A.H.COX(BILLINGSGATE)LIMITED
🌳Matureactive
00558808 · ltd · incorporated 1955-12-17
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
approaching window · 12-months
Approaching a transaction window — refinance or sale event plausible in the next 12 months.
- · Oldest live charge 35.5y old — refinance window within 12 months
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Dec 2024
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
75/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Wholesale of other food, including fish, crustaceans and molluscs
Sector: Wholesale & retail
Investor take
PursueStrong opportunity: active trading company with strong profile and bankable structure.
Opportunity 75/100 (strong), bankability 85/100. High owner-dependency — earn-out structure likely required for clean transition. Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: strategic trade sale (63/100).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
1 live charge · oldest 35.5y
85/100
ready
Refinance conversation should be productive — structure clean and timing right.
- · Oldest live charge is 35.5 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
- · Legal-friction score 15/100 — clean.
Data confidence
Overall: medium (77/100)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
1 charges (1/1 with lender, 1/1 with type)
90
Directors & officers
9 officers (3 active, 9 linked, 5 with DOB)
81
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 3 total, 3 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
108 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
75/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
55
Some acquirability indicators.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
100
Good data coverage for analysis.
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2024-12-31 | 2023-12-31 |
|---|
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
1
filing
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
1
filing
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (28 events)Click to expand
- 2025-03-24📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2024-12-24📄mortgage-satisfy-charge-fullmortgage · MR04
- 2024-12-24🔓Charge satisfied #1
- 2024-06-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2023-06-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2022-07-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2021-07-13📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2020-08-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2020-01-18📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2019-07-17📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2019-07-17📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2019-07-17📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2019-07-10➖GARATY, Stephen John resigneddirector
- 2019-03-18📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2018-05-11📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2017-04-21📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2016-05-24📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2012-04-21➕GARATY, Robert appointeddirector
- 2012-04-21➕GARATY, Ross appointeddirector
- 2002-10-04➕GARATY, Robert Stephen appointedsecretary
- 2002-10-04➖SCRAGG, Brian John resignedsecretary
- 2002-10-04➖SCRAGG, Brian John resigneddirector
- 1993-05-10➖GARATY, Steven resigneddirector
- 1993-01-17➖HARVEY, Martin resignedsecretary
- 1993-01-17➖HARVEY, Martin resigneddirector
- 1993-01-13➕GARATY, Steven appointeddirector
- 1990-12-21🔒Charge registered #1Lender: Barclays Bank PLC
- 1955-12-17🏢Company incorporatedAs A.H.COX(BILLINGSGATE)LIMITED
Owner dependency
66/100
High — earn-out structure requiredMaterial founder dependency. Consider a 2-3 year earn-out and build in a handover plan before completion.
FACTORS
- +Two-director setup: Only two active directors — typical of owner-managed SMEs but limits succession.
- +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.
Succession & seller-readiness
59/100
Strong succession signalMultiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.
SIGNALS
- secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
- secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 14 years.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 71 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Robert Stephen Garaty Individual · British · DOB 02/1982 · age 44 | 25–50% | — | 25-50% shares | 10/07/2019 |
Mr Ross Garaty Individual · British · DOB 06/1984 · age 42 | 25–50% | — | 25-50% shares | 10/07/2019 |
1 historic (ceased) PSC
- Mr Stephen John Garatyceased 10/07/2019· 25-50% shares
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Similar companies
Active · Wholesale & distribution · E postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABV LTD→ 11439402 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| AD BEVERAGES LTD→ 15984787 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| ADAIN LTD→ 16250969 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| ADD COFFEE INTERNATIONAL LIMITED→ 17055202 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ADESEWA FOODS LIMITED→ 16704405 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| AECO INTERNATIONAL LIMITED→ 16937067 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| AEPUOSEM UK LIMITED→ 16991186 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| AETHELING COMMERCE LIMITED→ 16862142 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| AEVUM COMMODITIES LTD→ 16991470 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| AFAM GLOBAL LIMITED→ 15325671 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| AFAQ BALAD ALSALAM TRADE LIMITED→ 16358669 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| AFFINITYFORGE LIMITED→ 16996376 · est 2026 · 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
Incorporated1955-12-17
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC46380 — Wholesale of other food, including fish, crustaceans and molluscs
Registered office
Office 27 Billingsgate Market
Trafalgar Way
London
E14 5ST
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last made up to: 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-05-24
Last: 2026-05-10
Officers (3 active · 6 resigned)
GARATY, Robert Stephen→
Activesecretary · appointed 2002-10-04
View their other companies + combined net worth →
GARATY, Robert→
Activedirector · ~44y · appointed 2012-04-21
View their other companies + combined net worth →
GARATY, Ross→
Activedirector · ~42y · appointed 2012-04-21
View their other companies + combined net worth →
HARVEY, Martin→
Resignedsecretary · resigned 1993-01-17
SCRAGG, Brian John→
Resignedsecretary · resigned 2002-10-04
GARATY, Stephen John→
Resigneddirector · ~70y · resigned 2019-07-10
GARATY, Steven→
Resigneddirector · appointed 1993-01-13 · resigned 1993-05-10
HARVEY, Martin→
Resigneddirector · ~96y · resigned 1993-01-17
SCRAGG, Brian John→
Resigneddirector · ~76y · resigned 2002-10-04
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
1
Total charges
0
Outstanding
0
Active lenders
Status:Lender:1 of 1 shown
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| satisfied | Barclays Barclays Bank PLC | Debenture | 1 property | 21/12/1990 | 24/12/2024 |
Recent filings (108 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-05-14
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-06-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2025-03-24
mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
mortgage · MR04
2024-12-24
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2024-06-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-05-31
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2023-06-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-06-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2022-07-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-05-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2021-07-13
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-05-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2020-08-31
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-05-14
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2020-01-18