
2001-05-29
➖
BREWER, Kevin, Dr resigned
nominee-director

Owner dependency

100/100

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 25 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
+Founder age: Director aged approximately 69 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

95/100

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 69. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
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

1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%

Name	Shares	Voting rights	Nature of control	Notified
Mr David John Moore Individual · British · DOB 01/1957 · age 69	75–100%	—	75-100% shares	29/05/2017

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

Similar companies

Active · Wholesale & distribution · EX postcode area

Company	Est. value	Turnover	Net worth	Staff	Age	Opp	Director
A & E FUEL SUPPLIES LTD→ 11467550 · est 2018 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	7y	—	—
ASTER DESIGN LIMITED→ 14132618 · est 2022 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	3y	—	—
ATKINS AUCTIONS LTD→ 10805365 · est 2017 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	8y	—	—
ATLANTIC EGGS LTD→ 10999695 · est 2017 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	8y	—	—
AVGÖRANDE LIMITED→ 14252403 · est 2022 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	3y	—	—
B & R MACHINERY LIMITED→ 16624881 · est 2025 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
BB SPORTS DISTRIBUTORS (INCORPORATING TEAM DIRECT) LIMITED→ 13084081 · est 2020 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	5y	—	—
BECHTLE LIMITED→ 03283032 · est 1996 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	29y	—	—
BESLEY & COPP LIMITED→ 00059148 · est 1898 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	127y	—	—
BLACK DOG FREE RANGE EGGS LIMITED→ 15406570 · est 2024 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	2y	—	—
BLAMPHAYNE SAWMILL LIMITED→ 03138554 · est 1995 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	30y	—	—
BLINK 24 DISTRIBUTION (UK) LIMITED→ 11817355 · est 2019 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	7y	—	—

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

Incorporated2001-05-29

Jurisdictionengland-wales

Primary SIC46499 — Wholesale of household goods (other than musical instruments) n.e.c.

Registered office

Metherell Gard Ltd

Burn View

Bude

Cornwall

EX23 8BX

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: 2027-02-28

Last made up to: 2025-05-31

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2027-05-15

Last: 2026-05-01

Officers (1 active · 3 resigned)

MOORE, David John→

director · ~69y · appointed 2001-05-29

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

BREWER, Suzanne→

nominee-secretary · appointed 2001-05-29 · resigned 2001-05-29

Resigned

NATIONWIDE COMPANY SECRETARIES LTD→

corporate-secretary · appointed 2001-05-29 · resigned 2008-04-06

Resigned

BREWER, Kevin, Dr→

nominee-director · ~74y · appointed 2001-05-29 · resigned 2001-05-29

Resigned

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