BROWSE WOOD DESIGNS LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
08767340 · ltd · incorporated 2013-11-08
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 Nov 2025
Net worth
£903
book net assets
Opportunity
78/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Other manufacturing n.e.c.
Sector: Manufacturing
Investor take
PursueAsset-holding vehicle with a 67-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 78/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (68/100, director aged 67). 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 (76/100)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
2 officers (2 active, 2 linked, 1 with DOB)
80
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
31 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.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declaredPositive net assets
Net assets £903
Cash YoY
+734%
Year on year
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
£9k
↑ 734% YoY
Net Worth
£903
↑ 634% YoY
Current Assets
£12k
↑ 262% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2025-11-30 | 2024-11-30 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £1.1k | £375 |
| Current assets | £11.8k | £3.3k |
| Cash | £9.3k | £1.1k |
| Debtors | £2.4k | £2.1k |
| Net assets | £903 | £123 |
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
1
filing
- • 1 accounts
Last 180 days
1
filing
- • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (18 events)Click to expand
- 2026-04-14📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2025-07-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-07-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-06-19📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-07-20📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-03-23📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2022-03-23📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2021-08-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-10-05📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-12-11📄resolutionresolution · RESOLUTIONS
- 2019-08-06📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-07-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-11-15📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2017-08-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2016-08-02📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2013-11-08🏢Company incorporatedAs BROWSE WOOD DESIGNS LIMITED
- 2013-11-08➕PRESTON, Vivienne appointedsecretary
- 2013-11-08➕PRESTON, Edward appointeddirector
Owner dependency
95/100
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 67 — succession pressure is live.
- +No director turnover: Company is 13 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.
Succession & seller-readiness
78/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 67. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
- 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| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Edward Preston Individual · English · DOB 12/1959 · age 67 | 50–75% | — | 50-75% shares | 01/11/2016 |
Mrs Vivienne Preston Individual · British · DOB 10/1963 · age 63 | 25–50% | — | 25-50% shares | 09/11/2016 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| B W MACHINERY LTD→ 08473936 · est 2013 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 13y | — | — |
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| BRANCH AUTOBODIES LIMITED→ 09464883 · est 2015 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 11y | — | — |
| BRIGHT SCREW COMPANY LIMITED(THE)→ 00365862 · est 1941 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 85y | — | — |
| BRINACO LIMITED→ 02106898 · est 1987 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 39y | — | — |
| BRITANNIA TEXTILE CO. LIMITED→ 01820402 · est 1984 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 41y | — | — |
| BROADGATE JOINERY LTD→ 16683368 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| BROUNS & CO GLASS LTD→ 07768716 · est 2011 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 14y | — | — |
| BROUNS & CO LIMITED→ 07768715 · est 2011 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 14y | — | — |
| BROWNHIRST JOINERY LIMITED→ 08530459 · est 2013 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 12y | — | — |
| BS IP & KNOWHOW LTD→ 07658080 · est 2011 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 14y | — | — |
| BTO CONTRACTS LTD→ 09352075 · est 2014 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 11y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2013-11-08
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC32990 — Other manufacturing n.e.c.
Registered office
26 Throstle Nest Close
Otley
LS21 2RR
England
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-08-31
Last made up to: 2025-11-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-11-07
Last: 2025-10-24
Officers (2 active · 0 resigned)
Active
PRESTON, Edward→
Activedirector · ~67y · appointed 2013-11-08
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (31 total)
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2026-04-14
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-11-19
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-07-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-11-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-07-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-11-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-06-19
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-11-19
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-07-20
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2022-03-23
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2022-03-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-11-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-08-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-11-19
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-10-05