BERKELEY DOG BEDS LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
09249796 · ltd · incorporated 2014-10-06
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
£24.5k
book net assets
Opportunity
78/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Other retail sale not in stores, stalls or markets
Sector: Wholesale & retail
Investor take
PursueAsset-holding vehicle with a 69-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 78/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (68/100, director aged 69). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Cash flow review and working-capital discipline. Cash down -57% YoY — forensic review of receivables, stock turns, and creditor days. 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 (1 active, 2 linked, 2 with DOB)
90
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
27 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 · FRS 102Positive net assets
Net assets £24,507
Net assets shrinking
Down £462 YoY
Cash draining
Cash down 57% YoY
Cash YoY
-57%
Year on year
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
£4k
↓ 57% YoY
Net Worth
£25k
↓ 1.9% YoY
Current Assets
£28k
↓ 8.9% YoY
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 | £24.5k | £25.0k |
| Current assets | £27.5k | £30.2k |
| Cash | £4.4k | £10.2k |
| Debtors | £577 | — |
| Net assets | £24.5k | £25.0k |
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
1
filing
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (18 events)Click to expand
- 2025-10-07📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-09-19📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-08-17📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-05-30📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2023-04-19📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2023-03-24📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2023-02-03➖TOULON, Gail Valerie resigneddirector
- 2022-07-09📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-05-17📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-07-02📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-07-09📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-07-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-04-12📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2016-04-18📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2015-10-19📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2014-10-06🏢Company incorporatedAs BERKELEY DOG BEDS LIMITED
- 2014-10-06➕STARBUCK, Martin appointeddirector
- 2014-10-06➕TOULON, Gail Valerie appointeddirector
Owner dependency
90/100
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 69 — succession pressure is live.
Succession & seller-readiness
70/100
Strong succession signalMultiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.
SIGNALS
- primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 69. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
- 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
1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Martin Starbuck Individual · British · DOB 03/1957 · age 69 | 75–100% | — | 75-100% shares | 06/10/2016 |
1 historic (ceased) PSC
- Ms Gail Valerie Toulsonceased 03/02/2023· 25-50% shares
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Similar companies
Active · Retail · SP postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABACUS REPRO LIMITED→ 04971774 · est 2003 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 22y | — | — |
| ALICE'S IN WONDERLAND SALISBURY LTD→ 09533405 · est 2015 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 11y | — | — |
| ANDOVER GARDEN MACHINERY LTD→ 07098627 · est 2009 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 16y | — | — |
| ARTSTORE DIRECT LTD→ 11295911 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| AVON SECURITY LIMITED→ 05192123 · est 2004 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 21y | — | — |
| BAVC LTD→ 15685528 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| BCM ENTERPRISES LIMITED→ 16336220 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| BECKFORD BOTTLE SHOP LIMITED→ 09788962 · est 2015 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 10y | — | — |
| BELOW AND BEYOND LTD→ 16736276 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| BEST FITTINGS LTD→ 04917641 · est 2003 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 22y | — | — |
| BETTER SADDLES LIMITED→ 05276405 · est 2004 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 21y | — | — |
| BFE-UK LIMITED→ 08893892 · est 2014 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 12y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2014-10-06
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC47990 — Other retail sale not in stores, stalls or markets
Registered office
Winchester Lodge
Wherwell
Andover
SP11 7JR
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-05-03
Last: 2026-04-19
Officers (1 active · 1 resigned)
STARBUCK, Martin→
Activedirector · ~69y · appointed 2014-10-06
View their other companies + combined net worth →
TOULON, Gail Valerie→
Resigneddirector · ~71y · appointed 2014-10-06 · resigned 2023-02-03
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (27 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-04-22
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-10-07
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-04-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-09-19
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-05-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-08-17
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2023-05-30
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-04-19
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2023-04-19
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2023-03-24
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-11-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-07-09
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-10-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-05-17
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-10-07