OPTICAL EXPRESS (WESTFIELD) LIMITED

📉Decliningactive
SC161695 · ltd · incorporated 1995-11-17
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.
Opportunity decay
drifting distress · 6-months
Drifting toward distress — expect more negotiability in 3–6 months, but also more friction.
  • · Lifecycle stage drifting downward
  • · Currently "declining"
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Dec 2024
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: Other human health activities
Sector: Human health & social work
Investor take
Pursue
Strong opportunity: active trading company with exceptional profile and acceptable with review structure.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 67/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 58). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Consolidate lender relationships. 6 distinct lenders creates friction — refinance into single-lender structure for cleaner diligence. Most likely exit: strategic trade sale (73/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

7 live charges · 6 lenders · oldest 30.1y

25/100
too messy

Refinance path is blocked by complexity. Rethink structure or expect bespoke, expensive terms.

  • · Oldest live charge is 30.1 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · 6 lenders named — inter-creditor friction likely.
  • · Legal-friction score 25/100 — workable, but lender will want more DD.
  • · Not currently profitable — coverage conversation is a harder sell.

Data confidence

Overall: high (82/100)

Strong data coverage across all sections. AI outputs should be trusted with minimal caveats.

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
7 charges (7/7 with lender, 7/7 with type)
90
Directors & officers
6 officers (3 active, 6 linked, 2 with DOB)
77
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
16 connected companies via shared directors
90
Filing history
95 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
80/100Exceptional
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
77
Few red flags.
Signal strength
100
Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 102
Loss-making
Loss before tax £0

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
£0£0£0£0£0£0Dec 2023Dec 2024

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2024-12-282023-12-30
Turnover—£15.21M
Gross profit—£2.92M
Profit before tax£0£39.0k
Average employees3550032100

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
0
filings
Last 90 days
0
filings
Last 180 days
1
filing
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (37 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-09-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-11-01
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  3. 2024-09-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2023-10-13
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-full
    accounts · AA
  5. 2023-06-30
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  6. 2022-10-04
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-full
    accounts · AA
  7. 2021-10-30
    📄
    mortgage-alter-floating-charge-with-number
    mortgage · 466(Scot)
  8. 2021-10-21
    📄
    mortgage-alter-floating-charge-with-number
    mortgage · 466(Scot)
  9. 2021-10-07
    📄
    mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
    mortgage · MR01
  10. 2021-10-04
    🔒
    Charge registered #8
    Lender: Barclays Bank PLC
  11. 2021-09-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-full
    accounts · AA
  12. 2021-06-24
    📄
    mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
    mortgage · MR04
  13. 2021-06-24
    📄
    mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
    mortgage · MR04
  14. 2021-06-24
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #5
  15. 2021-06-24
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #4
  16. 2020-12-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-full
    accounts · AA
  17. 2019-10-03
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-full
    accounts · AA
  18. 2018-10-04
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-full
    accounts · AA
  19. 2017-07-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-full
    accounts · AA
  20. 2015-11-02
    🔒
    Charge registered #7
    Lender: Dakota Trading B.V.
  21. 2015-10-07
    🔒
    Charge registered #6
    Lender: Dakota Trading B.V.
  22. 2009-06-11
    🔒
    Charge registered #5
    Lender: Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
  23. 2008-05-29
    ➕
    MEIN, Stewart appointed
    director
  24. 2007-05-10
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #3
  25. 2007-05-04
    🔒
    Charge registered #4
    Lender: The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
  26. 2000-11-06
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #2
  27. 2000-10-31
    🔒
    Charge registered #3
    Lender: The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland
  28. 1996-03-28
    🔒
    Charge registered #2
    Lender: Clydesdale Bank Public Limited Company
  29. 1995-11-17
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As OPTICAL EXPRESS (WESTFIELD) LIMITED
  30. 1995-11-17
    ➕
    MURDOCH, Graeme Ramsay appointed
    secretary
  31. 1995-11-17
    ➕
    MOULSDALE, David Charles appointed
    director
  32. 1995-11-17
    ➕
    COMBINED SECRETARIAL SERVICES LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  33. 1995-11-17
    ➖
    COMBINED SECRETARIAL SERVICES LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  34. 1995-11-17
    ➕
    COMBINED NOMINEES LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-director
  35. 1995-11-17
    ➖
    COMBINED NOMINEES LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-director
  36. 1995-11-17
    ➕
    COMBINED SECRETARIAL SERVICES LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-director
  37. 1995-11-17
    ➖
    COMBINED SECRETARIAL SERVICES LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-director

