BISHOPGATE LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
04958260 · ltd · incorporated 2003-11-10
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 Mar 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
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 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 61). 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 (78/100)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
5 officers (1 active, 5 linked, 2 with DOB)
78
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
1 connected companies via shared directors
48
Filing history
67 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
80/100Exceptional
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
90
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 · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2025-03-31 | 2024-03-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Average employees | 600 | 600 |
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
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
- 2025-09-29📄termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM02
- 2025-09-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2025-09-16➖ROBERTS, Iain Nicholas resignedsecretary
- 2024-11-07📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-12-14📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-09-11📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-09-09📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2022-07-29📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2021-09-01📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2020-10-16📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2020-10-12📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2019-12-13📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-06-17📄accounts-amended-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AAMD
- 2019-01-04📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2018-12-14📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-11-24📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2017-11-24📄change-person-secretary-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH03
- 2006-06-22➖BECKETT, Suzanne Jayne resignedsecretary
- 2006-06-22➕ROBERTS, Iain Nicholas appointedsecretary
- 2003-11-10🏢Company incorporatedAs BISHOPGATE LIMITED
- 2003-11-10➕BECKETT, Mark Douglas appointeddirector
- 2003-11-10➕BECKETT, Suzanne Jayne appointedsecretary
- 2003-11-10➕NORTH WEST REGISTRATION SERVICES (1994) LIMITED appointedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 2003-11-10➖NORTH WEST REGISTRATION SERVICES (1994) LIMITED resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 2003-11-10➕AVIS, Christine Susan appointednominee-director
- 2003-11-10➖AVIS, Christine Susan resignednominee-director
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 23 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 23 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
1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Mark Douglas Beckett Individual · British · DOB 10/1965 · age 61 | 75–100% | — | 75-100% shares | 10/11/2016 |
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 · L postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ASSURED COVER LTD→ 11162610 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| BFS MARINE FINANCE (UK) LIMITED→ 14546321 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| BIBBY FACTORS LEICESTER LIMITED→ 02989348 · est 1994 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 31y | — | — |
| BIBBY FACTORS LIMITED→ 00584342 · est 1957 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 68y | — | — |
| BIBBY FACTORS SLOUGH LIMITED→ 02617760 · est 1991 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 34y | — | — |
| BIBBY FACTORS SUSSEX LIMITED→ 03847904 · est 1999 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 26y | — | — |
| BIBBY INVOICE DISCOUNTING LIMITED→ 04105467 · est 2000 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 25y | — | — |
| BIBBY TRADE FACTORS LIMITED→ 05303859 · est 2004 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 21y | — | — |
| BIBBY TRADE SERVICES LIMITED→ 03530463 · est 1998 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 28y | — | — |
| BIZ LOANS 4U LIMITED→ 10009648 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 10y | — | — |
| BLACK BUSINESS FOUNDERS CIC→ 16167590 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| BLANEY & BOYD FINANCIAL SERVICES LTD→ 08005486 · est 2012 · 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
Incorporated2003-11-10
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC64999 — Financial intermediation not elsewhere classified
Registered office
173 College Road
Liverpool
L23 3AT
England
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-09-15
Last: 2025-09-01
Officers (1 active · 4 resigned)
BECKETT, Mark Douglas→
Activedirector · ~61y · appointed 2003-11-10
View their other companies + combined net worth →
BECKETT, Suzanne Jayne→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 2003-11-10 · resigned 2006-06-22
ROBERTS, Iain Nicholas→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 2006-06-22 · resigned 2025-09-16
NORTH WEST REGISTRATION SERVICES (1994) LIMITED→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2003-11-10 · resigned 2003-11-10
AVIS, Christine Susan→
Resignednominee-director · ~62y · appointed 2003-11-10 · resigned 2003-11-10
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (67 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-09-29
termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM02
2025-09-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-09-26
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-11-07
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-10-26
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-12-14
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-10-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-09-11
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2022-09-09
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-09-09
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2022-07-29
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-09-01
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-09-01
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-01-30
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-10-16