JUST WILLIAM BARS LIMITED

🚨Distressedactive
SC394487 · ltd · incorporated 2011-03-01
Investment thesis
Attractive distress candidate — real problems but workable structure.
Why interesting: Falling signals but no deal-breakers yet; room for negotiation and turnaround.
Why risky: Signals worsening; needs speed and capital discipline.
🔒Estimated value
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Turnover
year to Mar 2024
Net worth
£-30.9k
book net assets
Opportunity
70/100
Strong
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What this business does
Primary activity: Public houses and bars
Sector: Accommodation & food service
Investor take
Pass (distressed without resilience)
Distressed active trading company — structural issues outweigh the discount.

Opportunity 70/100 (strong), bankability 55/100. Strong seller-intent signal (78/100, director aged 76). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: File overdue accounts. Clears statutory overdue flag — immediate bankability uplift for refinance conversations. Most likely exit: distressed disposal / insolvency (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
2 officers (1 active, 2 linked, 1 with DOB)
80
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
5 connected companies via shared directors
60
Filing history
31 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
70/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

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

Business quality
55
Adequate — check latest filings for context.
Acquirability
80
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
67
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 £30,855

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
Net Worth
-£31k
↑ 32% YoY
Current Assets
£8k
↑ 146% YoY
Current Liabilities
-£45k-£35k-£24k-£13k-£2k£8kMar 2023Mar 2024

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 105 (micro)
Metric2024-03-312023-03-31
Total assets£-15.1k£-19.7k
Current assets£8.3k£3.4k
Net assets£-30.9k£-45.2k

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
1
filing
  • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
1
filing
  • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (19 events)Click to expand
  1. 2024-07-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  2. 2023-07-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  3. 2022-11-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  4. 2021-11-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  5. 2021-03-04
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  6. 2019-06-04
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  7. 2018-11-12
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  8. 2017-12-12
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  9. 2016-12-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  10. 2016-03-01
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  11. 2015-12-09
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  12. 2015-03-02
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  13. 2014-12-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  14. 2014-03-04
    DICKSON, Alexander resigned
    secretary
  15. 2014-03-04
    📄
    termination-secretary-company-with-name
    officers · TM02
  16. 2014-03-04
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address
    address · AD01
  17. 2011-03-01
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As JUST WILLIAM BARS LIMITED
  18. 2011-03-01
    MUTCH, William Paterson appointed
    director
  19. 2011-03-01
    DICKSON, Alexander appointed
    secretary

Owner dependency

100/100
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 15 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 76 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

93/100
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 76 years old. Natural succession window is now.
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
  • secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 15 years.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 15 years old and no new directors in the last 3 years — succession not yet being planned internally.

Red flags

1 high ·
Accounts overdue
high

Statutory accounts have not been filed by their due date. Can indicate admin breakdown, cash preservation, or deliberate delay.

Evidence: Next due: 2026-03-31

Shareholders & ownership

1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr William Paterson Mutch
Individual · British · DOB 11/1950 · age 76
75100%
75–100%board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control01/03/2017

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 →

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

10 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
Incorporated2011-03-01
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC56302 — Public houses and bars

Registered office

91 Alexander Street
Airdrie
Lanarkshire
ML6 0BD

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-03-31OVERDUE
Last made up to: 2024-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-03-15
Last: 2026-03-01

Officers (1 active · 1 resigned)

MUTCH, William Paterson
director · ~76y · appointed 2011-03-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
DICKSON, Alexander
secretary · appointed 2011-03-01 · resigned 2014-03-04
Resigned

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

Recent filings (31 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-04-01
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-03-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-07-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-03-01
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-07-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-03-01
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-11-24
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-03-01
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-11-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-03-04
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-03-01
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-03-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2019-06-04
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-03-01
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2018-11-12