THE MARKET SQUARE FOOD & WINE COMPANY LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
07205218 · ltd · incorporated 2010-03-26
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
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Jun 2024
Net worth
£69.3k
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: Retail sale in non-specialised stores with food, beverages or tobacco predominating
Sector: Wholesale & retail
Investor take
PursueStrong opportunity: asset-holding vehicle with exceptional profile and bankable structure.
Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 59). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Broaden director team. Sole director creates succession risk and reduces buyer comfort. Appoint a second director or strong #2. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).
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, 1 SIC codes, incorporation date
100
Financials
2 years of iXBRL accounts extracted (YoY deltas available) + narrative notes parsed
75
Lenders & charges
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
6 officers (3 active, 6 linked, 4 with DOB)
83
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
1 connected companies via shared directors
48
Filing history
47 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
80/100Exceptional
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
90
Good data coverage for analysis.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declaredPositive net assets
Net assets £69,275
Net assets shrinking
Down £7,865 YoY
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
£69k
↓ 10% YoY
Current Assets
£82k
↓ 18% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2024-06-30 | 2023-06-30 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £74.3k | £82.7k |
| Current assets | £81.9k | £99.5k |
| Net assets | £69.3k | £77.1k |
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
Recent activity
Last 30 days
0
filings
Last 90 days
0
filings
Last 180 days
1
filing
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (25 events)Click to expand
- 2025-04-14📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-09-16📄appoint-person-secretary-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP03
- 2024-09-04➕JALIM, Tricia Nicolette appointedsecretary
- 2024-03-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-03-21📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-03-16📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-05-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2020-11-30📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2020-11-24➖ROLFE, William Gerald resigneddirector
- 2020-11-24📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2020-02-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-02-19📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-10-04📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2017-08-14➖HANCOCK, Toby Charles Petre resigneddirector
- 2017-08-14📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2017-04-24📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2016-08-18📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2016-07-31➖ROLFE, Christine Helen resigneddirector
- 2016-04-11📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2010-07-09➕ROLFE, Christine Helen appointeddirector
- 2010-03-26🏢Company incorporatedAs THE MARKET SQUARE FOOD & WINE COMPANY LIMITED
- 2010-03-26➕BENCH, Neil appointedsecretary
- 2010-03-26➕BENCH, Neil appointeddirector
- 2010-03-26➕HANCOCK, Toby Charles Petre appointeddirector
- 2010-03-26➕ROLFE, William Gerald appointeddirector
Owner dependency
93/100
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
- +Sole director: Only one active director — all governance concentrated on one person.
- +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 16 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 59 — approaching natural succession window.
Succession & seller-readiness
68/100
Strong succession signalMultiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.
SIGNALS
- secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 59. Early succession window.
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
- secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 16 years.
- 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
1 active beneficial owner| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Neil Bench Individual · British · DOB 07/1967 · age 59 | — | — | sig. influencesignificant influence | 07/04/2016 |
1 historic (ceased) PSC
- Mr William Gerald Rolfeceased 01/11/2020· 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 →Similar companies
Active · Retail · RH postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 361 CORPORATION LTD→ 17049752 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 4U LONDON LTD→ 16794320 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 804 DIGITAL LIMITED→ 15782696 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| 99 NOMBRES LTD→ 16769695 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| A1 FRESH LTD→ 11711198 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| AB TAYLOR RETAIL LTD→ 15388555 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| ABC CLASSICS LIMITED→ 13613860 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| ABOUT SOBAN LTD→ 16450579 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ABPLAS LIMITED→ 06233192 · est 2007 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 18y | — | — |
| ABROAD SPECTRUM LIMITED→ 02509529 · est 1990 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 35y | — | — |
| ACASA LONDON LTD→ 13149168 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| ACCESSORY AVENUE ONLINE LIMITED→ 16612247 · 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
Incorporated2010-03-26
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC47110 — Retail sale in non-specialised stores with food, beverages or tobacco predominating
Registered office
30-32 High Street
East Grinstead
West Sussex
RH19 3AS
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-06-30
Last made up to: 2024-06-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-03-11
Last: 2026-02-25
Officers (3 active · 3 resigned)
Active
JALIM, Tricia Nicolette→
Activesecretary · appointed 2024-09-04
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
HANCOCK, Toby Charles Petre→
Resigneddirector · ~52y · appointed 2010-03-26 · resigned 2017-08-14
ROLFE, Christine Helen→
Resigneddirector · ~75y · appointed 2010-07-09 · resigned 2016-07-31
ROLFE, William Gerald→
Resigneddirector · ~76y · appointed 2010-03-26 · resigned 2020-11-24
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (47 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-02-25
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-04-14
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-04-07
appoint-person-secretary-company-with-name-date
officers · AP03
2024-09-16
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-04-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-03-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-04-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-03-21
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-04-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-03-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-05-25
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-03-29
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2020-11-30
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2020-11-24
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-04-06