BLUE HOP LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
04746608 · ltd · incorporated 2003-04-28
Investment thesis
Zombie company — trading but stalled; unlikely mover.
Why interesting: Quiet, steady; could be a succession or carve-out candidate with the right conversation.
Why risky: No growth signal; thin margin for error on price.
🔒Estimated value
—
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Turnover
—
year to Apr 2025
Net worth
£117.3k
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: Hotels and similar accommodation
Sector: Accommodation & food service
ALSO REGISTERED FOR
  • 56101Licenced restaurants
  • 56302Public houses and bars
Investor take
Pursue
Strong opportunity: active trading company with exceptional profile and bankable structure.

Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 80/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 58). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Cash flow review and working-capital discipline. Cash down -53% YoY — forensic review of receivables, stock turns, and creditor days. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

1 live charge · oldest 23.0y

45/100
under pressure

Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.

  • · Oldest live charge is 23.0 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
  • · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.

Data confidence

Overall: medium (78/100)

Adequate coverage. AI outputs are reliable for the sections scored high; verify the rest in diligence.

Company profile
address, 3 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
4 officers (1 active, 4 linked, 1 with DOB)
75
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
1 connected companies via shared directors
48
Filing history
58 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 declared
Positive net assets
Net assets £117,257
Net assets shrinking
Down £7,201 YoY
Cash draining
Cash down 53% YoY
Cash YoY
-53%
Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£40k
↓ 53% YoY
Net Worth
£117k
↓ 5.8% YoY
Current Assets
£82k
↓ 33% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£25k£50k£75k£100k£124kApr 2024Apr 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2025-04-302024-04-30
Total assets£172.4k£193.0k
Current assets£81.8k£121.9k
Cash£39.5k£84.0k
Debtors£29.3k£23.0k
Net assets£117.3k£124.5k

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
1
filing
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
1
filing
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (24 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-01-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-04-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-04-09
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2023-01-18
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  5. 2022-01-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  6. 2021-04-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  7. 2020-01-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2019-01-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2018-01-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2017-01-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  11. 2016-05-04
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  12. 2016-01-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  13. 2015-06-08
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  14. 2015-01-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  15. 2014-05-23
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  16. 2011-01-14
    ➖
    YOUNG, Pollyanna Jane resigned
    secretary
  17. 2003-07-28
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: National Westminster Bank PLC
  18. 2003-04-28
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As BLUE HOP LIMITED
  19. 2003-04-28
    ➕
    CLARKE, Alexander James appointed
    director
  20. 2003-04-28
    ➕
    YOUNG, Pollyanna Jane appointed
    secretary
  21. 2003-04-28
    ➕
    WATERLOW SECRETARIES LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  22. 2003-04-28
    ➖
    WATERLOW SECRETARIES LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  23. 2003-04-28
    ➕
    WATERLOW NOMINEES LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-director
  24. 2003-04-28
    ➖
    WATERLOW NOMINEES LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-director

Owner dependency

93/100
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
  • +Sole director: Only one active director — all governance concentrated on one person.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 23 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 58 — approaching natural succession window.

Succession & seller-readiness

85/100
Likely off-market candidate

Strong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.

SIGNALS
  • secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 58. Early succession window.
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
  • primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 23 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 23 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

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

Shareholders & ownership

1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Alexander James Clarke
Individual · British · DOB 03/1968 · age 58
75–100%
75–100%board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control06/04/2016

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
Incorporated2003-04-28
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC55100 — Hotels and similar accommodation

Registered office

The Red Lion 32 High Street
Hinxton
Saffron Walden
Cambridge
CB10 1QY

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-01-31
Last made up to: 2025-04-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-05-12
Last: 2026-04-28

Officers (1 active · 3 resigned)

CLARKE, Alexander James→
director · ~58y · appointed 2003-04-28
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
YOUNG, Pollyanna Jane→
secretary · appointed 2003-04-28 · resigned 2011-01-14
Resigned
WATERLOW SECRETARIES LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2003-04-28 · resigned 2003-04-28
Resigned
WATERLOW NOMINEES LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2003-04-28 · resigned 2003-04-28
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
National Westminster Bank
National Westminster Bank PLC
Debenture1 property28/07/2003—
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (58 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-05-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2026-01-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-04-30
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-04-17
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-05-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-04-09
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-05-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-01-18
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-05-30
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-01-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-05-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-04-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-05-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-01-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-05-09