A & B POTATOES LIMITED
Opportunity 73/100 (strong), bankability 85/100. High owner-dependency — earn-out structure likely required for clean transition. Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Cash flow review and working-capital discipline. Cash down -35% YoY — forensic review of receivables, stock turns, and creditor days. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (58/100).
Refinance opportunity
3 live charges · 2 lenders · oldest 9.8y
Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.
- · Oldest live charge is 9.8 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Two lenders — manageable, but coordination required.
- · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.
Data confidence
Overall: high (80/100)Strong data coverage across all sections. AI outputs should be trusted with minimal caveats.
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declaredKey financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsHover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2025-03-31 | 2024-03-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash | £161.4k | £248.4k |
| Net assets | £473.1k | £464.7k |
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
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
Corporate timeline (26 events)Click to expand
- 2025-11-12📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-11-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-10-02📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-08-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-05-09📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2022-05-06📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2021-12-21📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-06-14📄mortgage-satisfy-charge-fullmortgage · MR04
- 2021-06-14🔓Charge satisfied #3
- 2021-01-18📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-12-10📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-12-21📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-09-04📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2018-08-20📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2018-01-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-10-10📄mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-datemortgage · MR01
- 2017-10-06📄mortgage-satisfy-charge-fullmortgage · MR04
- 2017-10-06🔓Charge satisfied #1
- 2017-09-27🔒Charge registered #3Lender: Barclays Bank PLC
- 2017-09-02🔓Charge satisfied #2
- 2016-08-02🔒Charge registered #2Lender: Assetz Capital Trust Company Limited
- 2016-08-02🔒Charge registered #1Lender: Assetz Capital Trust Company Limited
- 2013-05-01➖RUBY, Anthony David, Mr. resigneddirector
- 2012-09-04🏢Company incorporatedAs A & B POTATOES LIMITED
- 2012-09-04➕RUBY, Benjamin William Austen appointeddirector
- 2012-09-04➕RUBY, Anthony David, Mr. appointeddirector
Owner dependency
Material founder dependency. Consider a 2-3 year earn-out and build in a handover plan before completion.
- +Sole director: Only one active director — all governance concentrated on one person.
Succession & seller-readiness
Multiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
- secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 14 years.
- supportingClean filings + long tenure: Disciplined long-tenure operator — classic lifestyle-business pattern that often sells quietly.
Red flags
1 med ·Multiple instances where a charge was satisfied and a new charge created within 6 months. Suggests active refinancing cycle.
Shareholders & ownership
1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Benjamin William Austen Ruby Individual · British · DOB 07/1976 · age 50 | 75–100% | 75–100% | board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control | 04/09/2016 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Radial SVG graph showing every company connected via shared directors, colour-coded by status.
Available from the Pro tier upwards.
See pricing →Similar companies
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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 →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
Registered office
Filing status
Officers (1 active · 1 resigned)
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| satisfied | Barclays Barclays Bank PLC | A registered charge | — | 27/09/2017 | 14/06/2021 | |
| satisfied | Assetz Capital Trust Company Assetz Capital Trust Company Limited | A registered charge | — | 02/08/2016 | 02/09/2017 | |
| satisfied | Assetz Capital Trust Company Assetz Capital Trust Company Limited | A registered charge | 1 property | 02/08/2016 | 06/10/2017 |