BACKPACKERS LIMITED
🌳Matureactive
SC178448 · ltd · incorporated 1997-09-02
Investment thesis
Well-run mature business — low negotiation leverage; premium likely.
Why interesting: Textbook target; clean filings, stable trading.
Why risky: No pressure on seller; any deal likely at full price.
Opportunity decay
hardening · 12-months
Already tight — no obvious softening catalysts on the horizon.
- · Thesis: well-run, low negotiation leverage
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Sept 2024
Net worth
£1.97M
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: Hotels and similar accommodation
Sector: Accommodation & food service
ALSO REGISTERED FOR
- 55202Youth hostels
Investor take
PursueActive trading company with a 61-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 67/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 61). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Consolidate lender relationships. 3 distinct lenders creates friction — refinance into single-lender structure for cleaner diligence. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
3 live charges · 3 lenders · oldest 27.9y
35/100
too messy
Refinance path is blocked by complexity. Rethink structure or expect bespoke, expensive terms.
- · Oldest live charge is 27.9 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · 3 lenders named — inter-creditor friction likely.
- · Legal-friction score 35/100 — workable, but lender will want more DD.
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, 2 SIC codes, incorporation date
100
Financials
2 years of iXBRL accounts extracted (YoY deltas available) + narrative notes parsed
75
Lenders & charges
3 charges (3/3 with lender, 3/3 with type)
90
Directors & officers
4 officers (2 active, 4 linked, 3 with DOB)
85
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
75 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
82/100Exceptional
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Strong composite across quality, acquirability, and risk. High-priority target — progress to serious diligence.
Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
80
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
100
Good data coverage for analysis.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declaredPositive net assets
Net assets £1,968,995
Cash YoY
+14%
Year on year
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
£1.9m
↑ 14% YoY
Net Worth
£2.0m
↑ 33% YoY
Current Assets
£2.1m
↑ 9.7% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2024-09-30 | 2023-09-30 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £2.01M | £1.52M |
| Current assets | £2.15M | £1.96M |
| Cash | £1.86M | £1.63M |
| Debtors | £277.6k | £325.2k |
| Net assets | £1.97M | £1.48M |
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 (26 events)Click to expand
- 2025-06-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-09-02📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2024-04-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-06-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-06-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-04-21📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2022-04-21📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2021-06-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-06-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-06-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-06-12📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-03-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2016-06-24📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2015-09-24📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2015-09-24📄termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM02
- 2013-09-05🔓Charge satisfied #2
- 2013-08-27🔒Charge registered #3Lender: Santander UK PLC
- 2011-10-01➖MESSRS MCKAY & NORWELL WS resignedcorporate-secretary
- 2004-05-10🔒Charge registered #2Lender: The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
- 1998-05-12🔒Charge registered #1Lender: Clydesdale Bank Public Limited Company
- 1997-10-20➕HUNTER, Christopher Andrew appointeddirector
- 1997-09-26➕HUNTER, Paul James appointeddirector
- 1997-09-26➖HOOKE, Nicholas Thornton resigneddirector
- 1997-09-02🏢Company incorporatedAs BACKPACKERS LIMITED
- 1997-09-02➕MESSRS MCKAY & NORWELL WS appointedcorporate-secretary
- 1997-09-02➕HOOKE, Nicholas Thornton appointeddirector
Owner dependency
84/100
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
- +Two-director setup: Only two active directors — typical of owner-managed SMEs but limits succession.
- +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 29 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 61 — approaching natural succession window.
- +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.
Succession & seller-readiness
76/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 61. Early succession window.
- secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
- primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 29 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 29 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
2 active beneficial owners| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Christopher Andrew Hunter Individual · British · DOB 01/1972 · age 54 | 25–50% | 25–50% | 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting | 01/12/2019 |
Mr Paul James Hunter Individual · British · DOB 08/1965 · age 61 | 25–50% | 25–50% | 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting | 06/04/2016 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Similar companies
Active · Hospitality · EH postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ASHCOM INTERNATIONAL LIMITED→ SC311669 · est 2006 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 19y | — | — |
| ASRAA FAST FOOD LIMITED→ SC740270 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| ATLANTICS APARTMENTS LTD→ SC757300 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| ATLAS HOTELS (CAMBRIDGE) LIMITED→ SC237325 · est 2002 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 23y | — | — |
| ATLAS HOTELS (STIRLING) LIMITED→ SC156661 · est 1995 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 31y | — | — |
| ATRIUM STUDENT ACCOMMODATION LTD→ SC732320 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| AUNTY D LTD→ SC796969 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| AVAILABILITY SOLUTIONS LTD→ SC706678 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| AY SCOTLAND LIMITED→ SC841672 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| BACCO LIMITED→ SC620609 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| BAGETTE EXPRESS BATHGATE LTD→ SC818774 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| BALLARO 2 LTD→ SC862962 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions
6 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
Incorporated1997-09-02
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC55100 — Hotels and similar accommodation
Registered office
65 Cockburn Street
Edinburgh
Midlothian
EH1 1BU
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-06-30
Last made up to: 2024-09-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-09-16
Last: 2025-09-02
Officers (2 active · 2 resigned)
HUNTER, Christopher Andrew→
Activedirector · ~54y · appointed 1997-10-20
View their other companies + combined net worth →
HUNTER, Paul James→
Activedirector · ~61y · appointed 1997-09-26
View their other companies + combined net worth →
MESSRS MCKAY & NORWELL WS→
Resignedcorporate-secretary · appointed 1997-09-02 · resigned 2011-10-01
HOOKE, Nicholas Thornton→
Resigneddirector · ~61y · appointed 1997-09-02 · resigned 1997-09-26
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
3
Total charges
2
Outstanding
2
Active lenders
Status:Lender:3 of 3 shown
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| outstanding | Santander Santander UK PLC | A registered charge | 1 property | 27/08/2013 | — | |
| satisfied | Lloyds Banking Group The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC | Bond & floating charge | 1 property | 10/05/2004 | 05/09/2013 | |
| outstanding | Virgin Money Clydesdale Bank Public Limited Company | Floating charge | 1 property | 12/05/1998 | — |
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.
Recent filings (75 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-09-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-06-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-09-03
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2024-09-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-04-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-09-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-06-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-09-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-06-23
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2022-04-21
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2022-04-21
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-09-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-06-25
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-09-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-06-30