BLACKFIRE FOOD LTD

💤Zombieactive
NI675933 · ltd · incorporated 2021-01-27
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
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Turnover
year to Jan 2025
Net worth
£-2.3k
book net assets
Opportunity
76/100
Strong
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What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 10840
Sector: Manufacturing
Investor take
Pass (distressed without resilience)
Distressed active trading company — structural issues outweigh the discount.

Opportunity 76/100 (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: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).

Data confidence

Overall: medium (76/100)

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
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
2 officers (2 active, 2 linked, 1 with DOB)
80
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
12 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
76/100Strong
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
90
Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declared
Negative net assets
Liabilities exceed assets by £2,342
Net assets shrinking
Down £12,020 YoY

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
Net Worth
-£2k
↓ 124% YoY
Current Assets
£6k
↑ 73% YoY
Current Liabilities
-£2k£62£2k£5k£7k£10kJan 2024Jan 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2025-01-312024-01-31
Total assets£-2.3k£9.7k
Current assets£5.6k£3.2k
Net assets£-2.3k£9.7k

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
1
filing
  • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
2
filings
  • 1 confirmation-statement
  • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (10 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-10-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-10-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  3. 2023-10-16
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  4. 2023-01-24
    📄
    gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
    gazette · DISS40
  5. 2023-01-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  6. 2023-01-03
    📄
    gazette-notice-compulsory
    gazette · GAZ1
  7. 2021-01-27
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As BLACKFIRE FOOD LTD
  8. 2021-01-27
    MCCARTHY, Timothy Patrick appointed
    secretary
  9. 2021-01-27
    MCCARTHY, Timothy Patrick appointed
    director
  10. 2021-01-27
    📄
    incorporation-company
    incorporation · NEWINC

Owner dependency

88/100
Critical — business is the founder

The 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.
  • +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 61 — approaching natural succession window.
  • +No director turnover: Company is 5 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.

Succession & seller-readiness

55/100
Strong succession signal

Multiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.

SIGNALS
  • secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 61. Early succession window.
  • 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

1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Timothy Patrick Mccarthy
Individual · Irish · DOB 01/1965 · age 61
75100%
75–100%board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control27/01/2021

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 →
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Company details

Statusactive
Typeltd
Incorporated2021-01-27
Jurisdictionnorthern-ireland
Primary SIC10840 — SIC 10840

Registered office

19 Ardmore Park
Belfast
BT10 0JJ
Northern Ireland

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-10-31
Last made up to: 2025-01-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-02-09
Last: 2026-01-26

Officers (2 active · 0 resigned)

MCCARTHY, Timothy Patrick
secretary · appointed 2021-01-27
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
MCCARTHY, Timothy Patrick
director · ~61y · appointed 2021-01-27
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active

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

Recent filings (12 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-03-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-10-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-02-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-10-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-02-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2023-10-16
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-02-19
gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
gazette · DISS40
2023-01-24
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-01-21
gazette-notice-compulsory
gazette · GAZ1
2023-01-03
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-02-14
incorporation-company
incorporation · NEWINC
2021-01-27