BUTTERWORTHS LENSES LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
SC225522 · ltd · incorporated 2001-11-20
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 Oct 2024
Net worth
£-2.84M
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 32500
Sector: Manufacturing
Investor take
Pass (distressed without resilience)
Distressed active trading company — structural issues outweigh the discount.

Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 63). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Cash flow review and working-capital discipline. Cash down -83% YoY — forensic review of receivables, stock turns, and creditor days. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

2 live charges · 2 lenders · oldest 23.4y

30/100
under pressure

Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.

  • · Oldest live charge is 23.4 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · Two lenders — manageable, but coordination required.
  • · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.

Data confidence

Overall: medium (79/100)

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
2 charges (2/2 with lender, 2/2 with type)
90
Directors & officers
7 officers (1 active, 7 linked, 3 with DOB)
79
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
2 connected companies via shared directors
51
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 declared
Negative net assets
Liabilities exceed assets by £2,840,526
Very low cash
Cash position: £27
Cash draining
Cash down 83% YoY
Cash YoY
-83%
Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£27
↓ 83% YoY
Net Worth
-£2.8m
↓ 2.4% YoY
Current Assets
£215k
↑ 13% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
-£2.8m-£2.2m-£1.6m-£1.0m-£396k£215kOct 2023Oct 2024

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2024-10-312023-10-31
Total assets£-284.3k£-313.9k
Current assets£215.0k£190.7k
Cash£27£162
Debtors£200.2k£182.1k
Net assets£-2.84M£-2.78M

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
1
filing
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (32 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-07-31
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  2. 2025-07-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-07-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2023-07-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  5. 2022-07-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  6. 2021-07-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  7. 2020-10-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2019-07-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2018-07-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2017-05-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  11. 2016-07-14
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  12. 2015-11-20
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  13. 2015-09-02
    📄
    mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
    mortgage · MR04
  14. 2015-09-02
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #2
  15. 2015-07-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  16. 2015-05-11
    ➖
    MCLEISH, Ian Richard resigned
    secretary
  17. 2015-05-11
    ➖
    CONWAY, Trevor Michael resigned
    director
  18. 2015-05-11
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  19. 2007-02-07
    🔒
    Charge registered #2
    Lender: Rbs Invoice Finance Limited
  20. 2007-02-03
    ➖
    MARTIN, Anthony resigned
    secretary
  21. 2007-02-03
    ➕
    MCLEISH, Ian Richard appointed
    secretary
  22. 2004-12-31
    ➖
    HANCU, Andrei Silviu resigned
    director
  23. 2002-12-11
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
  24. 2001-11-20
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As BUTTERWORTHS LENSES LIMITED
  25. 2001-11-20
    ➕
    MARTIN, Anthony appointed
    director
  26. 2001-11-20
    ➕
    MARTIN, Anthony appointed
    secretary
  27. 2001-11-20
    ➕
    BRIAN REID LTD. appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  28. 2001-11-20
    ➖
    BRIAN REID LTD. resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  29. 2001-11-20
    ➕
    CONWAY, Trevor Michael appointed
    director
  30. 2001-11-20
    ➕
    HANCU, Andrei Silviu appointed
    director
  31. 2001-11-20
    ➕
    STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD. appointed
    corporate-nominee-director
  32. 2001-11-20
    ➖
    STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD. resigned
    corporate-nominee-director

Owner dependency

93/100
Critical — business is the founder

The 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.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 24 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 63 — approaching natural succession window.

Succession & seller-readiness

95/100
Likely off-market candidate

Strong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.

SIGNALS
  • primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 63. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
  • primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 24 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 24 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

clean
No 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
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Anthony Martin
Individual · British · DOB 06/1963 · age 63
——board controlboard control06/04/2016

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 →

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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
Incorporated2001-11-20
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC32500 — SIC 32500

Registered office

85 Peffer Place
Edinburgh
EH16 4BB

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-07-31
Last made up to: 2024-10-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-11-27
Last: 2025-11-13

Officers (1 active · 6 resigned)

MARTIN, Anthony→
director · ~63y · appointed 2001-11-20
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
MARTIN, Anthony→
secretary · appointed 2001-11-20 · resigned 2007-02-03
Resigned
MCLEISH, Ian Richard→
secretary · appointed 2007-02-03 · resigned 2015-05-11
Resigned
BRIAN REID LTD.→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2001-11-20 · resigned 2001-11-20
Resigned
CONWAY, Trevor Michael→
director · ~69y · appointed 2001-11-20 · resigned 2015-05-11
Resigned
HANCU, Andrei Silviu→
director · ~75y · appointed 2001-11-20 · resigned 2004-12-31
Resigned
STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD.→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2001-11-20 · resigned 2001-11-20
Resigned

Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.

Mortgages & charges

2
Total charges
1
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:2 of 2 shown
TypeProperties
satisfied
NatWest Group
Rbs Invoice Finance Limited
Floating charge1 property07/02/200702/09/2015
outstanding
Lloyds Banking Group
The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
Bond & floating charge1 property11/12/2002—
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
2025-11-13
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2025-07-31
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-07-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-12-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-07-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-12-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-07-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-11-25
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-07-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-01-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-07-31
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-12-31
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-10-30
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-12-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-07-31