DOWNEY FISHING COMPANY LTD
💤Zombieactive
09398530 · ltd · incorporated 2015-01-21
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 Feb 2025
Net worth
£181.6k
book net assets
Opportunity
74/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 03110
Sector: Agriculture, forestry & fishing
Investor take
PursueStrong opportunity: active trading company with strong profile and bankable structure.
Opportunity 74/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. 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 -44% YoY — forensic review of receivables, stock turns, and creditor days. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (58/100).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
2 live charges · 2 lenders · oldest 9.4y
30/100
under pressure
Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.
- · Oldest live charge is 9.4 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Two lenders — manageable, but coordination required.
- · 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, 1 SIC codes, incorporation date
100
Financials
2 years of iXBRL accounts extracted (YoY deltas available) + narrative notes parsed
75
Lenders & charges
2 charges (2/2 with lender, 2/2 with type)
90
Directors & officers
1 officers (1 active, 1 linked, 1 with DOB)
90
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
26 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
74/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
50
Some acquirability indicators.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
100
Good data coverage for analysis.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 102Positive net assets
Net assets £181,561
Cash draining
Cash down 44% YoY
Cash YoY
-44%
Year on year
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
£14k
↓ 44% YoY
Net Worth
£182k
↑ 3.6% YoY
Current Assets
£33k
↑ 30% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102| Metric | 2025-02-28 | 2024-02-29 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £344.8k | £349.2k |
| Current assets | £32.6k | £25.0k |
| Cash | £13.6k | £24.2k |
| Debtors | £19.0k | £873 |
| Net assets | £181.6k | £175.2k |
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
1
filing
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (19 events)Click to expand
- 2025-10-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2024-10-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2023-11-20📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2022-10-24📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2021-11-03📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2020-11-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2019-11-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2018-12-14📄mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-datemortgage · MR01
- 2018-12-12🔒Charge registered #2Lender: Belmont Green Finance LTD Trading as Vida Homeloans
- 2018-06-05📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2017-11-13📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-01-24📄mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-datemortgage · MR01
- 2017-01-18🔒Charge registered #1Lender: National Westminster Bank PLC
- 2016-05-13📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2016-01-27📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2016-01-25📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2015-03-25📄change-account-reference-date-company-current-extendedaccounts · AA01
- 2015-01-21🏢Company incorporatedAs DOWNEY FISHING COMPANY LTD
- 2015-01-21➕DOWNEY, Thomas James appointeddirector
Owner dependency
95/100
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.
- +Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "DOWNEY" — strong identity link between founder and business.
- +No director turnover: Company is 11 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.
Succession & seller-readiness
50/100
Moderate signalSome succession indicators present. Worth watching; approach if sector/strategy fits.
SIGNALS
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
- 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 · dominant holder ≥75%| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Thomas James Downey Individual · British · DOB 10/1988 · age 38 | 75–100% | — | 75-100% shares | 06/04/2016 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Similar companies
Active · Agriculture · BN postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DAVID BICKERSTAFF FISHING LIMITED→ 11853251 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| DB AGRI LIMITED→ 08435434 · est 2013 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 13y | — | — |
| DE ROSA-MAXTED (PROPERTIES) LIMITED→ 15003691 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| DEANS FARM ESTATE LTD→ 10894145 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| DOG SPLASH LIMITED→ 15627886 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| DROVE ROAD COMMUNITY GARDEN CIC→ 16527200 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| EAST SUSSEX FOODS LIMITED→ 11435654 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| EAST SUSSEX GAME FARM LIMITED→ 14833662 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| EASTBOURNE DOGGY DAYCARE LTD→ 15435471 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| EATON THORNE EQUESTRIAN LTD→ 14084856 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| EBFC LTD→ 16700411 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ECO HAND SYSTEM LTD→ 13543262 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2015-01-21
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC03110 — SIC 03110
Registered office
3 St Leonards Close
Denton
Newhaven
East Sussex
BN9 0RW
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-11-30
Last made up to: 2025-02-28
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-02-04
Last: 2026-01-21
Officers (1 active · 0 resigned)
DOWNEY, Thomas James→
Activedirector · ~38y · appointed 2015-01-21
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
2
Total charges
2
Outstanding
2
Active lenders
Status:Lender:2 of 2 shown
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| outstanding | Belmont Green Finance Trading as Vida Homeloans Belmont Green Finance LTD Trading as Vida Homeloans | A registered charge | 1 property | 12/12/2018 | — | |
| outstanding | National Westminster Bank National Westminster Bank PLC | A registered charge | — | 18/01/2017 | — |
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.
Recent filings (26 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-01-27
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2025-10-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-02-01
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2024-10-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-02-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2023-11-20
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-01-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2022-10-24
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-01-24
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2021-11-03
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-02-01
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2020-11-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-02-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2019-11-25
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-01-30