CHRIS FRENCH LTD
Opportunity 76/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. Same-surname younger director in place — likely family handover, not open to sale. Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: strategic trade sale (73/100).
Data confidence
Overall: medium (78/100)Adequate coverage. AI outputs are reliable for the sections scored high; verify the rest in diligence.
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 | 2024-12-31 | 2023-12-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £21.7k | £17.3k |
| Current assets | £27.8k | £21.3k |
| Cash | £17.7k | £11.0k |
| Debtors | £10.1k | £10.3k |
| Net assets | £11.4k | £1.1k |
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
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
- • 1 persons-with-significant-control
- • 1 persons-with-significant-control
- • 1 persons-with-significant-control
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Corporate timeline (16 events)Click to expand
- 2026-07-02📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2025-09-04📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2025-04-11📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2024-12-06📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-12-07📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-09-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-01-11📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2021-09-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-08-12📄appoint-person-director-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP01
- 2021-08-06➕FRENCH, Dominic Christopher appointeddirector
- 2020-11-11📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-09-12📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-12-12🏢Company incorporatedAs CHRIS FRENCH LTD
- 2017-12-12➕FRENCH, Christopher William appointeddirector
- 2017-12-12➕FRENCH, Elizabeth appointeddirector
- 2017-12-12📄incorporation-companyincorporation · NEWINC
Owner dependency
The business appears inseparable from the founder. Acquisition without a serious earn-out or meaningful transition period would likely destroy value.
- +Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "FRENCH" — strong identity link between founder and business.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 74 — succession pressure is live.
- +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.
Succession & seller-readiness
No meaningful acquirability indicators from public data.
- primaryFamily succession underway: Not a takeover target — FRENCH, Dominic Christopher (same surname) appointed 2021-08-06. Pattern consistent with intra-family handover.
- primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 74 years old. Natural succession window is now.
Red flags
cleanShareholders & ownership
2 active beneficial owners| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Christopher William French Individual · British · DOB 07/1952 · age 74 | 50–75% | 50–75% | board controlsig. influence50-75% shares · 50-75% voting · board control · significant influence · firm interest | 12/12/2017 |
Mr Dominic Christopher French Individual · British · DOB 10/1988 · age 38 | 25–50% | 25–50% | 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting | 31/05/2026 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
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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 (3 active · 0 resigned)
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.