R LITTLE (BAKERS) LIMITED

🌳Matureactive
SC237121 · ltd · incorporated 2002-09-20
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
hardening · 12-months
Already tight — no obvious softening catalysts on the horizon.
  • · Thesis: well-run, low negotiation leverage
🔒Estimated value
Upgrade to see
Turnover
year to Sept 2024
Net worth
£186.8k
book net assets
Opportunity
75/100
Strong
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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
Active trading company with a 67-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 75/100 (strong), bankability 57/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 67). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Consolidate lender relationships. 3 distinct lenders creates friction — refinance into single-lender structure for cleaner diligence. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

7 live charges · 3 lenders · oldest 18.6y

35/100
too messy

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

  • · Oldest live charge is 18.6 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · 3 lenders named — inter-creditor friction likely.
  • · 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
7 charges (7/7 with lender, 7/7 with type)
90
Directors & officers
7 officers (3 active, 7 linked, 3 with DOB)
79
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
72 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
75/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.

Business quality
60
Adequate — check latest filings for context.
Acquirability
80
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
74
Few red flags.
Signal strength
100
Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declared
Positive net assets
Net assets £186,756

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
Net Worth
£187k
↑ 2.4% YoY
Current Assets
£48k
↓ 36% YoY
Current Liabilities
£0£37k£75k£112k£149k£187kSept 2023Sept 2024

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2024-09-302023-09-30
Total assets£197.5k£208.8k
Current assets£47.6k£74.3k
Net assets£186.8k£182.5k

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
0
filings
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (35 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-04-03
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-03-15
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  3. 2023-10-04
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  4. 2023-10-04
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  5. 2023-06-01
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  6. 2022-06-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  7. 2021-06-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  8. 2020-04-14
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  9. 2019-04-15
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  10. 2018-04-20
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  11. 2017-04-11
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  12. 2016-02-11
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  13. 2015-09-20
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  14. 2015-05-05
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  15. 2011-08-16
    LITTLE, Joy Reid appointed
    secretary
  16. 2011-08-16
    LITTLE, Joy Reid appointed
    director
  17. 2011-08-15
    LITTLE, Alistair resigned
    secretary
  18. 2011-08-15
    LITTLE, Alistair resigned
    director
  19. 2011-08-15
    🔒
    Charge registered #7
    Lender: Alistair Little
  20. 2011-08-15
    🔒
    Charge registered #6
    Lender: Alistair Little
  21. 2011-08-15
    🔒
    Charge registered #5
    Lender: Bank of Scotland PLC
  22. 2011-08-15
    🔒
    Charge registered #4
    Lender: Bank of Scotland PLC
  23. 2011-08-09
    🔒
    Charge registered #3
    Lender: Bank of Scotland PLC
  24. 2011-04-21
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #2
  25. 2011-01-18
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #1
  26. 2007-10-22
    🔒
    Charge registered #2
    Lender: The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
  27. 2007-09-21
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
  28. 2002-10-01
    LITTLE, David appointed
    director
  29. 2002-10-01
    LITTLE, Alistair appointed
    secretary
  30. 2002-10-01
    YORK PLACE COMPANY SECRETARIES LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  31. 2002-10-01
    LITTLE, Alistair appointed
    director
  32. 2002-10-01
    YORK PLACE COMPANY NOMINEES LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-director
  33. 2002-09-20
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As R LITTLE (BAKERS) LIMITED
  34. 2002-09-20
    YORK PLACE COMPANY SECRETARIES LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  35. 2002-09-20
    YORK PLACE COMPANY NOMINEES 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
  • +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 "LITTLE" — strong identity link between founder and business.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 24 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 67 — succession pressure is live.
  • +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.

Succession & seller-readiness

86/100
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 67. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
  • secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
  • primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 24 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 24 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 · 1 low
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.

5 live charges
low

Heavily leveraged with multiple live security positions — understand the capital structure before proceeding.

Shareholders & ownership

2 active beneficial owners
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr David Little
Individual · British · DOB 02/1959 · age 67
2550%
25–50%25-50% shares · 25-50% voting06/04/2016
Mrs Joy Reid Little
Individual · British · DOB 10/1960 · age 66
2550%
25–50%25-50% shares · 25-50% voting06/04/2016

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

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
Incorporated2002-09-20
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC10710 — Manufacture of bread; manufacture of fresh pastry goods and cakes

Registered office

6 High Street
Moffat
Dumfriesshire
DG10 9EU

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-06-30
Last made up to: 2024-09-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-10-15
Last: 2025-10-01

Officers (3 active · 4 resigned)

LITTLE, Joy Reid
secretary · appointed 2011-08-16
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
LITTLE, David
director · ~67y · appointed 2002-10-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
LITTLE, Joy Reid
director · ~66y · appointed 2011-08-16
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
LITTLE, Alistair
secretary · appointed 2002-10-01 · resigned 2011-08-15
Resigned
YORK PLACE COMPANY SECRETARIES LIMITED
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2002-09-20 · resigned 2002-10-01
Resigned
LITTLE, Alistair
director · ~71y · appointed 2002-10-01 · resigned 2011-08-15
Resigned
YORK PLACE COMPANY NOMINEES LIMITED
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2002-09-20 · resigned 2002-10-01
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

7
Total charges
5
Outstanding
2
Active lenders
Status:Lender:7 of 7 shown
TypeProperties
outstanding
Alistair Little
Standard security1 property15/08/2011
outstanding
Alistair Little
Standard security1 property15/08/2011
outstanding
Lloyds Banking Group
Bank of Scotland PLC
Standard security1 property15/08/2011
outstanding
Lloyds Banking Group
Bank of Scotland PLC
Standard security1 property15/08/2011
outstanding
Lloyds Banking Group
Bank of Scotland PLC
Floating charge1 property09/08/2011
satisfied
Lloyds Banking Group
The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
Standard security1 property22/10/200721/04/2011
satisfied
Lloyds Banking Group
The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
Bond & floating charge1 property21/09/200718/01/2011
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (72 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-10-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-04-03
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-10-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-03-15
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-10-12
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2023-10-04
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2023-10-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-06-01
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-10-01
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-06-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-10-01
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-06-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-10-01
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-09-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-04-14