BUTLER'S CHAUFFEUR DRIVE LIMITED

💤Zombieactive

SC383066 · ltd · incorporated 2010-08-03

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.

🔒Estimated value

—

Upgrade to see

Turnover

—

year to Sept 2024

Net worth

£-23.4k

book net assets

Opportunity

79/100

Strong

🔒Generate AI memo →🔒Outreach pack →🔒Corporate story →📑 Reports →Sign in to watch

What this business does

Primary activity: SIC 49390

Sector: Transportation & storage

Investor take

Pass (distressed without resilience)

Distressed active trading company — structural issues outweigh the discount.

Opportunity 79/100 (strong), bankability 85/100. High owner-dependency — earn-out structure likely required for clean transition. Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Broaden director team. Sole director creates succession risk and reduces buyer comfort. Appoint a second director or strong #2. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

1 live charge · oldest 14.2y

45/100

under pressure

Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.

· Oldest live charge is 14.2 years old — likely at or near maturity.
· Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
· Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.

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

Lenders & charges

1 charges (1/1 with lender, 1/1 with type)

Directors & officers

5 officers (1 active, 5 linked, 4 with DOB)

Ownership & PSC

1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared

Director network

Network not yet resolved

Filing history

42 filings on record

Gazette notices

No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)

Opportunity Score

79/100Strong

PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional

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

Business quality

Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.

Acquirability

Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.

Risk profile

Few red flags.

Signal strength

100

Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declared

Negative net assets

Liabilities exceed assets by £23,366

Net assets shrinking

Down £23,459 YoY

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts

Cash

—

Net Worth

-£23k

↓ 25225% YoY

Current Assets

£15k

↑ 25% YoY

Current Liabilities

—

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown

Metric	2024-09-30	2023-09-30
Total assets	£49.3k	£147.8k
Current assets	£15.4k	£12.3k
Net assets	£-23.4k	£93

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

filings

Last 90 days

filings

Last 180 days

filings

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (27 events)Click to expand

2025-06-23
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-03-12
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-06-20
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-06-27
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-07-29
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-06-26
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2019-06-24
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2018-07-31
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2018-05-21
📄
change-account-reference-date-company-previous-extended
accounts · AA01
2017-05-31
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2016-07-30
➖
BUTLER, Trudi Amanda resigned
director
2016-07-30
📄
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2016-05-23
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2016-03-14
📄
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2016-03-08
➕
BUTLER, Trudi Amanda appointed
director
2016-03-08
📄
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2016-03-08
📄
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2016-03-08
🔓
Charge satisfied #1
2015-03-01
➕
BUTLER, Frank appointed
director
2015-03-01
➖
BUTLER, Trudi Amanda resigned
director
2012-02-06
🔒
Charge registered #1
Lender: Aldermore Invoice Finance
2010-08-03
🏢
Company incorporated
As BUTLER'S CHAUFFEUR DRIVE LIMITED
2010-08-03
➕
BRIAN REID LTD. appointed
corporate-secretary
2010-08-03
➖
BRIAN REID LTD. resigned
corporate-secretary
2010-08-03
➕
BUTLER, Trudi Amanda appointed
director
2010-08-03
➕
MABBOTT, Stephen George appointed
director
2010-08-03
➖
MABBOTT, Stephen George resigned
director

Owner dependency

98/100

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.
+Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "BUTLER" — strong identity link between founder and business.
+Senior director age: Director aged approximately 64 — approaching natural succession window.

Succession & seller-readiness

80/100

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 64. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 16 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%

Name	Shares	Voting rights	Nature of control	Notified
Mr Frank Bulter Individual · British · DOB 10/1962 · age 64	75–100%	—	75-100% shares	01/09/2016

From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.

Similar companies

Active · Transport & logistics · EH postcode area

Company	Est. value	Turnover	Net worth	Staff	Age	Opp	Director
ANDREW MULLEN TRANSPORT LTD→ SC612233 · est 2018 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	7y	—	—
BCD STORAGE LTD→ SC628332 · est 2019 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	6y	—	—
BEREKET TAXIS LTD→ SC726525 · est 2022 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	4y	—	—
BIGDAWG TRANSPORT LIMITED→ SC425644 · est 2012 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	13y	—	—
BIMAN LOGISTICS LIMITED→ SC779756 · est 2023 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	2y	—	—
BLACKHALL MOVING AND STORAGE LIMITED→ SC588584 · est 2018 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	8y	—	—
BLACKS HAULAGE SOLUTIONS LTD→ SC233251 · est 2002 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	23y	—	—
BOSECA LTD→ SC826777 · est 2024 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	1y	—	—
BURGH LINK SERVICES LTD→ SC649912 · est 2019 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	6y	—	—
BZZZY BUS LTD→ SC481840 · est 2014 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	11y	—	—
C&D TRANSPORT LIMITED→ SC504724 · est 2015 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	10y	—	—
CADI COURIERS LTD→ SC854549 · est 2025 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

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

Incorporated2010-08-03

Jurisdictionscotland

Primary SIC49390 — SIC 49390

Registered office

8 East Main Of Ingliston

Edinburgh

EH28 8NQ

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: 2026-06-30

Last made up to: 2024-09-30

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2026-10-02

Last: 2025-09-18

Officers (1 active · 4 resigned)

BUTLER, Frank→

director · ~64y · appointed 2015-03-01

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

BRIAN REID LTD.→

corporate-secretary · appointed 2010-08-03 · resigned 2010-08-03

Resigned

BUTLER, Trudi Amanda→

director · ~53y · appointed 2016-03-08 · resigned 2016-07-30

Resigned

BUTLER, Trudi Amanda→

director · ~53y · appointed 2010-08-03 · resigned 2015-03-01

Resigned

MABBOTT, Stephen George→

director · ~76y · appointed 2010-08-03 · resigned 2010-08-03

Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

Total charges

Outstanding

Active lenders

Status:Lender:1 of 1 shown

			Type	Properties
	satisfied	Aldermore Aldermore Invoice Finance	Floating charge	1 property	06/02/2012	08/03/2016