WINE BUFFS LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
04749299 · ltd · incorporated 2003-04-30
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 Apr 2025
Net worth
£-8.8k
book net assets
Opportunity
78/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 47250
Sector: Wholesale & retail
Investor take
Pass (distressed without resilience)Distressed active trading company — structural issues outweigh the discount.
Opportunity 78/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (68/100, director aged 71). 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
9 officers (1 active, 9 linked, 6 with DOB)
83
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
1 connected companies via shared directors
48
Filing history
70 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
78/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
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 declaredNegative net assets
Liabilities exceed assets by £8,769
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
-£9k
↓ 190% YoY
Current Assets
£50k
↓ 8.9% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2025-04-30 | 2024-04-30 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £-8.8k | £-3.0k |
| Current assets | £49.7k | £54.6k |
| Debtors | £10.6k | £8.7k |
| Net assets | £-8.8k | £-3.0k |
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
0
filings
Last 180 days
0
filings
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (36 events)Click to expand
- 2025-06-20📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2024-06-10📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2023-05-31📄capital-allotment-sharescapital · SH01
- 2023-05-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2022-12-05📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2022-05-26📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2022-05-26📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2021-05-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2021-01-04📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2021-01-04📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2021-01-04📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2020-05-18📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2019-08-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2019-04-16📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2019-04-16📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2019-04-16📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2019-04-11➖THOMPSON, Peter John resigneddirector
- 2018-11-16📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2018-08-13📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2013-05-09➖NICHOLLS, Peter resignedsecretary
- 2013-05-09➖NICHOLLS, Carole resigneddirector
- 2013-05-09➖NICHOLLS, Peter resigneddirector
- 2013-04-25➕MARSHALL, Brian Robert appointeddirector
- 2013-04-25➕THOMPSON, Peter John appointeddirector
- 2004-04-30➖MULLARKEY, Frances Margaret, Ba resigneddirector
- 2004-04-30➖MULLARKEY, Stephen James resigneddirector
- 2003-05-02➕NICHOLLS, Peter appointedsecretary
- 2003-05-02➖ENERGIZE SECRETARY LIMITED resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 2003-05-02➕MULLARKEY, Frances Margaret, Ba appointeddirector
- 2003-05-02➕MULLARKEY, Stephen James appointeddirector
- 2003-05-02➕NICHOLLS, Carole appointeddirector
- 2003-05-02➕NICHOLLS, Peter appointeddirector
- 2003-05-02➖ENERGIZE DIRECTOR LIMITED resignedcorporate-nominee-director
- 2003-04-30🏢Company incorporatedAs WINE BUFFS LIMITED
- 2003-04-30➕ENERGIZE SECRETARY LIMITED appointedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 2003-04-30➕ENERGIZE DIRECTOR LIMITED appointedcorporate-nominee-director
Owner dependency
90/100
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.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 71 — succession pressure is live.
Succession & seller-readiness
98/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 71 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 13 years.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 23 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
cleanNo 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 Brian Robert Marshall Individual · British · DOB 08/1955 · age 71 | 75–100% | 75–100% | 75-100% shares · 75-100% voting | 06/04/2016 |
1 historic (ceased) PSC
- Mr Peter John Thompsonceased 30/04/2022· 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting
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 →Similar companies
Active · Retail · CW postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 FOUR TRADING LTD→ 17065226 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 24 SEVEN MINI MARKET LIMITED→ 16054129 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| 24X7 CHESTER LIMITED→ 13009986 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| 305GROUP LTD→ 11293180 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| 3SONCYCLES LTD→ 16299075 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| 4U SUPERMARKET LIMITED→ 12348778 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| A AND T 1 LTD→ 16763767 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| A D CONSULTANCY (CHESHIRE) LTD→ 07124482 · est 2010 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 16y | — | — |
| A HANCOCK INT LTD→ 17058311 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| A&A MARCANNO LTD→ 13298450 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| A1 STORES AND SUPPLIES LIMITED→ 15946713 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| ABIKSHA UK LTD→ 14845334 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions
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 →🔒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
Incorporated2003-04-30
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC47250 — SIC 47250
Registered office
19 Hurleston Way
Nantwich
Cheshire
CW5 6XN
England
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-01-31
Last made up to: 2025-04-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-05-14
Last: 2025-04-30
Officers (1 active · 8 resigned)
MARSHALL, Brian Robert→
Activedirector · ~71y · appointed 2013-04-25
View their other companies + combined net worth →
NICHOLLS, Peter→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 2003-05-02 · resigned 2013-05-09
ENERGIZE SECRETARY LIMITED→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2003-04-30 · resigned 2003-05-02
MULLARKEY, Frances Margaret, Ba→
Resigneddirector · ~65y · appointed 2003-05-02 · resigned 2004-04-30
MULLARKEY, Stephen James→
Resigneddirector · ~67y · appointed 2003-05-02 · resigned 2004-04-30
NICHOLLS, Carole→
Resigneddirector · ~72y · appointed 2003-05-02 · resigned 2013-05-09
NICHOLLS, Peter→
Resigneddirector · ~73y · appointed 2003-05-02 · resigned 2013-05-09
THOMPSON, Peter John→
Resigneddirector · ~75y · appointed 2013-04-25 · resigned 2019-04-11
ENERGIZE DIRECTOR LIMITED→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-director · appointed 2003-04-30 · resigned 2003-05-02
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (70 total)
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2025-06-20
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-04-30
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2024-06-10
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-04-30
capital-allotment-shares
capital · SH01
2023-05-31
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2023-05-23
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-05-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2022-12-05
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2022-05-26
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2022-05-26
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-05-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2021-05-26
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-05-04
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2021-01-04
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2021-01-04