MA BELLS LIMITED

🌳Matureactive
SC350553 · ltd · incorporated 2008-10-29
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 Oct 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: Retail sale in non-specialised stores with food, beverages or tobacco predominating
Sector: Wholesale & retail
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company. Family succession underway — not a classic acquisition target.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Same-surname younger director in place — likely family handover, not open to sale. Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).

Data confidence

Overall: medium (78/100)

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
3 officers (3 active, 3 linked, 2 with DOB)
83
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
1 connected companies via shared directors
48
Filing history
40 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.

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
£0£0£0£0£0£0Oct 2024Oct 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2025-10-312024-10-31
Average employees20242100

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
1
filing
  • • 1 accounts
Last 90 days
1
filing
  • • 1 accounts
Last 180 days
1
filing
  • • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (19 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-05-11
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-05-02
    📄
    capital-allotment-shares
    capital · SH01
  3. 2025-05-02
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  4. 2025-04-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  5. 2025-04-10
    ➕
    HUGHES, Storm appointed
    director
  6. 2024-07-19
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  7. 2023-07-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2022-07-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2021-07-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2020-07-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  11. 2019-06-18
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  12. 2018-07-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  13. 2017-04-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  14. 2016-02-02
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  15. 2015-10-30
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  16. 2015-07-07
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  17. 2008-10-29
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As MA BELLS LIMITED
  18. 2008-10-29
    ➕
    HUGHES, Justin Thomas appointed
    secretary
  19. 2008-10-29
    ➕
    HUGHES, Justin Thomas appointed
    director

Owner dependency

84/100
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 18 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 62 — approaching natural succession window.
  • +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.

Succession & seller-readiness

19/100
No succession signal

No meaningful acquirability indicators from public data.

SIGNALS
  • primaryFamily succession underway: Not a takeover target — HUGHES, Storm (same surname) appointed 2025-04-10. Pattern consistent with intra-family handover.
  • secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 62. Early succession window.
  • secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
  • secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 18 years.
  • 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 Justin Thomas Hughes
Individual · British · DOB 05/1964 · age 62
75–100%
—75-100% shares06/04/2016

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.

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Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions

6 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.

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Company details

Statusactive
Typeltd
Incorporated2008-10-29
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC47110 — Retail sale in non-specialised stores with food, beverages or tobacco predominating

Registered office

The Mill Lade Dura Den
Dura Den
Cupar
Fife
KY15 5TJ

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-07-31
Last made up to: 2025-10-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-11-12
Last: 2025-10-29

Officers (3 active · 0 resigned)

HUGHES, Justin Thomas→
secretary · appointed 2008-10-29
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
HUGHES, Justin Thomas→
director · ~62y · appointed 2008-10-29
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
HUGHES, Storm→
director · ~36y · appointed 2025-04-10
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active

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

Recent filings (40 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2026-05-11
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-10-29
capital-allotment-shares
capital · SH01
2025-05-02
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2025-05-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-04-17
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-10-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-07-19
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-10-30
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-07-24
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-10-31
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-07-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-10-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-07-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-10-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-07-29