BENCH MANOR
🌳Matureactive
08659654 · private-unlimited · incorporated 2013-08-21
Investment thesis
Established operating company — standard diligence applies, no dominant angle.
Why interesting: Live, filing, normal profile.
Why risky: No standout signals in either direction.
Opportunity decay
approaching window · 12-months
Approaching a transaction window — refinance or sale event plausible in the next 12 months.
- · Oldest live charge 9.4y old — refinance window within 12 months
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
not disclosed
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: Security dealing on own account
Sector: Financial & insurance
Investor take
PursueActive trading company with a 71-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (63/100, director aged 71). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: strategic trade sale (73/100).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
2 live charges · 2 lenders · oldest 9.4y
70/100
ready
Refinance conversation should be productive — structure clean and timing right.
- · Oldest live charge is 9.4 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Two lenders — manageable, but coordination required.
- · Legal-friction score 15/100 — clean.
Data confidence
Overall: medium (62/100)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
No iXBRL financials extracted
0
Lenders & charges
2 charges (2/2 with lender, 2/2 with type)
90
Directors & officers
6 officers (4 active, 6 linked, 6 with DOB)
90
Ownership & PSC
4 active PSC(s) of 5 total, 5 with control declared
90
Director network
19 connected companies via shared directors
90
Filing history
31 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
75
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
100
Good data coverage for analysis.
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 (26 events)Click to expand
- 2022-07-05📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2022-02-25📄mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-datemortgage · MR01
- 2022-02-25🔒Charge registered #2Lender: Schroder & Co Limited
- 2018-08-20📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2017-10-20📄appoint-person-director-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP01
- 2017-10-19📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2017-10-19📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2017-10-19📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2017-10-12➕WALKER, Michael appointeddirector
- 2017-10-12➖MORTON, Alan James resigneddirector
- 2017-02-14📄mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-datemortgage · MR01
- 2017-02-08🔒Charge registered #1Lender: Citibank N.A., London Branch
- 2016-05-25📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2015-09-17📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2015-07-28📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2014-08-28📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2014-01-07📄change-account-reference-date-company-current-shortenedaccounts · AA01
- 2013-10-28✏️certificate-change-of-name-companychange-of-name · CERTNM
- 2013-10-28✏️change-of-name-noticechange-of-name · CONNOT
- 2013-09-16➕BLUNDELL, Christopher James appointeddirector
- 2013-09-16➕BLUNDELL, Jill appointeddirector
- 2013-09-16➕KAY, Andrew appointeddirector
- 2013-09-16➖HOLDEN, John Layfield resigneddirector
- 2013-09-16➕MORTON, Alan James appointeddirector
- 2013-08-21🏢Company incorporatedAs BENCH MANOR
- 2013-08-21➕HOLDEN, John Layfield appointeddirector
Owner dependency
63/100
High — earn-out structure requiredMaterial founder dependency. Consider a 2-3 year earn-out and build in a handover plan before completion.
FACTORS
- -4 active directors: Broader management team in place — suggests transferable governance.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 71 — succession pressure is live.
- +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.
Succession & seller-readiness
73/100
Strong succession signalMultiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.
SIGNALS
- primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 71 years old. Natural succession window is now.
- 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
4 active beneficial owners · dominant holder ≥75% · fragmented| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Michael Walker Individual · British · DOB 09/1962 · age 64 | 75–100% | 75–100% | board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control · trust interest | 12/10/2017 |
Mr Christopher James Blundell Individual · British · DOB 12/1955 · age 71 | 75–100% | 75–100% | board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control · trust interest | 06/04/2016 |
Mrs Jill Blundell Individual · British · DOB 07/1957 · age 69 | 75–100% | 75–100% | board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control · trust interest | 06/04/2016 |
Mr Andrew Kay Individual · British · DOB 10/1962 · age 64 | 75–100% | 75–100% | board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control · trust interest | 06/04/2016 |
1 historic (ceased) PSC
- Mr Alan James Mortonceased 12/10/2017· 75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control · trust interest
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.
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| ARC INVESTMENT SERVICES LIMITED→ 12252777 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
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| B YOUNG CONSULTING LTD→ 13653052 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| BAR FINANCIAL SERVICES LTD→ 11314535 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| BEADNELL SHORE PROPERTIES LTD→ 15978313 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| BERISFORD PENSION TRUSTEE LIMITED→ 16189389 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
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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
Typeprivate-unlimited
Incorporated2013-08-21
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC64991 — Security dealing on own account
Registered office
C/O Womble Bond Dickinson (Uk) Llp The Spark
Drayman's Way, Newcastle Helix
Newcastle Upon Tyne
NE4 5DE
United Kingdom
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: —
Last made up to: —
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-09-04
Last: 2025-08-21
Officers (4 active · 2 resigned)
BLUNDELL, Christopher James→
Activedirector · ~71y · appointed 2013-09-16
View their other companies + combined net worth →
BLUNDELL, Jill→
Activedirector · ~69y · appointed 2013-09-16
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
WALKER, Michael→
Activedirector · ~64y · appointed 2017-10-12
View their other companies + combined net worth →
HOLDEN, John Layfield→
Resigneddirector · ~69y · appointed 2013-08-21 · resigned 2013-09-16
MORTON, Alan James→
Resigneddirector · ~82y · appointed 2013-09-16 · resigned 2017-10-12
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
2
Total charges
2
Outstanding
2
Active lenders
Status:Lender:2 of 2 shown
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| outstanding | Schroder & Co Schroder & Co Limited | A registered charge | 1 property | 25/02/2022 | — | |
| outstanding | Citibank N.A., London Branch | A registered charge | — | 08/02/2017 | — |
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.
Recent filings (31 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-08-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-08-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-08-24
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-08-23
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2022-07-05
mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
mortgage · MR01
2022-02-25
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-08-25
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-08-25
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-08-21
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2018-08-22
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2018-08-20
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2017-10-20
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2017-10-19
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2017-10-19
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2017-10-19