DOWNES OPTICIANS LIMITED
Opportunity 74/100 (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 (58/100).
Refinance opportunity
2 live charges · oldest 7.7y
Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.
- · Oldest live charge is 7.7 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
- · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.
Data confidence
Overall: high (83/100)Strong data coverage across all sections. AI outputs should be trusted with minimal caveats.
Sector-multiple EBITDA, turnover, and NAV-proxy valuation range with confidence tier — derived from extracted iXBRL financials.
Available from the Pro tier upwards.
See pricing →Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsHover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102| Metric | 2024-12-31 | 2023-12-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Gross profit | — | £258.7k |
| Operating profit | — | £18.1k |
| Profit before tax | — | £16.8k |
| Average employees | 800 | 700 |
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
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
- • 1 confirmation-statement
- • 1 confirmation-statement
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Corporate timeline (30 events)Click to expand
- 2025-08-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-09-08📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2024-05-23📄change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortenedaccounts · AA01
- 2023-12-14📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2023-08-28📄change-account-reference-date-company-previous-extendedaccounts · AA01
- 2023-07-14📄mortgage-satisfy-charge-fullmortgage · MR04
- 2023-07-14🔓Charge satisfied #1
- 2023-07-11📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC02
- 2023-07-11📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2023-07-11📄appoint-person-director-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP01
- 2023-07-11📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2023-07-05➕SHARIF, Zagham appointeddirector
- 2023-07-05➖DOWNES, Clare resigneddirector
- 2023-06-27📄mortgage-satisfy-charge-fullmortgage · MR04
- 2023-06-27🔓Charge satisfied #2
- 2023-01-11📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2022-07-19📄gazette-filings-brought-up-to-dategazette · DISS40
- 2022-07-12📄gazette-notice-compulsorygazette · GAZ1
- 2021-12-07📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2021-04-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2020-08-27📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2020-08-21➖DOWNES, Charles resigneddirector
- 2020-05-20📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2019-06-24➕DOWNES, Charles appointeddirector
- 2018-09-06🔒Charge registered #2Lender: The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
- 2018-08-14🔒Charge registered #1Lender: The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
- 2018-04-25➖DOWNES, Charles resigneddirector
- 2018-04-24🏢Company incorporatedAs DOWNES OPTICIANS LIMITED
- 2018-04-24➕DOWNES, Charles appointeddirector
- 2018-04-24➕DOWNES, Clare appointeddirector
Owner dependency
Material founder dependency. Consider a 2-3 year earn-out and build in a handover plan before completion.
- +Sole director: Only one active director — all governance concentrated on one person.
Succession & seller-readiness
Some succession indicators present. Worth watching; approach if sector/strategy fits.
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
Red flags
cleanGroup structure
Ilharia Holdings Limited is the ultimate parent — holding 75%+ shares. This company sits inside their group.
Parent relationships inferred from Persons with Significant Control filings. Full subsidiary tree requires reverse-lookup (coming).
Shareholders & ownership
1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Ilharia Holdings Limited Corporate entity | 75–100% | 75–100% | board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control | 05/07/2023 |
1 historic (ceased) PSC
- Mrs Clare Downesceased 05/07/2023· 75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Radial SVG graph showing every company connected via shared directors, colour-coded by status.
Available from the Pro tier upwards.
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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 →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
Registered office
Filing status
Officers (1 active · 3 resigned)
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| satisfied | Lloyds Banking Group The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC | A registered charge | 1 property | 06/09/2018 | 27/06/2023 | |
| satisfied | Lloyds Banking Group The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC | A registered charge | — | 14/08/2018 | 14/07/2023 |