VBS DIRECT LIMITED
🌳Matureactive
07295136 · ltd · incorporated 2010-06-24
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 Oct 2024
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
76/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Agents involved in the sale of a variety of goods
Sector: Wholesale & retail
Investor take
PursueStrong opportunity: active trading company with strong profile and bankable structure.
Opportunity 76/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. High owner-dependency — earn-out structure likely required for clean transition. Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: strategic trade sale (63/100).
Data confidence
Overall: high (80/100)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
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
3 officers (3 active, 3 linked, 2 with DOB)
83
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
8 connected companies via shared directors
69
Filing history
36 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
76/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
65
Some acquirability indicators.
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 · FRS 102| Metric | 2024-10-31 | 2023-10-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Average employees | 700 | 729513600 |
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 (20 events)Click to expand
- 2025-07-02📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-07-24📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-07-18📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2022-07-18📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2021-07-07📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2021-03-01📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2020-07-13📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2019-07-03📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2018-10-15📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2018-07-16📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2017-07-13📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2017-06-28📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2017-06-28📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2016-07-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2016-06-29📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2015-07-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2010-06-24🏢Company incorporatedAs VBS DIRECT LIMITED
- 2010-06-24➕WEDDELL, James appointedsecretary
- 2010-06-24➕BARABAS, Stephen Paul appointeddirector
- 2010-06-24➕WEDDELL, James Richard appointeddirector
Owner dependency
68/100
High — earn-out structure requiredMaterial founder dependency. Consider a 2-3 year earn-out and build in a handover plan before completion.
FACTORS
- +Two-director setup: Only two active directors — typical of owner-managed SMEs but limits succession.
- +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 16 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
Succession & seller-readiness
59/100
Strong succession signalMultiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.
SIGNALS
- secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
- secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 16 years.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 16 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 James Richard Weddell Individual · British · DOB 06/1974 · age 52 | 25–50% | — | 25-50% shares | 24/06/2017 |
Mr Stephen Paul Barabas Individual · British · DOB 09/1972 · age 54 | 25–50% | — | 25-50% shares | 24/06/2017 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1505 LUXURY LIMITED→ 16257985 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| 3D FOILS LTD→ 03851645 · est 1999 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 26y | — | — |
| A & H SWEETS & SOFT DRINKS LTD→ 04954721 · est 2003 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 22y | — | — |
| A & N FEED LTD→ 06532745 · est 2008 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 18y | — | — |
| A & N GRAIN TRADING LTD→ 06772299 · est 2008 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 17y | — | — |
| A P SOURCING LIMITED→ 07891269 · est 2011 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 14y | — | — |
| A.T. WILDE AND SON LIMITED→ 01842765 · est 1984 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 41y | — | — |
| ABERYSTWYTH COFFEE COMPANY LTD→ 13706027 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| ABERYSTWYTH SOFT DRINKS LTD→ 10459362 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| ACT AGRI LTD→ 16680542 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| AFFILIATED APPAREL LTD→ 13007856 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| AG SPIRITS LTD→ 15786066 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions
6 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
Incorporated2010-06-24
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC46190 — Agents involved in the sale of a variety of goods
Registered office
Unit 6 Whitchurch Business Park
Shakespeare Way
Whitchurch
Shropshire
SY13 1LJ
United Kingdom
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-07-31
Last made up to: 2024-10-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-07-08
Last: 2025-06-24
Officers (3 active · 0 resigned)
Active
BARABAS, Stephen Paul→
Activedirector · ~54y · appointed 2010-06-24
View their other companies + combined net worth →
WEDDELL, James Richard→
Activedirector · ~52y · appointed 2010-06-24
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (36 total)
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-07-02
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-06-25
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-07-24
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-06-24
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2023-07-18
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-06-26
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2022-07-18
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-06-24
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2021-07-07
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-06-24
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2021-03-01
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-07-13
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-06-25
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2019-07-03
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-06-24