WILLIAM KING BOOKMAKERS

💤Zombieactive

SC192411 · private-unlimited · incorporated 1999-01-06

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

—

not disclosed

Net worth

—

book net assets

Opportunity

80/100

Exceptional

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What this business does

Primary activity: Gambling and betting activities

Sector: Arts, entertainment & recreation

Investor take

Pursue

Active trading company with a 63-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 63). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Broaden director team. Sole director creates succession risk and reduces buyer comfort. Appoint a second director or strong #2. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).

Data confidence

Overall: medium (56/100)

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

Lenders & charges

Confirmed no charges registered

Directors & officers

6 officers (2 active, 6 linked, 1 with DOB)

Ownership & PSC

1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared

Director network

6 connected companies via shared directors

Filing history

42 filings on record

Gazette notices

No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)

Opportunity Score

80/100Exceptional

PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional

Strong composite across quality, acquirability, and risk. High-priority target — progress to serious diligence.

Business quality

Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.

Acquirability

Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.

Risk profile

Few red flags.

Signal strength

Good data coverage for analysis.

Recent activity

Last 30 days

filings

Last 90 days

filings

Last 180 days

filing

• 1 confirmation-statement

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (26 events)Click to expand

2025-11-07
📄
change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortened
accounts · AA01
2016-05-09
📍
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2016-01-07
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2016-01-07
📄
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2016-01-07
📄
change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
officers · CH03
2014-12-18
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2014-02-18
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2013-02-27
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2012-02-17
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2011-02-08
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2010-03-27
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2009-03-03
📄
legacy
annual-return · 363a
2008-04-08
📄
legacy
annual-return · 363s
2007-01-22
📄
legacy
annual-return · 363s
2006-01-12
📄
legacy
annual-return · 363s
2002-12-01
➕
KING, Valerie Frances appointed
secretary
2002-12-01
➖
KING, William Francis resigned
secretary
1999-01-26
➕
KING, William James appointed
director
1999-01-26
➕
KING, William Francis appointed
secretary
1999-01-26
➖
COMBINED SECRETARIAL SERVICES LIMITED resigned
corporate-nominee-secretary
1999-01-26
➖
COMBINED NOMINEES LIMITED resigned
corporate-nominee-director
1999-01-26
➖
COMBINED SECRETARIAL SERVICES LIMITED resigned
corporate-nominee-director
1999-01-06
🏢
Company incorporated
As WILLIAM KING BOOKMAKERS
1999-01-06
➕
COMBINED SECRETARIAL SERVICES LIMITED appointed
corporate-nominee-secretary
1999-01-06
➕
COMBINED NOMINEES LIMITED appointed
corporate-nominee-director
1999-01-06
➕
COMBINED SECRETARIAL SERVICES LIMITED appointed
corporate-nominee-director

Owner dependency

100/100

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

+Sole director: Only one active director — all governance concentrated on one person.
+Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "KING" — strong identity link between founder and business.
+Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 27 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
+Senior director age: Director aged approximately 63 — approaching natural succession window.

Succession & seller-readiness

95/100

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.
primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 27 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 27 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

1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%

Name	Shares	Voting rights	Nature of control	Notified
Mr William James King Individual · British · DOB 11/1963 · age 63	75–100%	50–75%	75-100% shares · 75-100% voting	30/06/2016

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 →

Similar companies

Active · Leisure & entertainment · G postcode area

Company	Est. value	Turnover	Net worth	Staff	Age	Opp	Director
STEWART TRAVEL LIMITED→ SC400502 · est 2011	£30.04M £23.36M–£36.72M	£109.39M	—	36000	14y	91	68y
IF ONLY HOLIDAYS LIMITED→ SC268032 · est 2004	£4.61M £3.59M–£5.64M	—	—	5900	21y	85	69y
AC PROJECTS/ALTERNATIVE CURRENTS LIMITED→ SC400717 · est 2011	£3.2k £2.5k–£3.9k	—	—	0	14y	93	66y
ALLAN GLEN'S SPORTS CLUB LIMITED→ SC117858 · est 1989	—	—	£1.9k	—	37y	83	88y
D. & D. AMUSEMENTS LTD.→ SC196522 · est 1999	—	—	£120.9k	—	26y	83	68y
FACT THREE→ SC319714 · est 2007	—	—	£168.8k	—	19y	83	73y
GREENACRES CURLING LTD.→ SC200546 · est 1999	—	—	—	1200	26y	83	77y
IN EXTREMIS LIMITED→ SC142085 · est 1993	—	—	£61.2k	—	33y	83	61y
SCOTTISH JEWISH ARCHIVES CENTRE→ SC210878 · est 2000	—	—	£120.5k	—	25y	83	79y
SCOTTISH NATIONAL MEMORIAL TO DAVID LIVINGSTONE TRUST→ SC016172 · est 1930 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	95y	83	75y
THE ANTONINE SPORTS CENTRE→ SC144453 · est 1993	—	—	£199.7k	—	32y	83	86y
WORLD TRAVEL DIRECT LTD.→ SC249222 · est 2003 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	22y	—	—

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

Typeprivate-unlimited

Incorporated1999-01-06

Jurisdictionscotland

Primary SIC92000 — Gambling and betting activities

Registered office

Pavilion 1 Finnieston Business Park

Minerva Way

Glasgow

G3 8AU

Scotland

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: —

Last made up to: —

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2027-01-01

Last: 2025-12-18

Officers (2 active · 4 resigned)

KING, Valerie Frances→

secretary · appointed 2002-12-01

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

KING, William James→

director · ~63y · appointed 1999-01-26

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

KING, William Francis→

secretary · appointed 1999-01-26 · resigned 2002-12-01

Resigned

COMBINED SECRETARIAL SERVICES LIMITED→

corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 1999-01-06 · resigned 1999-01-26

Resigned

COMBINED NOMINEES LIMITED→

corporate-nominee-director · appointed 1999-01-06 · resigned 1999-01-26

Resigned

COMBINED SECRETARIAL SERVICES LIMITED→

corporate-nominee-director · appointed 1999-01-06 · resigned 1999-01-26

Resigned

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