GERALD MCDONALD (HERBS & SPICES) LIMITED

🌳Matureactive
00220178 · ltd · incorporated 1927-03-09
Investment thesis
Established operating company — standard diligence applies, no dominant angle.
Why interesting: Live, filing, normal profile.
Why risky: No standout signals in either direction.
Opportunity decay
approaching window · 12-months
Approaching a transaction window — refinance or sale event plausible in the next 12 months.
  • · Oldest live charge 4.4y old — refinance window within 12 months
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Jun 2025
Net worth
£851.2k
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 10390
Sector: Manufacturing
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company. Family succession underway — not a classic acquisition target.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 80/100. 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 (65/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

1 live charge · oldest 4.4y

75/100
ready

Refinance conversation should be productive — structure clean and timing right.

  • · Charge age ~4.4 years — mid-life; refi window approaching.
  • · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
  • · Legal-friction score 15/100 — clean.

Data confidence

Overall: high (82/100)

Strong data coverage across all sections. AI outputs should be trusted with minimal caveats.

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
1 charges (1/1 with lender, 1/1 with type)
90
Directors & officers
9 officers (5 active, 9 linked, 8 with DOB)
88
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
8 connected companies via shared directors
69
Filing history
107 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
80/100Exceptional
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
75
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
Positive net assets
Net assets £851,209
Cash YoY
-3%
Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£716k
↓ 2.9% YoY
Net Worth
£851k
~ YoY
Current Assets
£1.4m
↓ 7.6% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£300k£600k£899k£1.2m£1.5mJun 2024Jun 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2025-06-302024-06-30
Total assets£851.2k£843.5k
Current assets£1.39M£1.50M
Cash£715.6k£737.3k
Debtors£203.2k£262.9k
Net assets£851.2k£843.5k

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
2
filings
  • • 1 accounts
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (28 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-03-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-small
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-03-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-small
    accounts · AA
  3. 2025-01-28
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  4. 2025-01-14
    ➖
    MOSS, Andrew Charles Bentham resigned
    director
  5. 2024-02-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-small
    accounts · AA
  6. 2023-03-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-small
    accounts · AA
  7. 2023-03-07
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  8. 2023-03-07
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  9. 2023-03-07
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  10. 2023-03-07
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  11. 2023-03-02
    ➕
    MCDONALD, Maria Elena appointed
    director
  12. 2023-03-02
    ➕
    MCDONALD, Maxim Gerald appointed
    director
  13. 2023-03-02
    ➕
    SMITH, Wayne Peter appointed
    director
  14. 2023-03-02
    ➕
    MOSS, Andrew Charles Bentham appointed
    director
  15. 2022-03-02
    📄
    mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
    mortgage · MR01
  16. 2022-03-01
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: Barclays Bank PLC
  17. 2022-02-07
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-small
    accounts · AA
  18. 2021-04-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-small
    accounts · AA
  19. 2021-04-21
    📄
    gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
    gazette · DISS40
  20. 2021-04-20
    📄
    gazette-notice-compulsory
    gazette · GAZ1
  21. 2020-03-16
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-small
    accounts · AA
  22. 2019-03-01
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-small
    accounts · AA
  23. 2018-02-19
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-small
    accounts · AA
  24. 2017-02-09
    ➕
    CRAWFORD, Stephen Derek appointed
    director
  25. 2014-05-31
    ➖
    TEW, Frank Arthur resigned
    secretary
  26. 2006-12-05
    ➖
    MCDONALD, Gerald Ian Michael resigned
    director
  27. 2006-12-05
    ➖
    MCDONALD, Henny Martha resigned
    director
  28. 1927-03-09
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As GERALD MCDONALD (HERBS & SPICES) LIMITED

Owner dependency

78/100
High — earn-out structure required

Material founder dependency. Consider a 2-3 year earn-out and build in a handover plan before completion.

FACTORS
  • -5 active directors: Broader management team in place — suggests transferable governance.
  • +Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "MCDONALD" — strong identity link between founder and business.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 76 — succession pressure is live.
  • +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.

Succession & seller-readiness

30/100
Weak signal

Limited succession signal. Not a near-term off-market candidate.

SIGNALS
  • primaryFamily succession underway: Not a takeover target — MCDONALD, Maxim Gerald (same surname) appointed 2023-03-02. Pattern consistent with intra-family handover.
  • primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 76 years old. Natural succession window is now.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 99 years old and no new directors in the last 3 years — succession not yet being planned internally.

Red flags

clean
No red flags detected from available public data. (This is not a clean bill of health — detailed accounts review still recommended.)

Group structure

Gerald Mcdonald & Company Limited is the ultimate parent — holding 75%+ shares. This company sits inside their group.

🏛️
Gerald Mcdonald & Company Limited
Corporate parent · holds 75-100% shares
ultimate parent
⬇
GERALD MCDONALD (HERBS & SPICES) LIMITED
This company · 00220178

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%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Gerald Mcdonald & Company Limited
Corporate entity
75–100%
—75-100% shares07/04/2016

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
Incorporated1927-03-09
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC10390 — SIC 10390

Registered office

Cranes Farm Road
Basildon
Essex
SS14 3GT

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-03-31
Last made up to: 2025-06-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-01-13
Last: 2025-12-30

Officers (5 active · 4 resigned)

CRAWFORD, Stephen Derek→
director · ~55y · appointed 2017-02-09
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
MCDONALD, Gerald Alistair→
director · ~71y
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
MCDONALD, Maria Elena→
director · ~76y · appointed 2023-03-02
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
MCDONALD, Maxim Gerald→
director · ~43y · appointed 2023-03-02
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
SMITH, Wayne Peter→
director · ~55y · appointed 2023-03-02
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
TEW, Frank Arthur→
secretary · resigned 2014-05-31
Resigned
MCDONALD, Gerald Ian Michael→
director · ~106y · resigned 2006-12-05
Resigned
MCDONALD, Henny Martha→
director · ~105y · resigned 2006-12-05
Resigned
MOSS, Andrew Charles Bentham→
director · ~62y · appointed 2023-03-02 · resigned 2025-01-14
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

1
Total charges
1
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:1 of 1 shown
TypeProperties
outstanding
Barclays
Barclays Bank PLC
A registered charge—01/03/2022—
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (107 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-small
accounts · AA
2026-03-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-03-19
accounts-with-accounts-type-small
accounts · AA
2025-03-21
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-01-28
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2025-01-28
accounts-with-accounts-type-small
accounts · AA
2024-02-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-02-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-small
accounts · AA
2023-03-17
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2023-03-07
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2023-03-07
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2023-03-07
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2023-03-07
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-01-25
mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
mortgage · MR01
2022-03-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-small
accounts · AA
2022-02-07