URBAN FURNITURE LTD.

🌳Matureactive
SC280050 · ltd · incorporated 2005-02-16
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
approaching window · 12-months
Approaching a transaction window — refinance or sale event plausible in the next 12 months.
  • · Oldest live charge 20.4y old — refinance window within 12 months
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Dec 2024
Net worth
£41.9k
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
🔔
Follow this company (free)
Email alerts on filings, charges, director changes, gazette notices. No account needed.

Unsubscribe any time from any email. GDPR-respectful.

🔒Generate AI memo →🔒Outreach pack →🔒Corporate story →📑 Reports →Sign in to watch
What this business does
Primary activity: Agents involved in the sale of a variety of goods
Sector: Wholesale & retail
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company with a 79-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 80/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 79). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Discharge stale live charges. 2 live charge(s) created 15+ years ago — likely paid but undischarged. Clean register. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

2 live charges · oldest 20.4y

65/100
clean up first

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

  • · Oldest live charge is 20.4 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
  • · Legal-friction score 25/100 — workable, but lender will want more DD.

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
2 charges (2/2 with lender, 2/2 with type)
90
Directors & officers
8 officers (3 active, 8 linked, 3 with DOB)
78
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
2 connected companies via shared directors
51
Filing history
68 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.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declared
Positive net assets
Net assets £41,945
Cash YoY
+83%
Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£81k
↑ 83% YoY
Net Worth
£42k
↑ 105% YoY
Current Assets
£107k
↑ 43% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£21k£43k£64k£85k£107kDec 2023Dec 2024

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2024-12-312023-12-31
Total assets£48.6k£37.2k
Current assets£106.8k£74.5k
Cash£80.8k£44.1k
Debtors£26.0k£25.4k
Net assets£41.9k£20.4k

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 (30 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-10-17
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  2. 2025-09-05
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-09-25
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2023-09-08
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  5. 2022-09-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  6. 2021-09-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  7. 2020-08-12
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2019-09-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2018-09-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  10. 2018-02-20
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  11. 2017-12-01
    ➕
    BARNES, Jillian Faith appointed
    director
  12. 2017-09-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  13. 2017-07-11
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  14. 2016-09-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  15. 2016-02-26
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  16. 2008-01-03
    ➕
    BARNES, Jillian Faith appointed
    secretary
  17. 2008-01-03
    ➖
    LINKS, Martin Ivor resigned
    secretary
  18. 2008-01-03
    ➖
    LINKS, Martin Ivor resigned
    director
  19. 2006-01-23
    🔒
    Charge registered #2
    Lender: The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
  20. 2005-12-23
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
  21. 2005-02-22
    ➕
    BARNES, David Alan appointed
    director
  22. 2005-02-22
    ➕
    LINKS, Martin Ivor appointed
    secretary
  23. 2005-02-22
    ➖
    MILLER SAMUEL COMPANY SECRETARIES LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  24. 2005-02-22
    ➕
    LINKS, Martin Ivor appointed
    director
  25. 2005-02-22
    ➖
    MILLER SAMUEL COMPANY SECRETARIES LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-director
  26. 2005-02-22
    ➖
    MILLER SAMUEL CORPORATE SERVICES LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-director
  27. 2005-02-16
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As URBAN FURNITURE LTD.
  28. 2005-02-16
    ➕
    MILLER SAMUEL COMPANY SECRETARIES LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  29. 2005-02-16
    ➕
    MILLER SAMUEL COMPANY SECRETARIES LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-director
  30. 2005-02-16
    ➕
    MILLER SAMUEL CORPORATE SERVICES LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-director

Owner dependency

91/100
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.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 21 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 79 — succession pressure is live.
  • +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.

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 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

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%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr David Alan Barnes
Individual · British · DOB 11/1947 · age 79
75–100%
—75-100% shares21/06/2016

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 · Wholesale & distribution · KA postcode area
CompanyEst. valueTurnoverNet worthStaffAgeOppDirector
DURACARE LIMITED→
SC550705 · est 2016
£8.14M
£6.11M–£10.18M
——59009y8476y
NOBEL NC EUROPE LIMITED→
SC355464 · est 2009
£5.56M
£4.17M–£6.95M
——917y8581y
NOBEL TRADING LIMITED→
SC245627 · est 2003
£4.40M
£3.30M–£5.50M
——023y8581y
COASTLINE ADHESIVE TAPES LIMITED→
SC163345 · est 1996
——£1.01M—30y8365y
GCBW CATRINE LTD→
SC022403 · est 1943 · no financials extracted
————83y8374y
INTER DEPENDENT PURCHASING LIMITED→
SC290783 · est 2005
——£165.9k—20y8363y
A. DEWAR RATTRAY LIMITED→
SC021038 · est 1939
——£1.02M—86y8287y
CUNNINGHAM TRUCK PARTS LIMITED→
SC285268 · est 2005
——£1.01M—20y8258y
IDENTIFICATION TECHNOLOGIES (SCOTLAND) LIMITED→
SC137822 · est 1992
——£94.2k—34y8265y
JOHN DAWSON BUTCHERS LIMITED→
SC245500 · est 2003
———160023y8258y
JOHN H MCNAE LTD.→
SC294906 · est 2005
———160020y8278y
NOVA DOG CHEWS LIMITED→
SC283109 · est 2005 · no financials extracted
————21y8259y
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
Incorporated2005-02-16
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC46190 — Agents involved in the sale of a variety of goods

Registered office

Block 1, Brunthill Farm
By Fenwick
Kilmarnock
East Ayrshire
KA3 6HX
Scotland

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last made up to: 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-10-08
Last: 2025-09-24

Officers (3 active · 5 resigned)

BARNES, Jillian Faith→
secretary · appointed 2008-01-03
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
BARNES, David Alan→
director · ~79y · appointed 2005-02-22
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
BARNES, Jillian Faith→
director · ~70y · appointed 2017-12-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
LINKS, Martin Ivor→
secretary · appointed 2005-02-22 · resigned 2008-01-03
Resigned
MILLER SAMUEL COMPANY SECRETARIES LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2005-02-16 · resigned 2005-02-22
Resigned
LINKS, Martin Ivor→
director · ~75y · appointed 2005-02-22 · resigned 2008-01-03
Resigned
MILLER SAMUEL COMPANY SECRETARIES LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2005-02-16 · resigned 2005-02-22
Resigned
MILLER SAMUEL CORPORATE SERVICES LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2005-02-16 · resigned 2005-02-22
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

2
Total charges
2
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:2 of 2 shown
TypeProperties
outstanding
Lloyds Banking Group
The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
Standard security1 property23/01/2006—
outstanding
Lloyds Banking Group
The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
Bond & floating charge1 property23/12/2005—
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (68 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-10-17
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2025-10-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2025-09-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-09-25
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-09-24
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-09-24
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-09-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-09-08
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-03-22
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-09-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-03-30
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-09-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-02-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-08-12
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-02-18