BETTER HOME PRODUCTS (UK) CO LTD
💤Zombieactive
07023304 · ltd · incorporated 2009-09-18
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
—
book net assets
Opportunity
78/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Wholesale of household goods (other than musical instruments) n.e.c.
Sector: Wholesale & retail
Investor take
PursueActive trading company with a 75-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 78/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (68/100, director aged 75). 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 (78/100)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 (2 active, 5 linked, 3 with DOB)
82
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 3 total, 3 with control declared
90
Director network
2 connected companies via shared directors
51
Filing history
52 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
78/100Strong
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
90
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 · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2024-12-31 | 2023-12-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Average employees | 3 | 400 |
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
0
filings
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (27 events)Click to expand
- 2025-12-04📄appoint-person-secretary-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP03
- 2025-12-03➕NICHOLSON, Elizabeth appointedsecretary
- 2025-11-24📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2025-11-24📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2025-09-24📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-09-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-06-26📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2023-07-19📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-03-08➖ZHU, Bo Ming resigneddirector
- 2023-03-08📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2023-02-02📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2022-10-18📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2022-10-13➕NICHOLSON, Robert appointeddirector
- 2022-10-13📄appoint-person-director-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP01
- 2022-09-08📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-03-22📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2021-09-16📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2020-09-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2020-04-15📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2019-09-01➖NICHOLSON, Robert resigneddirector
- 2019-08-02➖NICHOLSON, Elizabeth Jane resignedsecretary
- 2019-08-02➕ZHU, Bo Ming appointeddirector
- 2019-08-02📄termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM02
- 2019-08-02📄appoint-person-director-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP01
- 2009-09-18🏢Company incorporatedAs BETTER HOME PRODUCTS (UK) CO LTD
- 2009-09-18➕NICHOLSON, Elizabeth Jane appointedsecretary
- 2009-09-18➕NICHOLSON, Robert appointeddirector
Owner dependency
90/100
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.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 75 — succession pressure is live.
Succession & seller-readiness
75/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 75 years old. Natural succession window is now.
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
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 Robert Nicholson Individual · British · DOB 11/1951 · age 75 | 75–100% | 75–100% | 75-100% shares · 75-100% voting | 23/11/2025 |
2 historic (ceased) PSCs
- Better Home Products (Zhejiang) Co Ltdceased 23/11/2025· 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting · board control
- Mr Robert Nicholsonceased 06/07/2018· 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting · board control
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 · Wholesale & distribution · SY postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BEAT FOODS LTD→ 11090262 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| BEDOUIN BAGS LIMITED→ 07040752 · est 2009 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 16y | — | — |
| BELLA STYLE LIMITED→ 16185665 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| BENJAMIN HAYWARD LIMITED→ 16555149 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| BERTIES DIRECT LIMITED→ 02667752 · est 1991 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 34y | — | — |
| BEVROW LTD→ 13671374 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| BFG 2021 LIMITED→ 13655389 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| BICKLEY SMALLHOLDING LTD→ 14844612 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| BIG SPACE PRODUCTS LIMITED→ 08347433 · est 2013 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 13y | — | — |
| BIKOLD LIMITED→ 03730857 · est 1999 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 27y | — | — |
| BIOGAS MARKETPLACE LTD→ 12495201 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| BIOMASS BOILER PARTS LTD→ 14400223 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2009-09-18
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC46499 — Wholesale of household goods (other than musical instruments) n.e.c.
Registered office
Suite 1 Green End Parade
Whitchurch
Shropshire
SY13 1AG
England
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last made up to: 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-12-11
Last: 2025-11-27
Officers (2 active · 3 resigned)
NICHOLSON, Elizabeth→
Activesecretary · appointed 2025-12-03
View their other companies + combined net worth →
NICHOLSON, Robert→
Activedirector · ~75y · appointed 2022-10-13
View their other companies + combined net worth →
NICHOLSON, Elizabeth Jane→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 2009-09-18 · resigned 2019-08-02
NICHOLSON, Robert→
Resigneddirector · ~75y · appointed 2009-09-18 · resigned 2019-09-01
ZHU, Bo Ming→
Resigneddirector · ~62y · appointed 2019-08-02 · resigned 2023-03-08
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (52 total)
appoint-person-secretary-company-with-name-date
officers · AP03
2025-12-04
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-11-27
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2025-11-24
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2025-11-24
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-09-24
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-04-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-09-27
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2024-06-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-04-24
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-07-19
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-04-13
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2023-03-08
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2023-02-02
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2022-10-18
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2022-10-13