WILLIAM STEPHEN (BAKERS) LIMITED

🌳Matureactive
SC032964 · ltd · incorporated 1958-03-28
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
approaching window · 12-months
Approaching a transaction window — refinance or sale event plausible in the next 12 months.
  • · Oldest live charge 30.3y old — refinance window within 12 months
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
not disclosed
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
83/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: Manufacture of bread; manufacture of fresh pastry goods and cakes
Sector: Manufacturing
Investor take
Pursue
Strong opportunity: active trading company with exceptional profile and bankable structure.

Opportunity 83/100 (exceptional), bankability 85/100. High owner-dependency — earn-out structure likely required for clean transition. Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

1 live charge · oldest 30.3y

85/100
ready

Refinance conversation should be productive — structure clean and timing right.

  • · Oldest live charge is 30.3 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
  • · Legal-friction score 15/100 — clean.

Data confidence

Overall: medium (58/100)

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
1 charges (1/1 with lender, 1/1 with type)
90
Directors & officers
10 officers (5 active, 10 linked, 8 with DOB)
86
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
4 connected companies via shared directors
57
Filing history
118 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
83/100Exceptional
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
85
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
1
filing
  • • 1 accounts
Last 180 days
1
filing
  • • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (32 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-04-07
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-04-03
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-12-31
    📄
    mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
    mortgage · MR04
  4. 2024-12-31
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #1
  5. 2024-10-01
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  6. 2024-10-01
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  7. 2024-05-16
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2023-04-06
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2022-12-20
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  10. 2022-12-20
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  11. 2022-12-20
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  12. 2022-12-20
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  13. 2022-04-04
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-full
    accounts · AA
  14. 2021-07-02
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-full
    accounts · AA
  15. 2021-01-26
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  16. 2021-01-26
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  17. 2020-12-24
    ➕
    BAYLIS, Talia Sarafilovic appointed
    director
  18. 2020-12-24
    ➕
    SARAFILOVIC, Sean Ricardo appointed
    director
  19. 2020-07-03
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-full
    accounts · AA
  20. 2019-03-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-full
    accounts · AA
  21. 2018-05-01
    ➖
    HAMILTON, Andrew Aitkenhead resigned
    director
  22. 2017-03-06
    ➕
    HAMILTON, Andrew Aitkenhead appointed
    director
  23. 2016-10-29
    ➖
    CHISHOLM, Ewen Donald Ross resigned
    director
  24. 2013-06-17
    ➕
    CHISHOLM, Ewen Donald Ross appointed
    director
  25. 2000-01-14
    ➕
    SARAFILOVIC, Rona Gay appointed
    director
  26. 1998-07-01
    ➕
    SARAFILOVIC, Alexander appointed
    secretary
  27. 1998-06-30
    ➖
    SARAFILOVIC, Radovan resigned
    secretary
  28. 1998-06-20
    ➖
    MARR, Lesley Fiona resigned
    director
  29. 1996-03-29
    ➖
    SARAFILOVIC, Philip Robert resigned
    director
  30. 1996-02-14
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
  31. 1986-04-17
    ➕
    MARR, Lesley Fiona appointed
    director
  32. 1958-03-28
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As WILLIAM STEPHEN (BAKERS) LIMITED

Owner dependency

66/100
High — earn-out structure required

Material 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.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 26 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 63 — approaching natural succession window.
  • +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.

Succession & seller-readiness

80/100
Likely off-market candidate

Strong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.

SIGNALS
  • primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 63. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
  • primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 26 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 68 years old and no new directors in the last 3 years — succession not yet being planned internally.
  • 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.)

Group structure

Pars Group Limited is the ultimate parent — holding 75%+ shares. This company sits inside their group.

🏛️
Pars Group Limited
Corporate parent · holds 75-100% shares · board control
ultimate parent
⬇
WILLIAM STEPHEN (BAKERS) LIMITED
This company · SC032964

Parent relationships inferred from Persons with Significant Control filings. Full subsidiary tree requires reverse-lookup (coming).

Shareholders & ownership

1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Pars Group Limited
Corporate entity
75–100%
75–100%board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control06/04/2016

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 →

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Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions

6 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.

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Company details

Statusactive
Typeltd
Incorporated1958-03-28
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC10710 — Manufacture of bread; manufacture of fresh pastry goods and cakes

Registered office

Unit 21 Dunfermline Business Park
Primrose Lane
Dunfermline
Fife
KY11 2RN

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-03-31
Last made up to: 2025-06-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-11-12
Last: 2025-10-29

Officers (5 active · 5 resigned)

SARAFILOVIC, Alexander→
secretary · appointed 1998-07-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
BAYLIS, Talia Sarafilovic→
director · ~34y · appointed 2020-12-24
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
SARAFILOVIC, Andre→
director · ~63y
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
SARAFILOVIC, Rona Gay→
director · ~62y · appointed 2000-01-14
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
SARAFILOVIC, Sean Ricardo→
director · ~36y · appointed 2020-12-24
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
SARAFILOVIC, Radovan→
secretary · resigned 1998-06-30
Resigned
CHISHOLM, Ewen Donald Ross→
director · ~57y · appointed 2013-06-17 · resigned 2016-10-29
Resigned
HAMILTON, Andrew Aitkenhead→
director · ~64y · appointed 2017-03-06 · resigned 2018-05-01
Resigned
MARR, Lesley Fiona→
director · ~65y · appointed 1986-04-17 · resigned 1998-06-20
Resigned
SARAFILOVIC, Philip Robert→
director · ~71y · resigned 1996-03-29
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

1
Total charges
0
Outstanding
0
Active lenders
Status:Lender:1 of 1 shown
TypeProperties
satisfied
Lloyds Banking Group
The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
Bond & floating charge1 property14/02/199631/12/2024

Recent filings (118 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-full
accounts · AA
2026-04-07
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-10-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-full
accounts · AA
2025-04-03
mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
mortgage · MR04
2024-12-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-11-19
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2024-10-01
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2024-10-01
accounts-with-accounts-type-full
accounts · AA
2024-05-16
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-11-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-full
accounts · AA
2023-04-06
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2022-12-20
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2022-12-20
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2022-12-20
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2022-12-20
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-11-27