BULLFINCH BREWERY LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
08409375 · ltd · incorporated 2013-02-19
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 Mar 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
74/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Manufacture of beer
Sector: Manufacturing
ALSO REGISTERED FOR
- 56302Public houses and bars
Investor take
PursueStrong opportunity: active trading company with strong profile and bankable structure.
Opportunity 74/100 (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).
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, 2 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
2 officers (1 active, 2 linked, 2 with DOB)
90
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
1 connected companies via shared directors
48
Filing history
32 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
74/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
55
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 | 2025-03-31 | 2024-03-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | — | £9.7k |
| Current assets | — | £22.6k |
| Net assets | — | £31.8k |
| Average employees | 400 | — |
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
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 (19 events)Click to expand
- 2025-12-14📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-12-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-12-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-12-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-12-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-03-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-02-07📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2019-12-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-09-04📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2019-09-02➖MORRIS, Carly Ann resigneddirector
- 2019-01-15📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-11-01➕MORRIS, Carly Ann appointeddirector
- 2018-11-01📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2018-11-01📄capital-allotment-sharescapital · SH01
- 2018-11-01📄appoint-person-director-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP01
- 2017-12-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2016-12-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2013-02-19🏢Company incorporatedAs BULLFINCH BREWERY LIMITED
- 2013-02-19➕MCLEAN, Ryan Francis appointeddirector
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
- +Sole director: Only one active director — all governance concentrated on one person.
Succession & seller-readiness
58/100
Strong succession signalMultiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.
SIGNALS
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
- secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 13 years.
- 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 · dominant holder ≥75%| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Ryan Francis Mclean Individual · British · DOB 07/1976 · age 50 | 75–100% | — | 75-100% shares | 06/04/2016 |
Ms Carly Ann Morris Individual · British · DOB 07/1980 · age 46 | 25–50% | — | 25-50% shares | 01/11/2018 |
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 · Food & drink · EX postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CORONA SOFT DRINKS LTD→ 16205825 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| COSTERMONGER GROUP LTD→ 12099545 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| DEVON DAIRY BRANDS→ 13590601 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| DEVON DELICIOUS LIMITED→ 11977491 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| DEVON RUSK COMPANY LIMITED→ 14251315 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| DEVONVALE LIMITED→ 04399540 · est 2002 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 24y | — | — |
| DOLLYMAL'S KITCHEN LTD→ 16831362 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| DUNBIA (UK)→ 03382084 · est 1997 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 28y | — | — |
| DUNN BROTHERS LIMITED→ 05207910 · est 2004 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 21y | — | — |
| ELECTRIC BAKERY BUDE LTD→ 12149864 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| ELLIS BAKERY LTD→ 11085075 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| EMPIRE BUILD LONDON LIMITED→ 07581854 · est 2011 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 15y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2013-02-19
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC11050 — Manufacture of beer
Registered office
7 Mill Street
Ottery St. Mary
EX11 1AB
England
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-03-05
Last: 2026-02-19
Officers (1 active · 1 resigned)
MCLEAN, Ryan Francis→
Activedirector · ~50y · appointed 2013-02-19
View their other companies + combined net worth →
MORRIS, Carly Ann→
Resigneddirector · ~46y · appointed 2018-11-01 · resigned 2019-09-02
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (32 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-02-25
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-12-14
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-02-19
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-12-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-04-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-12-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-02-22
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-12-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-02-22
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-12-31
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-03-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-02-19
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2021-02-07
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-02-19
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-12-31