APRICOT BLUE CATERING LTD

💤Zombieactive
13177438 · ltd · incorporated 2021-02-03
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 Feb 2025
Net worth
£-3.0k
book net assets
Opportunity
72/100
Strong
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What this business does
Primary activity: Event catering activities
Sector: Accommodation & food service
Investor take
Pass (distressed without resilience)
Distressed active trading company — structural issues outweigh the discount.

Opportunity 72/100 (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: Broaden director team. Sole director creates succession risk and reduces buyer comfort. Appoint a second director or strong #2. Most likely exit: distressed disposal / insolvency (65/100).

Data confidence

Overall: medium (70/100)

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
1 year of iXBRL accounts extracted (no YoY comparison) + narrative notes parsed
50
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
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
14 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
72/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

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

Business quality
65
Adequate — check latest filings for context.
Acquirability
55
Some acquirability indicators.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 105 (micro)
Negative net assets
Liabilities exceed assets by £2,976

Key financials

1 year extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
Net Worth
-£3k
Current Assets
£3k
Current Liabilities

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 105 (micro)
Metric2025-02-28
Total assets£-3.0k
Current assets£2.9k
Net assets£-3.0k

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

🔒Filing-note intelligence

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

Last 30 days
0
filings
Last 90 days
0
filings
Last 180 days
0
filings
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (13 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-12-19
    📄
    accounts-amended-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AAMD
  2. 2025-11-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  3. 2025-03-22
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  4. 2025-03-21
    FRANCIS, Lauren Victoria resigned
    director
  5. 2024-09-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  6. 2023-10-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  7. 2022-06-16
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  8. 2021-11-22
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  9. 2021-11-22
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  10. 2021-11-10
    FRANCIS, Lauren Victoria appointed
    director
  11. 2021-02-03
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As APRICOT BLUE CATERING LTD
  12. 2021-02-03
    GRIFFITH-SALTER, Benjamin James appointed
    director
  13. 2021-02-03
    📄
    incorporation-company
    incorporation · NEWINC

Owner dependency

75/100
High — earn-out structure required

Material founder dependency. Consider a 2-3 year earn-out and build in a handover plan before completion.

FACTORS
  • +Sole director: Only one active director — all governance concentrated on one person.

Succession & seller-readiness

45/100
Moderate signal

Some 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.

Red flags

clean
No red flags detected from available public data. (This is not a clean bill of health — detailed accounts review still recommended.)

Shareholders & ownership

2 active beneficial owners
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Benjamin James Griffith-Salter
Individual · British · DOB 07/1995 · age 31
2550%
25–50%board control25-50% shares · 25-50% voting · board control03/02/2021
Miss Lauren Victoria Francis
Individual · British · DOB 09/1988 · age 38
2550%
25–50%board control25-50% shares · 25-50% voting · board control03/02/2021

From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.

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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
Incorporated2021-02-03
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC56210 — Event catering activities

Registered office

1 Weaver Road
Northwich
CW8 1BJ
England

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-11-30
Last made up to: 2025-02-28
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-09-18
Last: 2025-09-04

Officers (1 active · 1 resigned)

GRIFFITH-SALTER, Benjamin James
director · ~31y · appointed 2021-02-03
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
FRANCIS, Lauren Victoria
director · ~38y · appointed 2021-11-10 · resigned 2025-03-21
Resigned

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

Recent filings (14 total)

accounts-amended-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AAMD
2025-12-19
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-11-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-09-10
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2025-03-22
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-09-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-09-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-10-23
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-09-04
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-02-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-06-16
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-02-15
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2021-11-22
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2021-11-22
incorporation-company
incorporation · NEWINC
2021-02-03