ON THE MENU LTD
🌳Matureactive
07356195 · ltd · incorporated 2010-08-25
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 Dec 2024
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
79/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 10840
Sector: Manufacturing
ALSO REGISTERED FOR
- 10850Manufacture of prepared meals and dishes
- 46380Wholesale of other food, including fish, crustaceans and molluscs
Investor take
PursueActive trading company with a 73-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 79/100 (strong), bankability 77/100. Strong seller-intent signal (93/100, director aged 73). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Consolidate lender relationships. 4 distinct lenders creates friction — refinance into single-lender structure for cleaner diligence. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
4 live charges · 4 lenders · oldest 14.8y
35/100
too messy
Refinance path is blocked by complexity. Rethink structure or expect bespoke, expensive terms.
- · Oldest live charge is 14.8 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · 4 lenders named — inter-creditor friction likely.
- · Legal-friction score 25/100 — workable, but lender will want more DD.
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
4 charges (4/4 with lender, 4/4 with type)
90
Directors & officers
5 officers (2 active, 5 linked, 4 with DOB)
86
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
107 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
79/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
80
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
77
Few red flags.
Signal strength
100
Good data coverage for analysis.
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · IFRS| Metric | 2024-12-31 | 2023-12-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Average employees | 200 | 200 |
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
1
filing
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (36 events)Click to expand
- 2025-09-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2025-08-04📄capital-allotment-sharescapital · SH01
- 2024-09-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-09-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-07-05📄capital-allotment-sharescapital · SH01
- 2023-02-16📄capital-allotment-sharescapital · SH01
- 2022-09-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-09-22📄capital-allotment-sharescapital · SH01
- 2022-02-09📄capital-allotment-sharescapital · SH01
- 2021-11-20📄mortgage-satisfy-charge-fullmortgage · MR04
- 2021-11-20🔓Charge satisfied #4
- 2021-09-29📄capital-allotment-sharescapital · SH01
- 2021-09-24📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-09-23📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2021-09-20📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2021-09-20📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2021-03-25📄second-filing-capital-allotment-sharescapital · RP04SH01
- 2021-03-25📄second-filing-capital-allotment-sharescapital · RP04SH01
- 2021-02-04📄change-account-reference-date-company-previous-extendedaccounts · AA01
- 2020-10-13📄capital-allotment-sharescapital · SH01
- 2020-09-28🔓Charge satisfied #2
- 2019-01-17🔓Charge satisfied #3
- 2019-01-15🔒Charge registered #4Lender: Calverton Finance LTD
- 2017-06-05🔓Charge satisfied #1
- 2017-05-18🔒Charge registered #3Lender: Ashley Commercial Finance Limited
- 2016-03-01➕GARRISON, Dennis Lee appointeddirector
- 2016-03-01➖RIGG, Julian Jon resigneddirector
- 2016-02-05🔒Charge registered #2Lender: EM3 Sme Finance Limited
- 2012-09-28➖LEDDY, Mark William Henry resigneddirector
- 2011-11-24➖MASKELYNE, Elaine Louise resignedsecretary
- 2011-10-17➕LEDDY, Mark William Henry appointeddirector
- 2011-10-17➕RIGG, Julian Jon appointeddirector
- 2011-09-14🔒Charge registered #1Lender: Rbs Invoice Finance Limited
- 2011-09-08➕MASKELYNE, Elaine Louise appointedsecretary
- 2010-08-25🏢Company incorporatedAs ON THE MENU LTD
- 2010-08-25➕JONES, Elizabeth appointeddirector
Owner dependency
83/100
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 16 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 73 — succession pressure is live.
Succession & seller-readiness
89/100
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 73 years old. Natural succession window is now.
- secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
- secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 16 years.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 16 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
1 med ·Charge satisfaction-then-recreation pattern
mediumMultiple instances where a charge was satisfied and a new charge created within 6 months. Suggests active refinancing cycle.
Shareholders & ownership
1 active beneficial owner| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Ms Elizabeth Margaret Jones Individual · British · DOB 02/1958 · age 68 | 25–50% | 25–50% | 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting | 06/04/2016 |
1 historic (ceased) PSC
- Mr Dennis Lee Garrisonceased 06/04/2016· 25-50% voting
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Similar companies
Active · Food & drink · SO postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GREENHAUS FARMS LIMITED→ 13300879 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| HANDCRAFTED BY K AND K LIMITED→ 14812832 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| LYMINGTON GIN LTD→ 13686787 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| MRS CAIN’S COOKIES AND CAKES LTD→ 14001511 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| NAKED JAM LTD→ 08531253 · est 2013 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 12y | — | — |
| NEW FOREST CRAFT DISTILLERY LTD→ 12242130 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| NEW FOREST GIN LTD→ 13687127 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| NORTHAM BEER CO LTD→ 16066040 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| OHCO COFFEE LTD→ 13683506 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| PARKERBAITS LTD→ 13439895 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| PENGUIN FOODS LIMITED→ 12689464 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| PEREGRINE KIN LIMITED→ 14899143 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2010-08-25
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC10840 — SIC 10840
Registered office
Basepoint Business Centre
1 Winnall Valley Road
Winchester
SO23 0LD
United Kingdom
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last made up to: 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-04-19
Last: 2026-04-05
Officers (2 active · 3 resigned)
GARRISON, Dennis Lee→
Activedirector · ~73y · appointed 2016-03-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
JONES, Elizabeth→
Activedirector · ~68y · appointed 2010-08-25
View their other companies + combined net worth →
MASKELYNE, Elaine Louise→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 2011-09-08 · resigned 2011-11-24
LEDDY, Mark William Henry→
Resigneddirector · ~66y · appointed 2011-10-17 · resigned 2012-09-28
RIGG, Julian Jon→
Resigneddirector · ~65y · appointed 2011-10-17 · resigned 2016-03-01
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
4
Total charges
0
Outstanding
0
Active lenders
Status:Lender:4 of 4 shown
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| satisfied | Calverton Finance Calverton Finance LTD | A registered charge | 1 property | 15/01/2019 | 20/11/2021 | |
| satisfied | Ashley Commercial Finance Ashley Commercial Finance Limited | A registered charge | — | 18/05/2017 | 17/01/2019 | |
| satisfied | EM3 Sme Finance EM3 Sme Finance Limited | A registered charge | 2 properties | 05/02/2016 | 28/09/2020 | |
| satisfied | NatWest Group Rbs Invoice Finance Limited | Debenture | 1 property | 14/09/2011 | 05/06/2017 |
Recent filings (107 total)
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-04-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-09-29
capital-allotment-shares
capital · SH01
2025-08-04
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-04-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-09-25
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-04-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-09-27
capital-allotment-shares
capital · SH01
2023-07-05
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-04-11
capital-allotment-shares
capital · SH01
2023-02-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-09-27
capital-allotment-shares
capital · SH01
2022-09-22
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-04-07
capital-allotment-shares
capital · SH01
2022-02-09
mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
mortgage · MR04
2021-11-20