ASCALON FOOD COMPANY LTD
💤Zombieactive
10705829 · ltd · incorporated 2017-04-03
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 Apr 2025
Net worth
£34.7k
book net assets
Opportunity
78/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Wholesale of other food, including fish, crustaceans and molluscs
Sector: Wholesale & retail
ALSO REGISTERED FOR
- 56290Other food services
Investor take
PursueActive trading company with a 72-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 78/100 (strong), bankability 80/100. Strong seller-intent signal (60/100, director aged 72). 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 (73/100).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
1 live charge · oldest 5.8y
45/100
under pressure
Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.
- · Oldest live charge is 5.8 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
- · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.
Data confidence
Overall: high (83/100)Strong data coverage across all sections. AI outputs should be trusted with minimal caveats.
Company profile
address, 2 SIC codes, incorporation date
100
Financials
2 years of iXBRL accounts extracted (YoY deltas available) + narrative notes parsed
75
Lenders & charges
1 charges (1/1 with lender, 1/1 with type)
90
Directors & officers
1 officers (1 active, 1 linked, 1 with DOB)
90
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 3 total, 3 with control declared
90
Director network
10 connected companies via shared directors
75
Filing history
25 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
78/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Business quality
65
Adequate — check latest filings for context.
Acquirability
70
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
100
Good data coverage for analysis.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declaredPositive net assets
Net assets £34,683
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
£35k
↑ 232% YoY
Current Assets
£19k
↑ 157% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2025-04-30 | 2024-04-30 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £10.9k | £-26.3k |
| Current assets | £18.8k | £7.3k |
| Net assets | £34.7k | £-26.3k |
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
2
filings
- • 1 confirmation-statement
- • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (19 events)Click to expand
- 2026-01-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2025-04-12📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC02
- 2025-01-08📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-10-05📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2023-10-05📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-01-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-12-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-04-07📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC02
- 2021-01-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2020-09-29📄mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-datemortgage · MR01
- 2020-09-29🔒Charge registered #1Lender: Apollo Business Finance LTD
- 2020-04-14📄resolutionresolution · RESOLUTIONS
- 2020-03-09📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2020-01-17📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2018-10-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2017-08-17📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2017-04-03🏢Company incorporatedAs ASCALON FOOD COMPANY LTD
- 2017-04-03➕RHODES, Martyn Richard appointeddirector
- 2017-04-03📄incorporation-companyincorporation · NEWINC
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 age: Director aged approximately 72 — succession pressure is live.
- +No director turnover: Company is 9 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.
Succession & seller-readiness
75/100
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 72 years old. Natural succession window is now.
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
Red flags
cleanNo red flags detected from available public data. (This is not a clean bill of health — detailed accounts review still recommended.)
Group structure
2 corporate shareholders identified. Group structure is distributed.
🏛️ultimate parent
Cfc Topco Limited
Corporate parent · holds 75-100% shares
🏛️ultimate parent
Continental Food Company (Holdings) Ltd
Corporate parent · holds 75-100% shares · board control
⬇
ASCALON FOOD COMPANY LTD
This company · 10705829
Parent relationships inferred from Persons with Significant Control filings. Full subsidiary tree requires reverse-lookup (coming).
Shareholders & ownership
2 active beneficial owners · dominant holder ≥75%| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Cfc Topco Limited Corporate entity | 75–100% | — | 75-100% shares | 13/02/2025 |
Continental Food Company (Holdings) Ltd Corporate entity | 75–100% | 75–100% | board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control | 15/03/2021 |
1 historic (ceased) PSC
- Mr Martyn Richard Rhodesceased 01/01/2023· 75-100% shares · board control · significant influence · firm interest
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 · Wholesale & distribution · CM postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A WHITE MEATS LIMITED→ 09841176 · est 2015 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 10y | — | — |
| ALL TECH 45 LIMITED→ 11191465 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| AMBER PATH TRADING LTD→ 16184224 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| ANNLI'CO LTD→ 12026415 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| ARIES DISTRIBUTION LTD→ 13170693 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| ARISTON U.K. LTD→ 01992524 · est 1986 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 40y | — | — |
| ARLO HUDSON LIMITED→ 11720441 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| ARMSEC UK LIMITED→ 10718174 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| ARS DOORS & JOINERY LTD→ 12592328 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| ART AESTHETICS CLINIC LTD→ 14956347 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| ASANI BRAND LTD→ 13093457 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| ASSOCIATED INDEPENDENT MERCHANT STOCKISTS LIMITED→ 01676633 · est 1982 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 43y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2017-04-03
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC46380 — Wholesale of other food, including fish, crustaceans and molluscs
Registered office
The Barn Tednambury Farm
Tednambury
Bishop's Stortford
CM23 4BD
England
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-01-31
Last made up to: 2025-04-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-04-16
Last: 2026-04-02
Officers (1 active · 0 resigned)
RHODES, Martyn Richard→
Activedirector · ~72y · appointed 2017-04-03
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
1
Total charges
1
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:1 of 1 shown
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| outstanding | Apollo Business Finance Apollo Business Finance LTD | A registered charge | — | 29/09/2020 | — |
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.
Recent filings (25 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-04-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2026-01-30
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-04-12
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC02
2025-04-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-01-08
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-04-14
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2023-10-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-10-05
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-05-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-01-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-04-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-12-23
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-04-10
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC02
2021-04-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2021-01-26