BFN PRODUCTIONS LIMITED
🌳Matureactive
SC278008 · ltd · incorporated 2005-01-06
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.
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Jan 2025
Net worth
£-249.6k
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: Retail sale via mail order houses or via Internet
Sector: Wholesale & retail
Investor take
Pass (distressed without resilience)Distressed active trading company — structural issues outweigh the discount.
Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (63/100, director aged 68). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).
Data confidence
Overall: medium (79/100)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
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
6 officers (4 active, 6 linked, 3 with DOB)
80
Ownership & PSC
3 active PSC(s) of 4 total, 4 with control declared
90
Director network
4 connected companies via shared directors
57
Filing history
67 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
80
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declaredNegative net assets
Liabilities exceed assets by £249,645
Cash YoY
-8%
Year on year
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
£14k
↓ 8.2% YoY
Net Worth
-£250k
↓ 17% YoY
Current Assets
£15k
↓ 8.1% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2025-01-31 | 2024-01-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £-249.6k | £-210.7k |
| Current assets | £14.6k | £15.9k |
| Cash | £14.3k | £15.5k |
| Debtors | £373 | £390 |
| Net assets | £-249.6k | £-213.4k |
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
1
filing
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
4
filings
- • 2 confirmation-statement
- • 2 persons-with-significant-control
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (24 events)Click to expand
- 2026-01-20📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2026-01-20📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2025-10-16📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-10-16📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-10-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-10-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-10-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-11-25📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2020-11-25📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2020-10-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-10-13📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2020-10-13📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2019-10-14📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-10-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-08-07📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2005-01-06🏢Company incorporatedAs BFN PRODUCTIONS LIMITED
- 2005-01-06➕SHAPIRO, Frank Watson appointedsecretary
- 2005-01-06➕SHAPIRO, Barry appointeddirector
- 2005-01-06➕SHAPIRO, Frank Watson appointeddirector
- 2005-01-06➕SHAPIRO, Ian appointeddirector
- 2005-01-06➕BRIAN REID LTD. appointedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 2005-01-06➖BRIAN REID LTD. resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 2005-01-06➕STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD. appointedcorporate-nominee-director
- 2005-01-06➖STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD. resignedcorporate-nominee-director
Owner dependency
83/100
Critical — business is the founderThe business appears inseparable from the founder. Acquisition without a serious earn-out or meaningful transition period would likely destroy value.
FACTORS
- +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 21 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 68 — succession pressure is live.
- +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.
Succession & seller-readiness
80/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 68. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
- primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 21 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 21 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
cleanNo red flags detected from available public data. (This is not a clean bill of health — detailed accounts review still recommended.)
Shareholders & ownership
3 active beneficial owners| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Frank Watson Shapiro Individual · British · DOB 04/1958 · age 68 | 25–50% | 25–50% | 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting | 06/04/2016 |
Mr Barry Shapiro Individual · British · DOB 02/1984 · age 42 | 25–50% | 25–50% | 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting | 06/04/2016 |
Mr Ian Shapiro Individual · British · DOB 10/1982 · age 44 | 25–50% | 25–50% | 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting | 06/04/2016 |
1 historic (ceased) PSC
- Mr Ian Shapiroceased 06/04/2016· 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting
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 · Retail · G postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BETTY BEANS LIMITED→ SC410909 · est 2011 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 14y | — | — |
| BEYOND SECURE LIMITED→ SC625557 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| BEYONDTHERANGE LTD→ SC684000 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| BFG TRADERS LTD→ SC837836 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| BIBBIDI BOBBIDI BOO BRIDAL BOUTIQUE LTD→ SC453853 · est 2013 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 12y | — | — |
| BIG LOVE LTD→ SC679789 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| BILLAS NEWSAGENTS LTD→ SC740006 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| BIMALEK CREATIONS LTD→ SC861986 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| BIOXELY LTD→ SC861186 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| BJB HEALTHCARE LTD→ SC714293 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| BLACK CAT VINTAGE LTD→ SC834263 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| BLACK DOLLAR LIMITED→ SC368978 · est 2009 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 16y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2005-01-06
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC47910 — Retail sale via mail order houses or via Internet
Registered office
Caledonia House
89 Seaward Street
Glasgow
G41 1HJ
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-10-31
Last made up to: 2025-01-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-02-20
Last: 2026-02-06
Officers (4 active · 2 resigned)
SHAPIRO, Frank Watson→
Activesecretary · appointed 2005-01-06
View their other companies + combined net worth →
SHAPIRO, Barry→
Activedirector · ~42y · appointed 2005-01-06
View their other companies + combined net worth →
SHAPIRO, Frank Watson→
Activedirector · ~68y · appointed 2005-01-06
View their other companies + combined net worth →
SHAPIRO, Ian→
Activedirector · ~44y · appointed 2005-01-06
View their other companies + combined net worth →
BRIAN REID LTD.→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2005-01-06 · resigned 2005-01-06
STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD.→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-director · appointed 2005-01-06 · resigned 2005-01-06
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (67 total)
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-02-06
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-01-22
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2026-01-20
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2026-01-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-10-16
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-01-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-10-16
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-01-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-10-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-01-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-10-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-01-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-10-28
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-01-06
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2020-11-25