BORDER PLANT SALES LTD
💤Zombieactive
05288438 · ltd · incorporated 2004-11-16
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
—
book net assets
Opportunity
77/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 46610
Sector: Wholesale & retail
Investor take
PursueStrong opportunity: active trading company with strong profile and bankable structure.
Opportunity 77/100 (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: share sale to pe / searcher (58/100).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
2 live charges · 2 lenders · oldest 20.2y
30/100
under pressure
Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.
- · Oldest live charge is 20.2 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Two lenders — manageable, but coordination required.
- · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.
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
2 charges (2/2 with lender, 2/2 with type)
90
Directors & officers
4 officers (2 active, 4 linked, 1 with DOB)
75
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
60 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
77/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
60
Some acquirability indicators.
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 | 2025-10-31 | 2024-10-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Average employees | 11 | 1200 |
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
1
filing
- • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (26 events)Click to expand
- 2026-03-17📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2025-04-15📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-03-11📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-11-20📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2023-11-20📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2023-04-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2022-05-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2021-11-23📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2021-11-23📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2021-05-18📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2020-06-11📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2019-02-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2018-11-09📄change-person-secretary-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH03
- 2018-11-09📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2018-01-10📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2017-12-12📄mortgage-satisfy-charge-fullmortgage · MR04
- 2017-12-12🔓Charge satisfied #1
- 2017-06-22🔒Charge registered #2Lender: Lloyds Bank PLC
- 2006-04-12🔒Charge registered #1Lender: The Co-Operative Bank PLC
- 2004-12-17➕LOWE, Jane Patricia appointedsecretary
- 2004-12-17➕LOWE, Stephen Richard appointeddirector
- 2004-12-17➖CREDITREFORM (SECRETARIES) LIMITED resignedcorporate-secretary
- 2004-12-17➖CREDITREFORM LIMITED resignedcorporate-director
- 2004-11-16🏢Company incorporatedAs BORDER PLANT SALES LTD
- 2004-11-16➕CREDITREFORM (SECRETARIES) LIMITED appointedcorporate-secretary
- 2004-11-16➕CREDITREFORM LIMITED appointedcorporate-director
Owner dependency
85/100
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 22 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
Succession & seller-readiness
75/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
- primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 22 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 22 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Stephen Richard Lowe Individual · British · DOB 08/1973 · age 53 | 50–75% | 50–75% | board control50-75% shares · 50-75% voting · board control | 01/11/2016 |
Mrs Jane Patricia Lowe Individual · British · DOB 07/1974 · age 52 | 25–50% | 25–50% | 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting | 01/11/2021 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Similar companies
Active · Wholesale & distribution · CW postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ANTHESIS PRODUCT SALES LTD→ 12393668 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| ATC SEMITEC LIMITED→ 03369982 · est 1997 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 28y | — | — |
| AURA PRODUCTS LTD→ 10265662 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| BABIESKIN AND KIND LIMITED→ 14932221 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| BBM POUND LIMITED→ 15054447 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| BEST OF BREED LIVESTOCK LIMITED→ 11205881 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| BIG FIVE CRICKET LIMITED→ 11057859 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| BIOENERGY PARTS CO. LIMITED→ 16460542 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| BLIND TASTE LTD→ 12529227 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| BOOKEY CLOTHING LIMITED→ 10370903 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| BRADFIELD SMS LIMITED→ 14571935 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| BRISCOE'S DAIRY LIMITED→ 04622685 · est 2002 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 23y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2004-11-16
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC46610 — SIC 46610
Registered office
Orchard Farm
Brookhouse Green Smallwood
Sandbach
Cheshire
CW11 2XE
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-07-31
Last made up to: 2025-10-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-11-30
Last: 2025-11-16
Officers (2 active · 2 resigned)
LOWE, Jane Patricia→
Activesecretary · appointed 2004-12-17
View their other companies + combined net worth →
LOWE, Stephen Richard→
Activedirector · ~53y · appointed 2004-12-17
View their other companies + combined net worth →
CREDITREFORM (SECRETARIES) LIMITED→
Resignedcorporate-secretary · appointed 2004-11-16 · resigned 2004-12-17
CREDITREFORM LIMITED→
Resignedcorporate-director · appointed 2004-11-16 · resigned 2004-12-17
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
2
Total charges
1
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:2 of 2 shown
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| outstanding | Lloyds Banking Group Lloyds Bank PLC | A registered charge | — | 22/06/2017 | — | |
| satisfied | Co-operative Bank The Co-Operative Bank PLC | Debenture | 1 property | 12/04/2006 | 12/12/2017 |
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.
Recent filings (60 total)
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2026-03-17
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-11-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-04-15
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-11-27
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-03-11
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2023-11-20
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2023-11-20
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-11-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2023-04-25
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-12-01
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2022-05-31
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-12-20
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2021-11-23
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2021-11-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2021-05-18