Owner dependency

76/100
High — earn-out structure required

Material founder dependency. Consider a 2-3 year earn-out and build in a handover plan before completion.

FACTORS
  • +Two-director setup: Only two active directors — typical of owner-managed SMEs but limits succession.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 30 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 58 — approaching natural succession window.

Succession & seller-readiness

76/100
Likely off-market candidate

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

SIGNALS
  • secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 58. Early succession window.
  • secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
  • primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 30 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 30 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

1 med ·
Charge satisfaction-then-recreation pattern
medium

Multiple instances where a charge was satisfied and a new charge created within 6 months. Suggests active refinancing cycle.

Group structure

Dcm (Optical Holdings) Limited is the ultimate parent — holding 75%+ shares. This company sits inside their group.

🏛️
Dcm (Optical Holdings) Limited
Corporate parent · holds 75-100% shares
ultimate parent
⬇
OPTICAL EXPRESS (WESTFIELD) LIMITED
This company · SC161695

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
Dcm (Optical Holdings) Limited
Corporate entity
75–100%
75–100%75-100% shares · 75-100% voting06/04/2016

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

9 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
Incorporated1995-11-17
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC86900 — Other human health activities

Registered office

200 St. Vincent Street
Glasgow
G2 5SG
Scotland

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last made up to: 2024-12-28
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-12-01
Last: 2025-11-17

Officers (3 active · 3 resigned)

MURDOCH, Graeme Ramsay→
secretary · appointed 1995-11-17
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
MEIN, Stewart→
director · ~55y · appointed 2008-05-29
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
MOULSDALE, David Charles→
director · ~58y · appointed 1995-11-17
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
COMBINED SECRETARIAL SERVICES LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 1995-11-17 · resigned 1995-11-17
Resigned
COMBINED NOMINEES LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 1995-11-17 · resigned 1995-11-17
Resigned
COMBINED SECRETARIAL SERVICES LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 1995-11-17 · resigned 1995-11-17
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

7
Total charges
3
Outstanding
2
Active lenders
Status:Lender:7 of 7 shown
TypeProperties
outstanding
Barclays
Barclays Bank PLC
A registered charge—04/10/2021—
outstanding
Dakota Trading B.V.
A registered charge16 properties02/11/2015—
outstanding
Dakota Trading B.V.
A registered charge—07/10/2015—
satisfied
Lloyds Banking Group
Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
Bond & floating charge1 property11/06/200924/06/2021
satisfied
Lloyds Banking Group
The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
Floating charge1 property04/05/200724/06/2021
satisfied
Lloyds Banking Group
The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland
Floating charge1 property31/10/200010/05/2007
satisfied
Virgin Money
Clydesdale Bank Public Limited Company
Floating charge1 property28/03/199606/11/2000
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (95 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-11-24
accounts-with-accounts-type-full
accounts · AA
2025-09-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-11-27
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2024-11-01
accounts-with-accounts-type-full
accounts · AA
2024-09-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-11-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-full
accounts · AA
2023-10-13
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2023-06-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-11-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-full
accounts · AA
2022-10-04
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-11-17
mortgage-alter-floating-charge-with-number
mortgage · 466(Scot)
2021-10-30
mortgage-alter-floating-charge-with-number
mortgage · 466(Scot)
2021-10-21
mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
mortgage · MR01
2021-10-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-full
accounts · AA
2021-09-22