MUTCH BETTER FOODS LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
SC247974 · ltd · incorporated 2003-04-17
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.
Why now
Window closing · high confidence
Getting harder to buy cheaply — 3 signals strengthening over the last 30 days.
  • · Hygiene score: 70 → 90
  • · Opportunity score: 67 → 75
  • · Bankability: 65 → 75
  • · Distress / opportunity: attractive → avoid
Opportunity decay
hardening · 6-months
Hardening — profile is tightening. If you want to act, do it before the window closes further.
  • · 3 recent signals strengthening vs 0 weakening
What changed my view
Last 30 days

Picture improved over the last 30 days — 3 positive signals vs 0 negative.

  • ↑Opportunity score: 67 → 75
  • ↑Hygiene score: 70 → 90
  • ↑Bankability: 65 → 75
  • ·Distress / opportunity: attractive → avoid
Last 90 days

No snapshot from 90 days ago — start tracking from today.

Last 180 days

No snapshot from 180 days ago — start tracking from today.

🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Mar 2025
Net worth
£9.4k
book net assets
Opportunity
75/100
Strong
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What this business does
Primary activity: Other retail sale not in stores, stalls or markets
Sector: Wholesale & retail
Investor take
Pursue
Strong opportunity: asset-holding vehicle with strong profile and bankable structure.

Opportunity 75/100 (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 -75% YoY — forensic review of receivables, stock turns, and creditor days. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (58/100).

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
5 officers (1 active, 5 linked, 2 with DOB)
78
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
64 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
75/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

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

Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
60
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 102
Positive net assets
Net assets £9,406
Net assets shrinking
Down £6,338 YoY
Cash draining
Cash down 75% YoY
Cash YoY
-75%
Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£2k
↓ 75% YoY
Net Worth
£9k
↓ 40% YoY
Current Assets
£32k
↓ 1.9% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£6k£13k£19k£26k£32kMar 2024Mar 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2025-03-312024-03-31
Total assets£25.2k£20.7k
Current assets£31.8k£32.4k
Cash£2.0k£7.7k
Debtors£22.3k£18.0k
Net assets£9.4k£15.7k

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
1
filing
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
3
filings
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
  • • 1 address
  • • 1 persons-with-significant-control
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (25 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-03-26
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  2. 2026-03-26
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  3. 2025-12-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2024-11-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  5. 2023-12-09
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  6. 2023-03-14
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  7. 2022-12-15
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  8. 2021-09-07
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  9. 2020-08-04
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  10. 2019-07-04
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  11. 2018-08-15
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  12. 2018-08-15
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  13. 2018-06-12
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  14. 2017-06-01
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  15. 2016-05-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  16. 2014-11-30
    ➖
    MUTCH, Andrea resigned
    secretary
  17. 2014-11-30
    ➖
    MUTCH, Andrea resigned
    director
  18. 2008-04-16
    ➖
    MUTCH, Robert Alexander resigned
    secretary
  19. 2003-04-17
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As MUTCH BETTER FOODS LIMITED
  20. 2003-04-17
    ➕
    MUTCH, Robert Alexander appointed
    director
  21. 2003-04-17
    ➕
    MUTCH, Andrea appointed
    secretary
  22. 2003-04-17
    ➕
    MUTCH, Robert Alexander appointed
    secretary
  23. 2003-04-17
    ➕
    OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  24. 2003-04-17
    ➖
    OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  25. 2003-04-17
    ➕
    MUTCH, Andrea appointed
    director

Owner dependency

100/100
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.
  • +Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "MUTCH" — strong identity link between founder and business.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 23 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.

Succession & seller-readiness

75/100
Likely off-market candidate

Strong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.

SIGNALS
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
  • primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 23 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 23 years old and no new directors in the last 3 years — succession not yet being planned internally.
  • supportingClean filings + long tenure: Disciplined long-tenure operator — classic lifestyle-business pattern that often sells quietly.

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
Mr Robert Alexander Mutch
Individual · British · DOB 02/1971 · age 55
75–100%
75–100%75-100% shares · 75-100% voting06/04/2016

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
Incorporated2003-04-17
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC47990 — Other retail sale not in stores, stalls or markets

Registered office

16 Burnside
Nairn
IV12 5UB
Scotland

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-05-01
Last: 2026-04-17

Officers (1 active · 4 resigned)

MUTCH, Robert Alexander→
director · ~55y · appointed 2003-04-17
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
MUTCH, Andrea→
secretary · appointed 2003-04-17 · resigned 2014-11-30
Resigned
MUTCH, Robert Alexander→
secretary · appointed 2003-04-17 · resigned 2008-04-16
Resigned
OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2003-04-17 · resigned 2003-04-17
Resigned
MUTCH, Andrea→
director · ~54y · appointed 2003-04-17 · resigned 2014-11-30
Resigned

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

Recent filings (64 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-05-15
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2026-03-26
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2026-03-26
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-12-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-05-26
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-11-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-04-22
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-12-09
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-05-23
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2023-03-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2022-12-15
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-04-25
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2021-09-07
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-05-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2020-08-04