BAY COTTAGE INDUSTRIES LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
05660694 · ltd · incorporated 2005-12-21
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
£6.2k
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: Other service activities n.e.c.
Sector: Other service activities
Investor take
PursueAsset-holding vehicle with a 66-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 66). 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 (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
4 officers (1 active, 4 linked, 2 with DOB)
80
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
55 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 · accounting standard not declaredPositive net assets
Net assets £6,161
Cash YoY
+9%
Year on year
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
£12k
↑ 9.3% YoY
Net Worth
£6k
↑ 239% YoY
Current Assets
£12k
↑ 2.1% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2024-12-31 | 2023-12-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £6.2k | £1.8k |
| Current assets | £12.3k | £12.0k |
| Cash | £12.0k | £10.9k |
| Debtors | £272 | £1.0k |
| Net assets | £6.2k | £1.8k |
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 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (23 events)Click to expand
- 2025-09-10📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-07-11📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-07-01📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-09-24📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-07-08📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-09-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-01-02➖ASHER, Julie resignedsecretary
- 2020-01-02📄termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM02
- 2019-09-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-09-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-12-19📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2017-09-05📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-02-07📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2016-09-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2016-05-09📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2016-01-22📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2005-12-22➕ASHER, Michael appointeddirector
- 2005-12-22➕ASHER, Julie appointedsecretary
- 2005-12-22➖RAYNER, Joanne resignedsecretary
- 2005-12-22➖MACKINDER, Gavin John resigneddirector
- 2005-12-21🏢Company incorporatedAs BAY COTTAGE INDUSTRIES LIMITED
- 2005-12-21➕RAYNER, Joanne appointedsecretary
- 2005-12-21➕MACKINDER, Gavin John appointeddirector
Owner dependency
100/100
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 20 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 66 — succession pressure is live.
Succession & seller-readiness
95/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 66. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
- primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 20 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 20 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 Michael Asher Individual · British · DOB 01/1960 · age 66 | 75–100% | 75–100% | board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control | 21/12/2016 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
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| AWARDTECH CONSULTANTS LTD→ 10706632 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
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| B. & E. WINDLE LIMITED→ 01218606 · est 1975 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 50y | — | — |
| BACK POCKET OFFICE LTD→ 15002504 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| BAKER VENTURES LTD→ 09955776 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 10y | — | — |
| BAREAESTHETICS BY COURTENAY LTD→ 16225139 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| BARMBY CHILDREN'S CIC→ 11390897 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| BATTERY SOLUTIONS YORKSHIRE LTD→ 14815519 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| BAXBY AWAKENING LIMITED→ 16906447 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| BAXTER CLERICAL LIMITED→ 14344310 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
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Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions
8 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
Incorporated2005-12-21
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC96090 — Other service activities n.e.c.
Registered office
2 Clifton Moor Business Village
James Nicolson Link
York
North Yorkshire
YO30 4XG
England
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last made up to: 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-01-04
Last: 2025-12-21
Officers (1 active · 3 resigned)
ASHER, Michael→
Activedirector · ~66y · appointed 2005-12-22
View their other companies + combined net worth →
ASHER, Julie→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 2005-12-22 · resigned 2020-01-02
RAYNER, Joanne→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 2005-12-21 · resigned 2005-12-22
MACKINDER, Gavin John→
Resigneddirector · ~65y · appointed 2005-12-21 · resigned 2005-12-22
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (55 total)
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-12-22
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-09-10
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-12-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-07-11
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-12-27
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-07-01
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-12-28
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-09-24
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-12-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-07-08
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-12-22
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-09-27
termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM02
2020-01-02
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-01-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-09-29