BRISTOL COSTUME SERVICES LIMITED

🌳Matureactive
05065319 · ltd · incorporated 2004-03-05
Investment thesis
Well-run mature business — low negotiation leverage; premium likely.
Why interesting: Textbook target; clean filings, stable trading.
Why risky: No pressure on seller; any deal likely at full price.
Opportunity decay
hardening · 12-months
Already tight — no obvious softening catalysts on the horizon.
  • · Thesis: well-run, low negotiation leverage
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Mar 2025
Net worth
£679.8k
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: Artistic creation
Sector: Arts, entertainment & recreation
Investor take
Pursue
Asset-holding vehicle with a 70-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 70). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (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
5 officers (3 active, 5 linked, 2 with DOB)
78
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
57 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.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 102
Positive net assets
Net assets £679,825
Cash YoY
+39%
Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£537k
↑ 39% YoY
Net Worth
£680k
↑ 27% YoY
Current Assets
£769k
↑ 27% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£154k£308k£461k£615k£769kMar 2024Mar 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2025-03-312024-03-31
Total assets£679.8k£573.1k
Current assets£768.9k£606.3k
Cash£537.4k£386.1k
Debtors£106.4k£80.4k
Net assets£679.8k£537.1k

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
1
filing
  • • 1 persons-with-significant-control
Last 90 days
2
filings
  • • 1 persons-with-significant-control
  • • 1 capital
Last 180 days
4
filings
  • • 1 persons-with-significant-control
  • • 1 capital
  • • 1 resolution
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (23 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-07-14
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
  2. 2026-05-14
    📄
    capital-allotment-shares
    capital · SH01
  3. 2026-04-09
    📄
    resolution
    resolution · RESOLUTIONS
  4. 2025-12-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  5. 2024-12-16
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  6. 2024-11-14
    ➕
    NIPPER, Louise Margaret appointed
    director
  7. 2024-11-14
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  8. 2023-12-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2022-12-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2021-12-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  11. 2020-12-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  12. 2019-12-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  13. 2018-12-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  14. 2018-04-13
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  15. 2017-12-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  16. 2016-12-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  17. 2004-03-19
    ➕
    HELPS, James Rodney appointed
    secretary
  18. 2004-03-19
    ➕
    HELPS, Jennifer Ann appointed
    director
  19. 2004-03-19
    ➖
    BRISTOL LEGAL SERVICES LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  20. 2004-03-19
    ➖
    BOURSE NOMINEES LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-director
  21. 2004-03-05
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As BRISTOL COSTUME SERVICES LIMITED
  22. 2004-03-05
    ➕
    BRISTOL LEGAL SERVICES LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  23. 2004-03-05
    ➕
    BOURSE NOMINEES LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-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 22 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 70 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

86/100
Likely off-market candidate

Strong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.

SIGNALS
  • primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 70 years old. Natural succession window is now.
  • secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
  • primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 22 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • 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

2 active beneficial owners · dominant holder ≥75%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mrs Jennifer Ann Helps
Individual · British · DOB 06/1956 · age 70
75–100%
—75-100% shares01/01/2017
Mrs Louise Margaret Nipper
Individual · British · DOB 08/1990 · age 36
50–75%
50–75%board control50-75% shares · 50-75% voting · board control14/11/2024

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

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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
Incorporated2004-03-05
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC90030 — Artistic creation

Registered office

Lansdown View, Hobbs Wall, Farmborough Hobbs Wall
Farmborough
Bath
BA2 0BJ
England

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-03-19
Last: 2026-03-05

Officers (3 active · 2 resigned)

HELPS, James Rodney→
secretary · appointed 2004-03-19
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
HELPS, Jennifer Ann→
director · ~70y · appointed 2004-03-19
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
NIPPER, Louise Margaret→
director · ~36y · appointed 2024-11-14
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
BRISTOL LEGAL SERVICES LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2004-03-05 · resigned 2004-03-19
Resigned
BOURSE NOMINEES LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2004-03-05 · resigned 2004-03-19
Resigned

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

Recent filings (57 total)

notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2026-07-14
capital-allotment-shares
capital · SH01
2026-05-14
resolution
resolution · RESOLUTIONS
2026-04-09
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-03-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-12-24
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-04-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-12-16
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2024-11-14
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-04-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-12-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-04-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-12-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-04-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-12-24
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-03-25