BOWATER FINANCE LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
04596238 · ltd · incorporated 2002-11-20
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 Oct 2025
Net worth
£1.5k
book net assets
Opportunity
74/100
Strong
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What this business does
Primary activity: Financial intermediation not elsewhere classified
Sector: Financial & insurance
Investor take
Pursue
Strong opportunity: asset-holding vehicle with strong profile and bankable structure.

Opportunity 74/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. High owner-dependency — earn-out structure likely required for clean transition. 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: strategic trade sale (65/100).

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
75
Lenders & charges
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
8 officers (2 active, 8 linked, 4 with DOB)
80
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
74/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

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

Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
55
Some acquirability indicators.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declared
Positive net assets
Net assets £1,547
Net assets shrinking
Down £14,803 YoY

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
£2k
↓ 91% YoY
Current Assets
£27k
↑ 224% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£5k£11k£16k£21k£27kOct 2024Oct 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2025-10-312024-10-31
Total assets£10.0k£5.8k
Current assets£26.8k£8.3k
Net assets£1.5k£16.4k

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

Recent activity

Last 30 days
1
filing
  • • 1 accounts
Last 90 days
1
filing
  • • 1 accounts
Last 180 days
1
filing
  • • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (30 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-05-14
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-07-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-07-18
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  4. 2024-05-21
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  5. 2023-07-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  6. 2022-07-07
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  7. 2021-08-17
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  8. 2021-07-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  9. 2020-10-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  10. 2019-07-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  11. 2018-06-01
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  12. 2017-07-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  13. 2016-02-04
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  14. 2015-12-02
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  15. 2015-02-02
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  16. 2012-05-31
    ➕
    SOTO OBANDO, Sara appointed
    director
  17. 2012-05-31
    ➖
    WILLIAMS, Simon Harvey resigned
    director
  18. 2004-01-02
    ➖
    JARRETT, Terry resigned
    director
  19. 2004-01-01
    ➕
    COLLINS, David appointed
    secretary
  20. 2003-11-01
    ➖
    WILLIAMS, Simon Harvey resigned
    secretary
  21. 2003-01-07
    ➕
    JARRETT, Terry appointed
    director
  22. 2003-01-07
    ➖
    WILLIAMS, Paul Harvey resigned
    director
  23. 2002-12-16
    ➕
    WILLIAMS, Simon Harvey appointed
    secretary
  24. 2002-12-16
    ➖
    CHALFEN SECRETARIES LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  25. 2002-12-16
    ➕
    WILLIAMS, Paul Harvey appointed
    director
  26. 2002-12-16
    ➕
    WILLIAMS, Simon Harvey appointed
    director
  27. 2002-12-16
    ➖
    CHALFEN NOMINEES LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-director
  28. 2002-11-20
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As BOWATER FINANCE LIMITED
  29. 2002-11-20
    ➕
    CHALFEN SECRETARIES LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  30. 2002-11-20
    ➕
    CHALFEN NOMINEES LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-director

Owner dependency

75/100
High — earn-out structure required

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

FACTORS
  • +Sole director: Only one active director — all governance concentrated on one person.

Succession & seller-readiness

68/100
Strong succession signal

Multiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.

SIGNALS
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
  • secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 14 years.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 24 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%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Ms Sara Soto Obando
Individual · Spanish · DOB 06/1974 · age 52
75–100%
—75-100% shares01/11/2016

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

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BEHUMAN.INVESTMENTS LTD→
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———————
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13662586 · est 2021 · no financials extracted
————4y——
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BSU BROKING LTD→
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BUCKINGHAM JAMES FINANCIAL SERVICES LIMITED→
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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
Incorporated2002-11-20
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC64999 — Financial intermediation not elsewhere classified

Registered office

S202 Weston House The Maltings
Sawbridgeworth
Herts
CM21 9FP
England

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-07-31
Last made up to: 2025-10-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-11-25
Last: 2025-11-11

Officers (2 active · 6 resigned)

COLLINS, David→
secretary · appointed 2004-01-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
SOTO OBANDO, Sara→
director · ~52y · appointed 2012-05-31
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
WILLIAMS, Simon Harvey→
secretary · appointed 2002-12-16 · resigned 2003-11-01
Resigned
CHALFEN SECRETARIES LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2002-11-20 · resigned 2002-12-16
Resigned
JARRETT, Terry→
director · ~65y · appointed 2003-01-07 · resigned 2004-01-02
Resigned
WILLIAMS, Paul Harvey→
director · ~58y · appointed 2002-12-16 · resigned 2003-01-07
Resigned
WILLIAMS, Simon Harvey→
director · ~54y · appointed 2002-12-16 · resigned 2012-05-31
Resigned
CHALFEN NOMINEES LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2002-11-20 · resigned 2002-12-16
Resigned

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

Recent filings (71 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2026-05-14
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-11-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-07-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-11-27
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-07-18
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2024-05-21
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-11-26
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-07-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-11-28
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-07-07
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-12-07
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2021-08-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-07-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-01-28
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-10-29