BORDERS SAFETY SUPPLIES LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
SC343593 · ltd · incorporated 2008-05-29
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.
Why now
Window steady · high confidence
Thesis has shifted recently — watch for confirmation.
  • · Lifecycle stage: mature → zombie
  • · Investment thesis: unclassified → zombie_hold
  • · Hygiene score: 90 → 65
  • · Opportunity score: 76 → 64
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 "zombie"
What changed my view
Last 30 days

Picture worsened over the last 30 days — 4 negative signals vs 0 positive.

  • ↓Lifecycle stage: mature → zombie
  • ·Investment thesis: unclassified → zombie_hold
  • ↓Opportunity score: 76 → 64
  • ↓Hygiene score: 90 → 65
  • ↓Bankability: 75 → 65
Last 90 days

No snapshot from 90 days ago — start tracking from today.

Last 180 days

No snapshot from 180 days ago — start tracking from today.

🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Aug 2025
Net worth
£-61.3k
book net assets
Opportunity
64/100
Worth a look
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What this business does
Primary activity: Other business support service activities n.e.c.
Sector: Administrative & support services
Investor take
Pass (distressed without resilience)
Distressed active trading company — structural issues outweigh the discount.

Opportunity 64/100 (worth a look), bankability 65/100. High owner-dependency — earn-out structure likely required for clean transition. Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Resolve: Confirmation statement overdue. Annual confirmation statement not filed on time. Required statutory filing — overdue is a strong discipline signal. Most likely exit: distressed disposal / insolvency (65/100).

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
3 years of iXBRL accounts extracted + narrative notes parsed
95
Lenders & charges
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
3 officers (1 active, 3 linked, 2 with DOB)
83
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
47 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
64/100Worth a look
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

Mixed signal. Worth opening the full target workup before deciding to pursue.

Business quality
60
Adequate — check latest filings for context.
Acquirability
60
Some acquirability indicators.
Risk profile
59
Some moderate concerns — review flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 105 (micro)
Negative net assets
Liabilities exceed assets by £61,325

Key financials

3 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
-£61k
↓ 42% YoY
Current Assets
£28k
↓ 49% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
-£61k-£36k-£11k£15k£40k£65kAug 2023Aug 2024Aug 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 105 (micro)
Metric2025-08-312024-08-312023-08-31
Total assets£-61.3k£-43.1k£-32.3k
Current assets£28.2k£55.4k£65.1k
Net assets£-61.3k£-43.1k£-32.3k

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
2
filings
  • • 2 officers
Last 90 days
3
filings
  • • 2 officers
  • • 1 accounts
Last 180 days
3
filings
  • • 2 officers
  • • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (22 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-06-10
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  2. 2026-06-10
    📄
    termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM02
  3. 2026-06-09
    ➖
    BARROWCLOUGH, Jennifer Anne resigned
    secretary
  4. 2026-06-09
    ➖
    BARROWCLOUGH, Jennifer Anne resigned
    director
  5. 2026-05-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  6. 2025-05-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  7. 2025-04-25
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  8. 2025-04-25
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  9. 2025-04-25
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  10. 2025-04-25
    📄
    change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH03
  11. 2024-05-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  12. 2023-05-25
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  13. 2022-05-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  14. 2021-05-12
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  15. 2020-05-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  16. 2019-05-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  17. 2018-05-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  18. 2017-05-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  19. 2012-11-01
    ➕
    BARROWCLOUGH, Jennifer Anne appointed
    director
  20. 2008-05-29
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As BORDERS SAFETY SUPPLIES LIMITED
  21. 2008-05-29
    ➕
    BARROWCLOUGH, Dean Alan appointed
    director
  22. 2008-05-29
    ➕
    BARROWCLOUGH, Jennifer Anne appointed
    secretary

Owner dependency

85/100
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.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 18 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.

Succession & seller-readiness

63/100
Strong succession signal

Multiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.

SIGNALS
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
  • secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 18 years.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 18 years old and no new directors in the last 3 years — succession not yet being planned internally.

Red flags

1 high · 1 med ·
Confirmation statement overdue
high

Annual confirmation statement not filed on time. Required statutory filing — overdue is a strong discipline signal.

Evidence: Next due: 2026-06-12

2 director resignations in last 12 months
medium

Multiple recent departures can indicate governance disagreement, succession event, or preparation for sale/stress.

Evidence: BARROWCLOUGH, Jennifer Anne resigned 2026-06-09; BARROWCLOUGH, Jennifer Anne resigned 2026-06-09

Shareholders & ownership

1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Dean Alan Barrowclough
Individual · British · DOB 07/1971 · age 55
75–100%
—75-100% shares06/04/2017

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
Incorporated2008-05-29
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC82990 — Other business support service activities n.e.c.

Registered office

Riverside Mills
Dunsdalehaugh
Selkirk
TD7 5EF
Scotland

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-05-31
Last made up to: 2025-08-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-06-12OVERDUE
Last: 2025-05-29

Officers (1 active · 2 resigned)

BARROWCLOUGH, Dean Alan→
director · ~55y · appointed 2008-05-29
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
BARROWCLOUGH, Jennifer Anne→
secretary · appointed 2008-05-29 · resigned 2026-06-09
Resigned
BARROWCLOUGH, Jennifer Anne→
director · ~52y · appointed 2012-11-01 · resigned 2026-06-09
Resigned

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

Recent filings (47 total)

termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2026-06-10
termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM02
2026-06-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2026-05-28
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-05-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-05-28
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2025-04-25
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2025-04-25
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2025-04-25
change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
officers · CH03
2025-04-25
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-06-19
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-05-30
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-06-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-05-25
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-06-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-05-26