SPARSHOTTS (FRUITERERS) LIMITED
- · Oldest live charge 43.1y old — refinance window within 12 months
Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 85/100. Strong seller-intent signal (93/100, director aged 82). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).
Refinance opportunity
2 live charges · 2 lenders · oldest 43.1y
Refinance conversation should be productive — structure clean and timing right.
- · Oldest live charge is 43.1 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Two lenders — manageable, but coordination required.
- · Legal-friction score 15/100 — clean.
Data confidence
Overall: medium (78/100)Adequate coverage. AI outputs are reliable for the sections scored high; verify the rest in diligence.
Strong composite across quality, acquirability, and risk. High-priority target — progress to serious diligence.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 102Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsHover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102| Metric | 2025-04-30 | 2024-04-30 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £1.88M | £1.77M |
| Current assets | £1.46M | £1.35M |
| Cash | £754.0k | £590.7k |
| Debtors | £685.7k | £741.2k |
| Net assets | £1.79M | £1.68M |
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
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
Corporate timeline (22 events)Click to expand
- 2025-09-04📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-10-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-09-08📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-09-07📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-06-21📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-10-21📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2020-10-21📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2020-09-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-01-10📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-12-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-01-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-11-11📄mortgage-satisfy-charge-fullmortgage · MR04
- 2017-11-11🔓Charge satisfied #2
- 2017-01-13📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2016-01-15📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2015-08-06📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2008-01-31🔒Charge registered #2Lender: National Westminster Bank PLC
- 2008-01-17🔓Charge satisfied #1
- 2000-07-01➕SPARSHOTT, Christopher Clive appointeddirector
- 1991-07-01➖FERGUSON, Gillian resigneddirector
- 1983-06-24🔒Charge registered #1Lender: Barclays Bank PLC
- 1961-04-25🏢Company incorporatedAs SPARSHOTTS (FRUITERERS) LIMITED
Owner dependency
The business appears inseparable from the founder. Acquisition without a serious earn-out or meaningful transition period would likely destroy value.
- +Two-director setup: Only two active directors — typical of owner-managed SMEs but limits succession.
- +Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "SPARSHOTT" — strong identity link between founder and business.
- +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 26 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 82 — succession pressure is live.
- +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.
Succession & seller-readiness
Strong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
- primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 82 years old. Natural succession window is now.
- secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
- primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 26 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 65 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
cleanShareholders & ownership
2 active beneficial owners| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Clive Sparshott Individual · British · DOB 04/1944 · age 82 | 50–75% | 50–75% | 50-75% shares · 50-75% voting | 06/04/2016 |
Christopher Sparshott Individual · British · DOB 03/1978 · age 48 | 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.
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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 →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
Registered office
Filing status
Officers (3 active · 1 resigned)
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| satisfied | National Westminster Bank National Westminster Bank PLC | Legal charge | 1 property | 31/01/2008 | 11/11/2017 | |
| satisfied | Barclays Barclays Bank PLC | Legal charge | 1 property | 24/06/1983 | 17/01/2008 |