ACTION MEATS LIMITED
🌳Matureactive
02831250 · ltd · incorporated 1993-06-29
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 Mar 2025
Net worth
£674.5k
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: Wholesale of meat and meat products
Sector: Wholesale & retail
Investor take
PursueAsset-holding vehicle with a 82-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 85/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 82). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
1 live charge · oldest 30.8y
45/100
under pressure
Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.
- · Oldest live charge is 30.8 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
- · Cashflow trend is negative — lender view likely cautious.
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
7 officers (3 active, 7 linked, 4 with DOB)
81
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
93 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 £674,509
Cash YoY
-22%
Year on year
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
£435k
↓ 22% YoY
Net Worth
£675k
↑ 5.9% YoY
Current Assets
£1.2m
~ YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2025-03-31 | 2024-03-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £675.6k | £638.6k |
| Current assets | £1.24M | £1.23M |
| Cash | £434.9k | £555.7k |
| Debtors | £804.7k | £642.1k |
| Net assets | £674.5k | £636.9k |
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 (31 events)Click to expand
- 2025-09-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-08-15📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-07-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-07-04📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2023-06-20📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2022-09-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-07-18📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2022-07-15📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2021-08-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-08-05📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2021-08-05📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2021-08-05📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2020-09-17📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-10-03📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-07-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-07-14📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-07-10📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2013-08-06🔓Charge satisfied #1
- 2010-11-22➖POUGET, Jean Paul resigneddirector
- 2010-10-04➕FOSTER, Stephen appointeddirector
- 2007-05-15➖FOSTER, Stephen resigneddirector
- 2004-01-02➕FOSTER, Stephen appointeddirector
- 1995-07-26🔒Charge registered #1Lender: Barclays Bank PLC
- 1993-07-13➕FOSTER, Joseph Eric appointedsecretary
- 1993-07-13➕FOSTER, Joseph Eric appointeddirector
- 1993-07-13➖SWIFT INCORPORATIONS LIMITED resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 1993-07-13➕POUGET, Jean Paul appointeddirector
- 1993-07-13➖INSTANT COMPANIES LIMITED resignedcorporate-nominee-director
- 1993-06-29🏢Company incorporatedAs ACTION MEATS LIMITED
- 1993-06-29➕SWIFT INCORPORATIONS LIMITED appointedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 1993-06-29➕INSTANT COMPANIES LIMITED appointedcorporate-nominee-director
Owner dependency
91/100
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 33 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
96/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- 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 33 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 33 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 Stephen Foster Individual · British · DOB 09/1973 · age 53 | 25–50% | 25–50% | 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting | 22/11/2016 |
Mr Joseph Eric Foster Individual · British · DOB 03/1944 · age 82 | 25–50% | 25–50% | 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting | 07/04/2016 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 COSMETICS LTD→ 13361196 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| 69 DRINKS CO. LTD→ 15963581 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| 711SPORTS LTD→ 16077099 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| AARTI CRAFTY GIFTS LIMITED→ 12986101 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| AB PLUS LIMITED→ 12826074 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| ACCURATE CLEANING SOLUTIONS LTD→ 06623823 · est 2008 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 17y | — | — |
| AD PARTS SUPPLIES LTD→ 15866480 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| ADAM HALIFAX LTD→ 14184981 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| ADM AGRICULTURE LIMITED→ 00904957 · est 1967 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 58y | — | — |
| AEA PACKAGING LIMITED→ 08422070 · est 2013 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 13y | — | — |
| AFRICAN FLAVOUR LIMITED→ 16211855 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| AFRICAN WOOD LIMITED→ 16911513 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
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
Incorporated1993-06-29
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC46320 — Wholesale of meat and meat products
Registered office
55 Ellers Drive
Doncaster
South Yorkshire
DN4 7DW
England
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-07-13
Last: 2025-06-29
Officers (3 active · 4 resigned)
FOSTER, Joseph Eric→
Activesecretary · appointed 1993-07-13
View their other companies + combined net worth →
FOSTER, Joseph Eric→
Activedirector · ~82y · appointed 1993-07-13
View their other companies + combined net worth →
FOSTER, Stephen→
Activedirector · ~53y · appointed 2010-10-04
View their other companies + combined net worth →
SWIFT INCORPORATIONS LIMITED→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 1993-06-29 · resigned 1993-07-13
FOSTER, Stephen→
Resigneddirector · ~53y · appointed 2004-01-02 · resigned 2007-05-15
POUGET, Jean Paul→
Resigneddirector · ~80y · appointed 1993-07-13 · resigned 2010-11-22
INSTANT COMPANIES LIMITED→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-director · appointed 1993-06-29 · resigned 1993-07-13
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 | 26/07/1995 | 06/08/2013 |
Recent filings (93 total)
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-09-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-07-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-08-15
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-07-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-07-26
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-07-04
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2023-07-04
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2023-06-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-09-30
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2022-07-18
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-07-15
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2022-07-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-08-23
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2021-08-05
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2021-08-05