BOLLMAN HEADWEAR EUROPE LIMITED

🌳Matureactive
04315464 · ltd · incorporated 2001-11-02
Investment thesis
Looks cheap but ownership + security both unclear — probable value trap.
Why interesting: Headline metrics may be attractive.
Why risky: No PSC visibility combined with multiple live charges; transacting likely slow and expensive.
🔒Estimated value
Upgrade to see
Turnover
year to Dec 2024
Net worth
book net assets
Opportunity
73/100
Strong
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What this business does
Primary activity: Wholesale of clothing and footwear
Sector: Wholesale & retail
Investor take
Pass (distressed without resilience)
Distressed active trading company — structural issues outweigh the discount.

Opportunity 73/100 (strong), bankability 47/100. Strong seller-intent signal (78/100, director aged 69). Asset purchase likely safer than share purchase given structural signals. Biggest value-creation lever: Consolidate lender relationships. 4 distinct lenders creates friction — refinance into single-lender structure for cleaner diligence. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

5 live charges · 4 lenders · oldest 23.2y

35/100
too messy

Refinance path is blocked by complexity. Rethink structure or expect bespoke, expensive terms.

  • · Oldest live charge is 23.2 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · 4 lenders named — inter-creditor friction likely.
  • · Legal-friction score 35/100 — workable, but lender will want more DD.

Data confidence

Overall: medium (69/100)

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
5 charges (5/5 with lender, 5/5 with type)
90
Directors & officers
8 officers (3 active, 8 linked, 4 with DOB)
80
Ownership & PSC
No PSCs filed (unusual — worth investigating)
35
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
75 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
73/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

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

Business quality
60
Adequate — check latest filings for context.
Acquirability
80
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
67
Some moderate concerns — review 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£0Dec 2023Dec 2024

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2024-12-312023-12-31
Average employees4400

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 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (36 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-12-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-small
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-09-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-small
    accounts · AA
  3. 2023-09-20
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-small
    accounts · AA
  4. 2022-12-20
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-small
    accounts · AA
  5. 2022-01-09
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-small
    accounts · AA
  6. 2021-01-11
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-small
    accounts · AA
  7. 2020-11-17
    📄
    appoint-person-secretary-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP03
  8. 2020-11-17
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  9. 2020-11-17
    📄
    termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM02
  10. 2020-06-30
    HUBER, David appointed
    secretary
  11. 2020-06-30
    FITTERLING, Chris resigned
    secretary
  12. 2020-06-30
    FITTERLING, Chris resigned
    director
  13. 2019-12-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-small
    accounts · AA
  14. 2018-05-04
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-small
    accounts · AA
  15. 2017-06-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-small
    accounts · AA
  16. 2016-07-18
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-full
    accounts · AA
  17. 2015-11-20
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  18. 2015-05-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-full
    accounts · AA
  19. 2014-12-15
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  20. 2012-10-24
    🔒
    Charge registered #5
    Lender: Wells Fargo Bank, National Association
  21. 2009-03-09
    🔒
    Charge registered #4
    Lender: Wachovia Bank, National Association
  22. 2009-03-09
    🔒
    Charge registered #3
    Lender: Wachovia Bank, National Association
  23. 2008-10-02
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #1
  24. 2008-07-22
    🔒
    Charge registered #2
    Lender: British Overseas Bank Nominees Limited and Wgtc Nominees Limited
  25. 2003-10-01
    HUBER, David appointed
    director
  26. 2003-10-01
    GLASS, Curtis resigned
    director
  27. 2003-02-24
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: Lasalle Business Credit ,Llc
  28. 2001-11-02
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As BOLLMAN HEADWEAR EUROPE LIMITED
  29. 2001-11-02
    RONGIONE, Donald appointed
    director
  30. 2001-11-02
    FITTERLING, Chris appointed
    secretary
  31. 2001-11-02
    YORK PLACE COMPANY SECRETARIES LIMITED appointed
    corporate-secretary
  32. 2001-11-02
    YORK PLACE COMPANY SECRETARIES LIMITED resigned
    corporate-secretary
  33. 2001-11-02
    FITTERLING, Chris appointed
    director
  34. 2001-11-02
    GLASS, Curtis appointed
    director
  35. 2001-11-02
    YORK PLACE COMPANY NOMINEES LIMITED appointed
    corporate-director
  36. 2001-11-02
    YORK PLACE COMPANY NOMINEES LIMITED resigned
    corporate-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
  • +Two-director setup: Only two active directors — typical of owner-managed SMEs but limits succession.
  • +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

81/100
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.
  • secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
  • 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.

Red flags

1 high ·
Confirmation statement overdue
high

Annual confirmation statement not filed on time. Required statutory filing — overdue is a strong discipline signal.

Evidence: Next due: 2025-11-16

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Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions

9 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
Incorporated2001-11-02
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC46420 — Wholesale of clothing and footwear

Registered office

2 Merchants Drive
Carlisle
Cumbria
CA3 0JW

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last made up to: 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2025-11-16OVERDUE
Last: 2024-11-02

Officers (3 active · 5 resigned)

HUBER, David
secretary · appointed 2020-06-30
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
HUBER, David
director · ~61y · appointed 2003-10-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
RONGIONE, Donald
director · ~69y · appointed 2001-11-02
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
FITTERLING, Chris
secretary · appointed 2001-11-02 · resigned 2020-06-30
Resigned
YORK PLACE COMPANY SECRETARIES LIMITED
corporate-secretary · appointed 2001-11-02 · resigned 2001-11-02
Resigned
FITTERLING, Chris
director · ~71y · appointed 2001-11-02 · resigned 2020-06-30
Resigned
GLASS, Curtis
director · ~84y · appointed 2001-11-02 · resigned 2003-10-01
Resigned
YORK PLACE COMPANY NOMINEES LIMITED
corporate-director · appointed 2001-11-02 · resigned 2001-11-02
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

5
Total charges
4
Outstanding
3
Active lenders
Status:Lender:5 of 5 shown
TypeProperties
outstanding
Wells Fargo Bank, National Association
Cash collateral deed1 property24/10/2012
outstanding
Wachovia Bank, National Association
Third amendment and joinder to loan and security agreement1 property09/03/2009
outstanding
Wachovia Bank, National Association
Debenture1 property09/03/2009
outstanding
British Overseas Bank Nominees and Wgtc Nominees
British Overseas Bank Nominees Limited and Wgtc Nominees Limited
Rent deposit deed1 property22/07/2008
satisfied
Lasalle Business Credit ,
Lasalle Business Credit ,Llc
Debenture1 property24/02/200302/10/2008
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (75 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-small
accounts · AA
2025-12-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-11-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-small
accounts · AA
2024-09-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-11-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-small
accounts · AA
2023-09-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-small
accounts · AA
2022-12-20
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-11-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-small
accounts · AA
2022-01-09
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-11-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-small
accounts · AA
2021-01-11
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-11-18
appoint-person-secretary-company-with-name-date
officers · AP03
2020-11-17
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2020-11-17
termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM02
2020-11-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-small
accounts · AA
2019-12-30