3 DISTRIBUTION LIMITED
🌳Matureactive
05995947 · ltd · incorporated 2006-11-13
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 Jun 2025
Net worth
£1.47M
book net assets
Opportunity
83/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: Freight transport by road
Sector: Transportation & storage
Investor take
PursueActive trading company with a 65-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 83/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (63/100, director aged 65). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Cash flow review and working-capital discipline. Cash down -83% YoY — forensic review of receivables, stock turns, and creditor days. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
2 live charges · 2 lenders · oldest 18.9y
30/100
under pressure
Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.
- · Oldest live charge is 18.9 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Two lenders — manageable, but coordination required.
- · Cashflow trend is negative — lender view likely cautious.
Data confidence
Overall: medium (79/100)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
6 officers (4 active, 6 linked, 3 with DOB)
80
Ownership & PSC
3 active PSC(s) of 4 total, 4 with control declared
90
Director network
2 connected companies via shared directors
51
Filing history
72 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
83/100Exceptional
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
85
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
100
Good data coverage for analysis.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declaredPositive net assets
Net assets £1,470,692
Cash draining
Cash down 83% YoY
Cash YoY
-83%
Year on year
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
£27k
↓ 83% YoY
Net Worth
£1.5m
↑ 1.9% YoY
Current Assets
£715k
↓ 20% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2025-06-30 | 2024-06-30 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £1.95M | £1.86M |
| Current assets | £714.8k | £888.9k |
| Cash | £26.9k | £155.0k |
| Debtors | £684.7k | £730.8k |
| Net assets | £1.47M | £1.44M |
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
1
filing
- • 1 accounts
Last 180 days
2
filings
- • 1 accounts
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (29 events)Click to expand
- 2026-02-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2025-02-10📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-03-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-11-29📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2023-11-29📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2023-05-11📄resolutionresolution · RESOLUTIONS
- 2023-05-10📄capital-name-of-class-of-sharescapital · SH08
- 2023-03-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-03-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-03-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-11-18📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2020-03-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-03-20📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-11-26📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2018-11-26📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2018-02-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2018-02-13📄capital-variation-of-rights-attached-to-sharescapital · SH10
- 2011-10-28🔓Charge satisfied #1
- 2011-09-22🔒Charge registered #2Lender: Clydesdale Bank PLC
- 2007-08-22➕BARTMEIER, Jason Robert James appointeddirector
- 2007-06-22🔒Charge registered #1Lender: Barclays Bank PLC
- 2006-11-13🏢Company incorporatedAs 3 DISTRIBUTION LIMITED
- 2006-11-13➕FINCH, Patrick Eric appointedsecretary
- 2006-11-13➕FINCH, Patrick Eric appointeddirector
- 2006-11-13➕RAYNER, David Paul appointeddirector
- 2006-11-13➕WATERLOW SECRETARIES LIMITED appointedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 2006-11-13➖WATERLOW SECRETARIES LIMITED resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 2006-11-13➕WATERLOW NOMINEES LIMITED appointedcorporate-nominee-director
- 2006-11-13➖WATERLOW NOMINEES LIMITED resignedcorporate-nominee-director
Owner dependency
75/100
High — earn-out structure requiredMaterial founder dependency. Consider a 2-3 year earn-out and build in a handover plan before completion.
FACTORS
- +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 19 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 65 — succession pressure is live.
Succession & seller-readiness
73/100
Strong succession signalMultiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.
SIGNALS
- primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 65. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
- secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 19 years.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 19 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
3 active beneficial owners| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mrs Lorraine Rayner Individual · British · DOB 07/1964 · age 62 | 25–50% | 25–50% | 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting | 20/04/2023 |
Mr Patrick Eric Finch Individual · British · DOB 06/1963 · age 63 | 25–50% | 25–50% | 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting | 06/04/2016 |
Mr David Paul Rayner Individual · British · DOB 12/1961 · age 65 | 25–50% | 25–50% | 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting | 06/04/2016 |
1 historic (ceased) PSC
- Mr Jason Robert James Bartmeierceased 06/04/2016· 25-50% shares
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 · Transport & logistics · PE postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10573468 LTD→ 10573468 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| 2 WILD LTD→ 09541621 · est 2015 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 11y | — | — |
| 24-7 SELF STORE LTD→ 11139762 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| 313 BDR LTD→ 14852520 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| 3DEC PROTOCOL & LOGISTICS LTD→ 17037944 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 44 TONNE ARTIC HAULAGE LIMITED→ 06715226 · est 2008 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 17y | — | — |
| 4BRIE.TRANSPORT. LTD→ 16797102 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 5 STAR AIRPORT TRANSFER LTD→ 14235347 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| 5AK LTD→ 17115436 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 604556969 LTD→ 11635037 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| 67YARO LTD→ 12319493 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| 6PL LTD→ 13605703 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2006-11-13
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC49410 — Freight transport by road
Registered office
27-29 Old Market
Wisbech
Cambridgeshire
PE13 1NE
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-03-31
Last made up to: 2025-06-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-11-27
Last: 2025-11-13
Officers (4 active · 2 resigned)
FINCH, Patrick Eric→
Activesecretary · appointed 2006-11-13
View their other companies + combined net worth →
BARTMEIER, Jason Robert James→
Activedirector · ~47y · appointed 2007-08-22
View their other companies + combined net worth →
FINCH, Patrick Eric→
Activedirector · ~63y · appointed 2006-11-13
View their other companies + combined net worth →
RAYNER, David Paul→
Activedirector · ~65y · appointed 2006-11-13
View their other companies + combined net worth →
WATERLOW SECRETARIES LIMITED→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2006-11-13 · resigned 2006-11-13
WATERLOW NOMINEES LIMITED→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-director · appointed 2006-11-13 · resigned 2006-11-13
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 | Virgin Money Clydesdale Bank PLC | Debenture | 1 property | 22/09/2011 | — | |
| satisfied | Barclays Barclays Bank PLC | Debenture | 1 property | 22/06/2007 | 28/10/2011 |
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.
Recent filings (72 total)
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2026-02-27
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-11-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-02-10
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-11-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-03-22
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2023-11-29
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2023-11-29
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-11-24
resolution
resolution · RESOLUTIONS
2023-05-11
capital-name-of-class-of-shares
capital · SH08
2023-05-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-03-30
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-11-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-03-28
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-11-22
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-03-22