BUTLERS SHIP STORES LIMITED

🌳Matureactive
SC125674 · ltd · incorporated 1990-06-18
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.
Why now
Window steady · high confidence
Thesis has shifted recently — watch for confirmation.
  • · Lifecycle stage: zombie → mature
  • · Investment thesis: zombie_hold → unclassified
  • · Deal-killer verdict: complicated → workable
  • · Opportunity score: 71 → 82
Opportunity decay
approaching window · 12-months
Approaching a transaction window — refinance or sale event plausible in the next 12 months.
  • · Oldest live charge 34.4y old — refinance window within 12 months
What changed my view
Last 30 days

No material changes in the last 30 days.

Last 90 days

Picture improved over the last 90 days — 5 positive signals vs 0 negative.

  • ↑Lifecycle stage: zombie → mature
  • ·Investment thesis: zombie_hold → unclassified
  • ↑Deal-killer verdict: complicated → workable
  • ↑Opportunity score: 71 → 82
  • ↑Hygiene score: 72 → 82
  • +2 more
Last 180 days

No snapshot from 180 days ago — start tracking from today.

🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Mar 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 52241
Sector: Transportation & storage
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company with a 79-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 79). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Discharge stale live charges. 1 live charge(s) created 15+ years ago — likely paid but undischarged. Clean register. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

2 live charges · 2 lenders · oldest 34.4y

50/100
clean up first

Refinance viable after a tidy-up — address the highlighted items first.

  • · Oldest live charge is 34.4 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · Two lenders — manageable, but coordination required.
  • · Legal-friction score 25/100 — workable, but lender will want more DD.

Data confidence

Overall: medium (77/100)

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
2 charges (2/2 with lender, 2/2 with type)
90
Directors & officers
13 officers (2 active, 13 linked, 7 with DOB)
81
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
116 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
82/100Exceptional
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
80
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
100
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 employees3300

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

🔒Filing-note intelligence

3 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 (41 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-12-01
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-07-15
    📄
    termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM02
  3. 2025-06-11
    ➖
    BURNETT & COMPANY resigned
    corporate-secretary
  4. 2025-02-18
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  5. 2024-11-25
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  6. 2023-12-04
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  7. 2022-12-12
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2022-05-05
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  9. 2022-05-02
    ➕
    HANTON, Harry George appointed
    director
  10. 2022-02-14
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  11. 2022-02-10
    ➖
    BUTLER, Dawn Louise resigned
    director
  12. 2021-12-01
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  13. 2020-12-09
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  14. 2020-08-10
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  15. 2020-08-10
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  16. 2020-07-31
    ➖
    HANTON, Alison Rachel resigned
    director
  17. 2020-07-31
    ➖
    HANTON, Harry George resigned
    director
  18. 2019-12-19
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  19. 2018-12-14
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  20. 2017-08-25
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  21. 2014-05-09
    ➕
    BUTLER, Dawn Louise appointed
    director
  22. 2014-05-09
    ➕
    HANTON, Alison Rachel appointed
    director
  23. 2011-05-28
    ➖
    BUTLER, Douglas Smith resigned
    director
  24. 2000-04-30
    ➕
    BURNETT & COMPANY appointed
    corporate-secretary
  25. 2000-04-30
    ➖
    DONALD & BUDGE resigned
    corporate-secretary
  26. 1998-04-06
    ➕
    BUTLER, Douglas George appointed
    director
  27. 1998-04-06
    ➕
    HANTON, Harry George appointed
    director
  28. 1997-11-10
    ➖
    BUTLER, Dorothy resigned
    director
  29. 1997-06-16
    ➖
    QUEENS CROSS SECRETARIAL SERVICES LIMITED resigned
    corporate-secretary
  30. 1997-02-04
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #1
  31. 1996-11-05
    ➕
    DONALD & BUDGE appointed
    corporate-secretary
  32. 1996-11-04
    ➕
    QUEENS CROSS SECRETARIAL SERVICES LIMITED appointed
    corporate-secretary
  33. 1996-11-04
    ➖
    THE FRANK LEFEVRE PRACTICE resigned
    corporate-secretary
  34. 1996-10-30
    🔒
    Charge registered #4
    Lender: The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland
  35. 1992-02-24
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: Clydesdale Bank Public Limited Company
  36. 1990-06-18
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As BUTLERS SHIP STORES LIMITED
  37. 1990-06-18
    ➕
    ELK COMPANY SECRETARIES LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  38. 1990-06-18
    ➖
    ELK COMPANY SECRETARIES LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  39. 1990-06-18
    ➕
    BUTLER, Douglas Smith appointed
    director
  40. 1990-06-18
    ➕
    ELK COMPANY SECRETARIES LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-director
  41. 1990-06-18
    ➖
    ELK COMPANY SECRETARIES LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-director

Owner dependency

98/100
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 name in company name: Company name contains director surname "BUTLER" — strong identity link between founder and business.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 28 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 79 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

96/100
Likely off-market candidate

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

SIGNALS
  • primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 79 years old. Natural succession window is now.
  • secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
  • primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 28 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 36 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.)

Shareholders & ownership

2 active beneficial owners
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mrs Dawn Louise Butler
Individual · British · DOB 06/1967 · age 59
25–50%
—25-50% shares18/06/2017
Mr Douglas George Butler
Individual · British · DOB 01/1966 · age 60
25–50%
—25-50% shares18/06/2017

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

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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
Typeltd
Incorporated1990-06-18
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC52241 — SIC 52241

Registered office

Hill Of Findon Croft Findon
Portlethen
Aberdeen
AB12 4SL
Scotland

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-06-25
Last: 2026-06-11

Officers (2 active · 11 resigned)

BUTLER, Douglas George→
director · ~60y · appointed 1998-04-06
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
HANTON, Harry George→
director · ~79y · appointed 2022-05-02
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
BURNETT & COMPANY→
corporate-secretary · appointed 2000-04-30 · resigned 2025-06-11
Resigned
DONALD & BUDGE→
corporate-secretary · appointed 1996-11-05 · resigned 2000-04-30
Resigned
ELK COMPANY SECRETARIES LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 1990-06-18 · resigned 1990-06-18
Resigned
QUEENS CROSS SECRETARIAL SERVICES LIMITED→
corporate-secretary · appointed 1996-11-04 · resigned 1997-06-16
Resigned
THE FRANK LEFEVRE PRACTICE→
corporate-secretary · resigned 1996-11-04
Resigned
BUTLER, Dawn Louise→
director · ~59y · appointed 2014-05-09 · resigned 2022-02-10
Resigned
BUTLER, Dorothy→
director · ~89y · resigned 1997-11-10
Resigned
BUTLER, Douglas Smith→
director · ~89y · appointed 1990-06-18 · resigned 2011-05-28
Resigned
HANTON, Alison Rachel→
director · ~78y · appointed 2014-05-09 · resigned 2020-07-31
Resigned
HANTON, Harry George→
director · ~79y · appointed 1998-04-06 · resigned 2020-07-31
Resigned
ELK COMPANY SECRETARIES LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 1990-06-18 · resigned 1990-06-18
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

2
Total charges
1
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:2 of 2 shown
TypeProperties
outstanding
Lloyds Banking Group
The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland
Bond & floating charge1 property30/10/1996—
satisfied
Virgin Money
Clydesdale Bank Public Limited Company
Floating charge1 property24/02/199204/02/1997
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (116 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-07-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-12-01
termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM02
2025-07-15
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-07-15
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2025-02-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-11-25
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-06-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-12-04
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-07-25
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-12-12
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-08-15
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2022-05-05
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2022-02-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-12-01
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-08-12