D & B RETAIL LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
SC555679 · ltd · incorporated 2017-01-26
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 Jan 2025
Net worth
£174.7k
book net assets
Opportunity
76/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Retail sale in non-specialised stores with food, beverages or tobacco predominating
Sector: Wholesale & retail
Investor take
PursueStrong opportunity: asset-holding vehicle with strong profile and bankable structure.
Opportunity 76/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. 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).
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 (1 active, 3 linked, 3 with DOB)
90
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 4 total, 4 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
39 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
76/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Business quality
65
Adequate — check latest filings for context.
Acquirability
70
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declaredPositive net assets
Net assets £174,673
Cash YoY
+2%
Year on year
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
£87k
↑ 1.7% YoY
Net Worth
£175k
↑ 31% YoY
Current Assets
£282k
↑ 26% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2025-01-31 | 2024-01-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £185.2k | £150.7k |
| Current assets | £281.9k | £224.4k |
| Cash | £87.3k | £85.8k |
| Debtors | £154.9k | £109.4k |
| Net assets | £174.7k | £133.7k |
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
3
filings
- • 2 capital
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 90 days
7
filings
- • 3 persons-with-significant-control
- • 2 capital
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
7
filings
- • 3 persons-with-significant-control
- • 2 capital
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (25 events)Click to expand
- 2026-04-16📄capital-cancellation-sharescapital · SH06
- 2026-04-16📄capital-return-purchase-own-sharescapital · SH03
- 2026-03-27📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2026-03-27📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2026-03-27📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2026-03-27📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2026-03-16➖MCHUGH, Daniel resigneddirector
- 2025-10-20📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2025-08-28📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2025-08-28📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2024-10-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-09-06📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2023-10-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-10-05📄capital-name-of-class-of-sharescapital · SH08
- 2023-10-03📄second-filing-of-confirmation-statement-with-made-up-dateconfirmation-statement · RP04CS01
- 2023-09-27📄resolutionresolution · RESOLUTIONS
- 2022-11-07📄appoint-person-director-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP01
- 2022-10-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-11-01➕MCHUGH, Daniel appointeddirector
- 2021-10-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-10-09📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-08-26➖MCHUGH, Julia resigneddirector
- 2017-01-26🏢Company incorporatedAs D & B RETAIL LIMITED
- 2017-01-26➕WALES, Brian William John appointeddirector
- 2017-01-26➕MCHUGH, Julia appointeddirector
Owner dependency
83/100
Critical — business is the founderThe 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.
- +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 59 — approaching natural succession window.
Succession & seller-readiness
55/100
Strong succession signalMultiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.
SIGNALS
- secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 59. Early succession window.
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
Red flags
cleanNo red flags detected from available public data. (This is not a clean bill of health — detailed accounts review still recommended.)
Shareholders & ownership
2 active beneficial owners| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mrs Pauline Wales Individual · British · DOB 04/1972 · age 54 | 25–50% | 25–50% | 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting | 14/01/2019 |
Brian William John Wales Individual · British · DOB 05/1967 · age 59 | 25–50% | 25–50% | 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting | 26/01/2017 |
2 historic (ceased) PSCs
- Mr Daniel Mchughceased 16/03/2026· 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting
- Julia Mchughceased 26/08/2020· 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Similar companies
Active · Retail · FK postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BEST BUY STORE LTD→ SC868863 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| BIANCOBLUSH LIMITED→ SC727444 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| BRAES FLOOR STORE LTD→ SC868609 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| CANDYFLOSS COLLECTION LTD→ SC757427 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| CAR GEAR (SCO) LTD→ SC787078 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| CENTRAL SPORTS & TROPHIES LTD→ SC876761 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| CLAN ITALIA LIMITED→ SC327703 · est 2007 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 18y | — | — |
| CONTEMPO LTD→ SC353229 · est 2009 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 17y | — | — |
| D & E CORBETT LTD.→ SC197421 · est 1999 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 26y | — | — |
| D AND R LOVE LTD.→ SC207328 · est 2000 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 25y | — | — |
| D D INTERIORS LIMITED→ SC809276 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| DAISY BEE FLOWERS LTD→ SC742304 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2017-01-26
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC47110 — Retail sale in non-specialised stores with food, beverages or tobacco predominating
Registered office
Unit 5 Gateway Business Park
Beancross Road
Grangemouth
FK3 8WX
Scotland
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-10-31
Last made up to: 2025-01-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-04-27
Last: 2026-04-13
Officers (1 active · 2 resigned)
WALES, Brian William John→
Activedirector · ~59y · appointed 2017-01-26
View their other companies + combined net worth →
MCHUGH, Daniel→
Resigneddirector · ~53y · appointed 2021-11-01 · resigned 2026-03-16
MCHUGH, Julia→
Resigneddirector · ~52y · appointed 2017-01-26 · resigned 2020-08-26
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (39 total)
capital-cancellation-shares
capital · SH06
2026-04-16
capital-return-purchase-own-shares
capital · SH03
2026-04-16
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-04-13
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2026-03-27
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2026-03-27
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2026-03-27
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2026-03-27
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-10-20
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-08-28
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2025-08-28
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2025-08-28
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-10-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-09-06
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2024-09-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-10-31