THORBURN FUNERAL DIRECTORS LTD
Opportunity 75/100 (strong), bankability 70/100. 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 (73/100).
Data confidence
Overall: high (80/100)Strong data coverage across all sections. AI outputs should be trusted with minimal caveats.
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 | 2026-02-28 | 2025-02-28 |
|---|---|---|
| Average employees | 1 | 100 |
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 accounts
- • 1 accounts
- • 2 persons-with-significant-control
- • 1 accounts
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Corporate timeline (12 events)Click to expand
- 2026-04-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2025-12-09📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2025-12-09📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2025-05-12📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-11-13📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-04-22📄appoint-person-director-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP01
- 2024-04-01➕BELL, Steven appointeddirector
- 2024-03-08📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2023-04-12📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2022-02-18🏢Company incorporatedAs THORBURN FUNERAL DIRECTORS LTD
- 2022-02-18➕BELL, Kenneth Kennedy appointeddirector
- 2022-02-18📄incorporation-companyincorporation · NEWINC
Owner dependency
The business appears inseparable from the founder. Acquisition without a serious earn-out or meaningful transition period would likely destroy value.
- +Two-director setup: Only two active directors — typical of owner-managed SMEs but limits succession.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 68 — succession pressure is live.
- +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.
Succession & seller-readiness
No meaningful acquirability indicators from public data.
- primaryFamily succession underway: Not a takeover target — BELL, Steven (same surname) appointed 2024-04-01. Pattern consistent with intra-family handover.
- primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 68. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
- secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
Red flags
cleanShareholders & ownership
2 active beneficial owners| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Steven Bell Individual · British · DOB 10/1983 · age 43 | 25–50% | 25–50% | 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting | 01/11/2025 |
Mr Kenneth Kennedy Bell Individual · British · DOB 08/1958 · age 68 | 25–50% | 25–50% | 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting | 18/02/2022 |
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.
See pricing →Similar companies
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8 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 (2 active · 0 resigned)
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.