FOOD CHAIN ENTERPRISES LTD
💤Zombieactive
SC314491 · ltd · incorporated 2007-01-11
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 Mar 2025
Net worth
£-46.8k
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: Management consultancy activities other than financial management
Sector: Professional, scientific & technical
Investor take
Pass (distressed without resilience)Distressed active trading company — structural issues outweigh the discount.
Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 80/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 68). 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).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
1 live charge · oldest 6.6y
45/100
under pressure
Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.
- · Oldest live charge is 6.6 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
- · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.
Data confidence
Overall: high (81/100)Strong data coverage across all sections. AI outputs should be trusted with minimal caveats.
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
1 charges (1/1 with lender, 1/1 with type)
90
Directors & officers
3 officers (2 active, 3 linked, 2 with DOB)
83
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
6 connected companies via shared directors
63
Filing history
64 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
82/100Exceptional
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Strong composite across quality, acquirability, and risk. High-priority target — progress to serious diligence.
Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
80
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
100
Good data coverage for analysis.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 105 (micro)Negative net assets
Liabilities exceed assets by £46,763
Net assets shrinking
Down £47,564 YoY
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
-£47k
↓ 5938% YoY
Current Assets
£150k
↓ 40% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 105 (micro)| Metric | 2025-03-31 | 2024-03-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £93.2k | £177.5k |
| Current assets | £150.4k | £252.8k |
| Net assets | £-46.8k | £801 |
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
1
filing
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (22 events)Click to expand
- 2025-06-11📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-04-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-05-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-06-21📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-07-05📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2020-06-10📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2019-10-10📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2019-10-02📄mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-datemortgage · MR01
- 2019-09-30🔒Charge registered #1Lender: Big Dutchman Ag
- 2019-08-20📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2019-07-08📄capital-name-of-class-of-sharescapital · SH08
- 2019-07-08📄resolutionresolution · RESOLUTIONS
- 2019-06-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-05-03📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2019-05-03📄withdrawal-of-a-person-with-significant-control-statementpersons-with-significant-control · PSC09
- 2018-08-14📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-07-06📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2018-06-19➖PARSONS, Stephen Mark resigneddirector
- 2012-12-31➕PARSONS, Stephen Mark appointeddirector
- 2007-01-11🏢Company incorporatedAs FOOD CHAIN ENTERPRISES LTD
- 2007-01-11➕JOHNSTON, Karen appointedsecretary
- 2007-01-11➕JOHNSTON, James appointeddirector
Owner dependency
100/100
Critical — business is the founderThe 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.
- +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 19 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 68 — succession pressure is live.
Succession & seller-readiness
88/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 68. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
- secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 19 years.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 19 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
cleanNo 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%| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr James Johnston Individual · British · DOB 10/1958 · age 68 | 75–100% | 75–100% | 75-100% shares · 75-100% voting | 04/03/2019 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
🔒Co-director network graph
Radial SVG graph showing every company connected via shared directors, colour-coded by status.
Available from the Pro tier upwards.
See pricing →Similar companies
Active · Professional services · EH postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G J ARCHITECTS LIMITED→ SC311521 · est 2006 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 19y | — | — |
| G L (EDINBURGH) LIMITED→ SC200070 · est 1999 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 26y | — | — |
| GENERAL PARTNER NO.2 LIMITED→ SC251899 · est 2003 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 22y | — | — |
| GENKI TECH LTD→ SC741745 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| GEO ALP LIMITED→ SC565125 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| GERYON LTD→ SC833030 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| GET EVENTS LTD→ SC400254 · est 2011 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 14y | — | — |
| GF ACCOUNTANCY SERVICES LTD→ SC217241 · est 2001 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 25y | — | — |
| GG R&D TAX ADVISORY LIMITED→ SC881790 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| GIFFORDGATE LIMITED→ SC610910 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| GILCHRIST RECRUITMENT PARTNERSHIP LTD→ SC400077 · est 2011 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 14y | — | — |
| GILSON GRAY FINANCIAL LIMITED→ SC717112 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions
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 →🔒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
Incorporated2007-01-11
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC70229 — Management consultancy activities other than financial management
Registered office
Caledonian Exchange, 19a Canning Street
Edinburgh
EH3 8HE
Scotland
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-01-25
Last: 2026-01-11
Officers (2 active · 1 resigned)
Active
JOHNSTON, James→
Activedirector · ~68y · appointed 2007-01-11
View their other companies + combined net worth →
PARSONS, Stephen Mark→
Resigneddirector · ~61y · appointed 2012-12-31 · resigned 2018-06-19
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
1
Total charges
1
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:1 of 1 shown
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| outstanding | Big Dutchman Ag | A registered charge | 1 property | 30/09/2019 | — |
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.
Recent filings (64 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-01-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-06-11
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-01-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-04-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-01-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-05-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-01-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-06-21
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-01-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-07-05
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-01-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-06-10
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-01-21
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2019-10-10
mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
mortgage · MR01
2019-10-02