COUNTRY REFRESHMENTS LIMITED
Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 66). 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 (78/100)Adequate coverage. AI outputs are reliable for the sections scored high; verify the rest in diligence.
Strong composite across quality, acquirability, and risk. High-priority target — progress to serious diligence.
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsHover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102| Metric | 2025-02-28 | 2024-02-29 |
|---|---|---|
| Average employees | 800 | 700 |
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
2 signals 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 confirmation-statement
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Corporate timeline (20 events)Click to expand
- 2025-09-03📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2025-02-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2024-08-01📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2024-05-01📄gazette-filings-brought-up-to-dategazette · DISS40
- 2024-04-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2024-04-30📄gazette-notice-compulsorygazette · GAZ1
- 2023-02-17📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2022-09-20📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2022-02-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2021-12-13➖THOMSON, Richard resigneddirector
- 2021-02-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2019-11-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2018-12-06📄appoint-person-director-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP01
- 2018-12-01➕THOMSON, Richard appointeddirector
- 2018-11-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2017-11-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2016-11-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2006-02-17🏢Company incorporatedAs COUNTRY REFRESHMENTS LIMITED
- 2006-02-17➕MCCABE, Mary appointedsecretary
- 2006-02-17➕THOMSON, Gilbert appointeddirector
Owner dependency
The business appears inseparable from the founder. Acquisition without a serious earn-out or meaningful transition period would likely destroy value.
- +Sole director: Only one active director — all governance concentrated on one person.
- +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 20 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 66 — succession pressure is live.
Succession & seller-readiness
Strong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
- primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 66. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
- primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 20 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 20 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
cleanShareholders & ownership
1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Gilbert Thomson Individual · British · DOB 08/1960 · age 66 | 75–100% | — | 75-100% shares | 06/04/2016 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Radial SVG graph showing every company connected via shared directors, colour-coded by status.
Available from the Pro tier upwards.
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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 →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 (2 active · 1 resigned)
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