B & B (NORTON) LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
05065637 · ltd · incorporated 2004-03-05
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
79/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Other retail sale of new goods in specialised stores (other than commercial art galleries and opticians)
Sector: Wholesale & retail
Investor take
PursueStrong opportunity: active trading company with strong profile and bankable structure.
Opportunity 79/100 (strong), bankability 80/100. High owner-dependency — earn-out structure likely required for clean transition. 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 21.8y
45/100
under pressure
Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.
- · Oldest live charge is 21.8 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
- · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.
Data confidence
Overall: high (81/100)Strong data coverage across all sections. AI outputs should be trusted with minimal caveats.
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
4 officers (1 active, 4 linked, 3 with DOB)
85
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 4 total, 4 with control declared
90
Director network
7 connected companies via shared directors
66
Filing history
59 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
79/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
70
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 | 2025-03-31 | 2024-03-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Average employees | 0 | 0 |
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
4
filings
- • 2 persons-with-significant-control
- • 1 accounts
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (27 events)Click to expand
- 2026-03-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2026-03-19📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2026-03-19📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2025-09-22➖LORD, Stephen John resigneddirector
- 2025-09-22📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2024-12-17📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-03-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-01-31📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2023-01-31📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2023-01-31📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2023-01-31📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2023-01-31📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2023-01-31📄appoint-person-director-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP01
- 2023-01-31📄appoint-person-director-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP01
- 2022-12-21📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-07-04➕FORREST, Richard John appointeddirector
- 2022-07-04➖BRAZIER, Kevin Alan resigneddirector
- 2022-07-04➕LORD, Stephen John appointeddirector
- 2022-01-13📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2022-01-13📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2021-07-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-08-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2013-04-01➖POSTANS, John resignedsecretary
- 2004-09-03🔒Charge registered #1Lender: National Westminster Bank PLC
- 2004-03-05🏢Company incorporatedAs B & B (NORTON) LIMITED
- 2004-03-05➕POSTANS, John appointedsecretary
- 2004-03-05➕BRAZIER, Kevin Alan appointeddirector
Owner dependency
83/100
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.
- +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 59 — approaching natural succession window.
Succession & seller-readiness
65/100
Strong succession signalMultiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.
SIGNALS
- secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 59. Early succession window.
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 22 years old and no new directors in the last 3 years — succession not yet being planned internally.
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 Richard John Forrest Individual · British · DOB 10/1967 · age 59 | 75–100% | 75–100% | board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control | 31/01/2026 |
3 historic (ceased) PSCs
- Mr Stephen John Lordceased 31/01/2026· 75-100% shares · 75-100% voting
- Mr Kevin Alan Brazierceased 04/07/2022· 50-75% shares · 50-75% voting
- Miss Emma Brazierceased 04/07/2022· 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting
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 · Retail · TF postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ALIKA COLLECTIONS LIMITED→ 16425994 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| APEXMARTT LTD→ 15274507 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| APLEY TRADING LIMITED→ 11053483 · est 2017 | — | — | £-64.3k | — | 8y | — | — |
| APPLIANCE WORKSHOP LTD→ 13253008 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| ASTRALORB LIMITED→ 16044301 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| AXIS GAMING LTD→ 14932740 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| BADHAN SALES LIMITED→ 12801713 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| BANANAA LTD→ 14868316 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| BANKS & COOPER LTD→ 07491382 · est 2011 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 15y | — | — |
| BE PERSONAL GIFTS LTD→ 11178090 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| BEDS AND FURNITURE WAREHOUSE LTD→ 11862091 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| BELVA PRODUCE LIMITED→ 11639950 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
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 SIC47789 — Other retail sale of new goods in specialised stores (other than commercial art galleries and opticians)
Registered office
C/O Telford Engineering Supplies Unit B8
Halesfield 9
Telford
TF7 4QW
England
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-02-14
Last: 2026-01-31
Officers (1 active · 3 resigned)
FORREST, Richard John→
Activedirector · ~59y · appointed 2022-07-04
View their other companies + combined net worth →
POSTANS, John→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 2004-03-05 · resigned 2013-04-01
BRAZIER, Kevin Alan→
Resigneddirector · ~58y · appointed 2004-03-05 · resigned 2022-07-04
LORD, Stephen John→
Resigneddirector · ~62y · appointed 2022-07-04 · resigned 2025-09-22
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 | National Westminster Bank National Westminster Bank PLC | Debenture | 1 property | 03/09/2004 | — |
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.
Recent filings (59 total)
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2026-03-27
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-03-27
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2026-03-19
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2026-03-19
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2025-09-22
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-02-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-12-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-03-22
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-02-07
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-01-31
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2023-01-31
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2023-01-31
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2023-01-31
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2023-01-31
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2023-01-31