IMAGE ON FOOD LIMITED

🌳Matureactive
03032336 · ltd · incorporated 1995-03-13
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.
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Dec 2025
Net worth
£1.69M
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
🔔
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What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 10720
Sector: Manufacturing
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company with a 67-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 67/100. Strong seller-intent signal (73/100, director aged 67). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Consolidate lender relationships. 3 distinct lenders creates friction — refinance into single-lender structure for cleaner diligence. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

3 live charges · 3 lenders · oldest 25.9y

35/100
too messy

Refinance path is blocked by complexity. Rethink structure or expect bespoke, expensive terms.

  • · Oldest live charge is 25.9 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · 3 lenders named — inter-creditor friction likely.
  • · Legal-friction score 25/100 — workable, but lender will want more DD.

Data confidence

Overall: high (80/100)

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
3 charges (3/3 with lender, 3/3 with type)
90
Directors & officers
8 officers (4 active, 8 linked, 4 with DOB)
80
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 3 total, 3 with control declared
90
Director network
5 connected companies via shared directors
60
Filing history
97 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 · FRS 102
Positive net assets
Net assets £1,687,481
Cash YoY
-2%
Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£975k
↓ 1.8% YoY
Net Worth
£1.7m
↑ 9.3% YoY
Current Assets
£1.9m
↑ 18% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£389k£779k£1.2m£1.6m£1.9mDec 2024Dec 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2025-12-312024-12-31
Total assets£1.83M£1.70M
Current assets£1.95M£1.64M
Cash£975.4k£993.4k
Debtors£699.9k£459.5k
Net assets£1.69M£1.54M

Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.

🔒Filing-note intelligence

3 signals 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 accounts
Last 180 days
2
filings
  • • 1 accounts
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (36 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-05-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-07-01
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-06-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2024-04-08
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  5. 2023-10-01
    ➕
    WILLIAMS, Gemma appointed
    director
  6. 2023-04-11
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  7. 2022-08-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2021-09-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2020-09-24
    📄
    mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
    mortgage · MR01
  10. 2020-09-17
    🔒
    Charge registered #3
    Lender: Hsbc UK Bank PLC
  11. 2020-08-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  12. 2020-03-25
    📄
    appoint-person-secretary-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP03
  13. 2020-03-25
    📄
    termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM02
  14. 2020-03-24
    ➕
    HOPCROFT, Sarah Elizabeth appointed
    secretary
  15. 2020-03-24
    ➖
    HALL, Sarah Elizabeth resigned
    secretary
  16. 2020-03-17
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC02
  17. 2020-03-17
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  18. 2020-03-09
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  19. 2020-03-02
    📄
    mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
    mortgage · MR04
  20. 2020-03-02
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #2
  21. 2020-02-07
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  22. 2020-02-07
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  23. 2019-09-13
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  24. 2008-09-11
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #1
  25. 2006-10-24
    🔒
    Charge registered #2
    Lender: Hsbc Bank PLC
  26. 2004-08-25
    ➖
    MERRICK, Raymond resigned
    director
  27. 2000-08-29
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: Lloyds Tsb Bank PLC
  28. 1997-01-10
    ➕
    MERRICK, Raymond appointed
    director
  29. 1995-03-30
    ➕
    HOPCROFT, Sarah Elizabeth appointed
    director
  30. 1995-03-30
    ➕
    HOPCROFT, Tim Roy appointed
    director
  31. 1995-03-30
    ➕
    HALL, Sarah Elizabeth appointed
    secretary
  32. 1995-03-30
    ➖
    BRITANNIA COMPANY FORMATIONS LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  33. 1995-03-30
    ➖
    DEANSGATE COMPANY FORMATIONS LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-director
  34. 1995-03-13
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As IMAGE ON FOOD LIMITED
  35. 1995-03-13
    ➕
    BRITANNIA COMPANY FORMATIONS LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  36. 1995-03-13
    ➕
    DEANSGATE COMPANY FORMATIONS LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-director

Owner dependency

83/100
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
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 31 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 67 — succession pressure is live.
  • +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.

Succession & seller-readiness

70/100
Strong succession signal

Multiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.

SIGNALS
  • primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 67. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
  • primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 31 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • 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.)

Group structure

Image On Food (Holdings) Limited is the ultimate parent — holding 75%+ shares. This company sits inside their group.

🏛️
Image On Food (Holdings) Limited
Corporate parent · holds 75-100% shares · board control
ultimate parent
⬇
IMAGE ON FOOD LIMITED
This company · 03032336

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
Image On Food (Holdings) Limited
Corporate entity
75–100%
75–100%board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control26/02/2020
2 historic (ceased) PSCs
  • Mr Timothy Roy Hopcroftceased 26/02/2020· 25-50% shares
  • Ms Sarah Elizabeth Hopcroftceased 26/02/2020· 25-50% shares

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
Incorporated1995-03-13
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC10720 — SIC 10720

Registered office

7 Burnside Business Park
Burnside Road
Market Drayton
Shropshire
TF9 3UX

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-09-30
Last made up to: 2025-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-03-27
Last: 2026-03-13

Officers (4 active · 4 resigned)

HOPCROFT, Sarah Elizabeth→
secretary · appointed 2020-03-24
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
HOPCROFT, Sarah Elizabeth→
director · ~66y · appointed 1995-03-30
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
HOPCROFT, Tim Roy→
director · ~67y · appointed 1995-03-30
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
WILLIAMS, Gemma→
director · ~42y · appointed 2023-10-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
HALL, Sarah Elizabeth→
secretary · appointed 1995-03-30 · resigned 2020-03-24
Resigned
BRITANNIA COMPANY FORMATIONS LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 1995-03-13 · resigned 1995-03-30
Resigned
MERRICK, Raymond→
director · ~70y · appointed 1997-01-10 · resigned 2004-08-25
Resigned
DEANSGATE COMPANY FORMATIONS LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 1995-03-13 · resigned 1995-03-30
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

3
Total charges
1
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:3 of 3 shown
TypeProperties
outstanding
HSBC
Hsbc UK Bank PLC
A registered charge1 property17/09/2020—
satisfied
HSBC
Hsbc Bank PLC
Debenture1 property24/10/200602/03/2020
satisfied
Lloyds Banking Group
Lloyds Tsb Bank PLC
Debenture1 property29/08/200011/09/2008
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (97 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2026-05-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-03-27
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-07-01
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-03-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-06-27
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2024-04-08
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-03-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-04-11
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-03-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-08-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-03-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-09-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-03-15
mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
mortgage · MR01
2020-09-24
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-08-17