HOP FUZZ LTD

💤Zombieactive
07628197 · ltd · incorporated 2011-05-10
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 Aug 2024
Net worth
£-57.0k
book net assets
Opportunity
67/100
Strong
🔔
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What this business does
Primary activity: Manufacture of beer
Sector: Manufacturing
Investor take
Pass (distressed without resilience)
Distressed active trading company — structural issues outweigh the discount.

Opportunity 67/100 (strong), bankability 65/100. High owner-dependency — earn-out structure likely required for clean transition. Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Resolve: Confirmation statement overdue. Annual confirmation statement not filed on time. Required statutory filing — overdue is a strong discipline signal. Most likely exit: distressed disposal / insolvency (65/100).

Data confidence

Overall: medium (79/100)

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
2 officers (1 active, 2 linked, 2 with DOB)
90
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
1 connected companies via shared directors
48
Filing history
35 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
67/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.

Business quality
60
Adequate — check latest filings for context.
Acquirability
60
Some acquirability indicators.
Risk profile
67
Some moderate concerns — review flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declared
Negative net assets
Liabilities exceed assets by £57,021

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
Net Worth
-£57k
↓ 14% YoY
Current Assets
£11k
↓ 37% YoY
Current Liabilities
-£57k-£42k-£27k-£12k£3k£18kAug 2023Aug 2024

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2024-08-292023-08-29
Total assets£-35.8k£-20.3k
Current assets£11.2k£17.8k
Debtors£6.2k£9.8k
Net assets£-57.0k£-50.1k

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

🔒Filing-note intelligence

2 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
0
filings
Last 180 days
0
filings
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (20 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-08-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-12-19
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  3. 2024-12-15
    PLAYFORD, Martyn resigned
    director
  4. 2024-05-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  5. 2023-08-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  6. 2023-05-29
    📄
    change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortened
    accounts · AA01
  7. 2022-08-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2021-08-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2021-05-27
    📄
    change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortened
    accounts · AA01
  10. 2020-09-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  11. 2019-09-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  12. 2018-05-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  13. 2017-07-17
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
  14. 2017-07-17
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
  15. 2017-06-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  16. 2016-07-19
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  17. 2016-05-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  18. 2011-05-10
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As HOP FUZZ LTD
  19. 2011-05-10
    STANFORD, Daryl George appointed
    director
  20. 2011-05-10
    PLAYFORD, Martyn appointed
    director

Owner dependency

85/100
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 15 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.

Succession & seller-readiness

63/100
Strong succession signal

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

SIGNALS
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
  • secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 15 years.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 15 years old and no new directors in the last 3 years — succession not yet being planned internally.

Red flags

1 high ·
Confirmation statement overdue
high

Annual confirmation statement not filed on time. Required statutory filing — overdue is a strong discipline signal.

Evidence: Next due: 2026-05-24

Shareholders & ownership

2 active beneficial owners
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Daryl George Stanford
Individual · British · DOB 06/1988 · age 38
5075%
50–75%50-75% shares · 50-75% voting30/06/2016
Mr Martyn Playford
Individual · British · DOB 01/1988 · age 38
2550%
25–50%25-50% shares · 25-50% voting30/06/2016

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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15449400 · est 2024 · no financials extracted
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Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions

8 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
Incorporated2011-05-10
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC11050 — Manufacture of beer

Registered office

Unit 8 Riverside Industrial Estate
West Hythe
Hythe
Kent
CT21 4NB

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-08-29
Last made up to: 2024-08-29
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-05-24OVERDUE
Last: 2025-05-10

Officers (1 active · 1 resigned)

STANFORD, Daryl George
director · ~38y · appointed 2011-05-10
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
PLAYFORD, Martyn
director · ~38y · appointed 2011-05-10 · resigned 2024-12-15
Resigned

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

Recent filings (35 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-08-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-05-27
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2024-12-19
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-07-01
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-05-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-08-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-06-12
change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortened
accounts · AA01
2023-05-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-08-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-05-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-08-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-06-16
change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortened
accounts · AA01
2021-05-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-09-30
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-09-30