BLUE BALL GRANTCHESTER LTD.

🌳Matureactive
08975288 · ltd · incorporated 2014-04-03
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 Mar 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
78/100
Strong
🔔
Follow this company (free)
Email alerts on filings, charges, director changes, gazette notices. No account needed.

Unsubscribe any time from any email. GDPR-respectful.

🔒Generate AI memo →🔒Outreach pack →🔒Corporate story →📑 Reports →Sign in to watch
What this business does
Primary activity: Public houses and bars
Sector: Accommodation & food service
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company 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. 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
2 officers (2 active, 2 linked, 2 with DOB)
90
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
34 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 accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
£0£0£0£0£0£0Mar 2024Mar 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2025-03-312024-03-31
Average employees29002700

Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.

🔒Filing-note intelligence

2 signals 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
1
filing
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 90 days
1
filing
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
1
filing
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (19 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-12-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-12-19
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2023-11-20
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2022-12-19
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  5. 2021-12-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  6. 2021-04-19
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  7. 2020-11-25
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2020-10-20
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  9. 2020-10-19
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  10. 2019-11-12
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  11. 2019-04-03
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  12. 2019-04-03
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  13. 2019-04-03
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  14. 2019-04-03
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  15. 2018-12-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  16. 2018-01-03
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  17. 2014-04-03
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As BLUE BALL GRANTCHESTER LTD.
  18. 2014-04-03
    ➕
    JOSEPH, Angela Claire appointed
    director
  19. 2014-04-03
    ➕
    JOSEPH, Toby Llewelyn appointed
    director

Owner dependency

86/100
Critical — business is the founder

The business appears inseparable from the founder. Acquisition without a serious earn-out or meaningful transition period would likely destroy value.

FACTORS
  • +Two-director setup: Only two active directors — typical of owner-managed SMEs but limits succession.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 67 — succession pressure is live.
  • +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.
  • +No director turnover: Company is 12 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.

Succession & seller-readiness

69/100
Strong succession signal

Multiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.

SIGNALS
  • primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 67. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
  • secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
  • secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 12 years.
  • supportingClean filings + long tenure: Disciplined long-tenure operator — classic lifestyle-business pattern that often sells quietly.

Red flags

clean
No 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
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Toby Llewelyn Joseph
Individual · British · DOB 02/1960 · age 66
25–50%
25–50%25-50% shares · 25-50% voting06/04/2016
Mrs Angela Claire Joseph
Individual · British · DOB 01/1959 · age 67
25–50%
25–50%25-50% shares · 25-50% voting06/04/2016

From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.

Similar companies

Active · Hospitality · CB postcode area
CompanyEst. valueTurnoverNet worthStaffAgeOppDirector
BARNWELL KEBABS LTD→
16120222 · est 2024 · no financials extracted
————1y——
BELLA PUBS 3 LTD→
16501333 · est 2025 · no financials extracted
———————
BESSINGHAM MANOR EVENTS LTD→
04443462 · est 2002 · no financials extracted
————23y——
BIG SKY VENUE LTD→
14085522 · est 2022 · no financials extracted
————3y——
BILL BE WAFFLE LIMITED→
14891387 · est 2023 · no financials extracted
————2y——
BK ELY LTD→
16307310 · est 2025 · no financials extracted
————1y——
BLACK RICE VLC LIMITED→
12920105 · est 2020 · no financials extracted
————5y——
BLEED ON IT CIC→
15156122 · est 2023 · no financials extracted
————2y——
BLUEBIRD LTD→
09711016 · est 2015 · no financials extracted
————10y——
BNR MANAGEMENT LTD→
15732546 · est 2024 · no financials extracted
————1y——
BOKKIE PROPERTIES OS LIMITED→
13954496 · est 2022 · no financials extracted
————4y——
BOKKIE PROPERTIES RSA LIMITED→
14680227 · est 2023 · no financials extracted
————3y——
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
Incorporated2014-04-03
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC56302 — Public houses and bars

Registered office

The Blue Ball Inn 57 Broadway
Grantchester
Cambridge
Cambs
CB3 9NQ

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-03-28
Last: 2026-03-14

Officers (2 active · 0 resigned)

JOSEPH, Angela Claire→
director · ~67y · appointed 2014-04-03
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
JOSEPH, Toby Llewelyn→
director · ~66y · appointed 2014-04-03
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active

Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.

Recent filings (34 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-07-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-12-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-04-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-12-19
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-04-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-11-20
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-03-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-12-19
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-03-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-12-17
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2021-04-19
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-04-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-11-25
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2020-10-20
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2020-10-19