BUSINESS FINANCE PLUS LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
04822723 · ltd · incorporated 2003-07-06
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 Dec 2024
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: Financial intermediation not elsewhere classified
Sector: Financial & insurance
Investor take
PursueActive trading company with a 61-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 80/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 61). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Discharge stale live charges. 1 live charge(s) created 15+ years ago — likely paid but undischarged. Clean register. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
1 live charge · oldest 17.6y
45/100
under pressure
Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.
- · Oldest live charge is 17.6 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
- · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.
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
1 charges (1/1 with lender, 1/1 with type)
90
Directors & officers
5 officers (1 active, 5 linked, 3 with DOB)
82
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
72 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 accountsCash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102| Metric | 2024-12-31 | 2023-12-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Average employees | 200 | 200 |
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
0
filings
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (26 events)Click to expand
- 2025-04-07📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-04-08📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-02-10📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-09-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-02-10📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-02-17📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-03-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-07-18📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2018-07-18📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2018-03-19📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-06-08📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-03-08📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2016-04-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2016-03-07📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2015-11-06📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2015-05-29➖SQUIRE, Peter resignedsecretary
- 2015-05-14➖ASTON, Stephen William resigneddirector
- 2015-05-14➖SQUIRE, Peter resigneddirector
- 2008-10-28🔒Charge registered #1Lender: Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
- 2005-02-08➕SHEARWOOD, Martin John appointeddirector
- 2004-09-01➖DYMOND, Katie Helen resignedsecretary
- 2004-09-01➕SQUIRE, Peter appointedsecretary
- 2004-09-01➕SQUIRE, Peter appointeddirector
- 2003-07-06🏢Company incorporatedAs BUSINESS FINANCE PLUS LIMITED
- 2003-07-06➕DYMOND, Katie Helen appointedsecretary
- 2003-07-06➕ASTON, Stephen William appointeddirector
Owner dependency
93/100
Critical — business is the founderThe 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 21 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 61 — approaching natural succession window.
Succession & seller-readiness
85/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 61. Early succession window.
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
- primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 21 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 23 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
cleanNo 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| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mrs Carryl Jamieson Shearwood Individual · British · DOB 11/1963 · age 63 | 25–50% | 25–50% | 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting | 06/04/2016 |
Mr Martin John Shearwood Individual · British · DOB 07/1965 · age 61 | 25–50% | 25–50% | 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting | 06/04/2016 |
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 →Similar companies
Active · Financial services · DY postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A G WEALTH MANAGEMENT LTD→ 07897776 · est 2012 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 14y | — | — |
| ACACIA MORTGAGES LIMITED→ 04185236 · est 2001 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 25y | — | — |
| AUTOAID ASSIST LTD→ 16860415 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| BARWICK GREEN INVESTMENTS LIMITED→ 15191110 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| BDA FINANCIAL LIMITED→ 17025340 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| BEAR IMAGES LIMITED→ 03387544 · est 1997 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 28y | — | — |
| BLAKEDOWN PROPERTIES LTD→ 17009719 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| BOSECO LIMITED→ 06449999 · est 2007 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 18y | — | — |
| BREDON HILL WEALTH MANAGEMENT LIMITED→ 15221342 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| BRIK FINANCE LIMITED→ 11742374 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| BURCH CREDITS LIMITED→ 00672792 · est 1960 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 65y | — | — |
| BUSINESS INVOICE CHECKER LIMITED→ 07869302 · est 2011 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 14y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2003-07-06
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC64999 — Financial intermediation not elsewhere classified
Registered office
Swinford House
Albion Street
Brierley Hill
West Midlands
DY5 3EE
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last made up to: 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-07-20
Last: 2025-07-06
Officers (1 active · 4 resigned)
SHEARWOOD, Martin John→
Activedirector · ~61y · appointed 2005-02-08
View their other companies + combined net worth →
DYMOND, Katie Helen→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 2003-07-06 · resigned 2004-09-01
SQUIRE, Peter→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 2004-09-01 · resigned 2015-05-29
ASTON, Stephen William→
Resigneddirector · ~64y · appointed 2003-07-06 · resigned 2015-05-14
SQUIRE, Peter→
Resigneddirector · ~65y · appointed 2004-09-01 · resigned 2015-05-14
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
1
Total charges
1
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:1 of 1 shown
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| outstanding | Lloyds Banking Group Royal Bank of Scotland PLC | Debenture | 1 property | 28/10/2008 | — |
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.
Recent filings (72 total)
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-07-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-04-07
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-07-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-04-08
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-07-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-02-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-09-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-07-07
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-07-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-02-10
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-07-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-02-17
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-07-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-03-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2018-07-18