HIGHLAND CHINESE FOODS LTD

💤Zombieactive
SC384558 · ltd · incorporated 2010-08-31
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 steady · medium confidence
Mixed signals — 1 changes over 30 days, no clear direction yet.
  • · Distress / opportunity: avoid → attractive
What changed my view
Last 30 days

Mixed signals in the last 30 days — 0 improved, 0 worsened.

  • ·Distress / opportunity: avoid → attractive
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 Aug 2025
Net worth
£7.0k
book net assets
Opportunity
78/100
Strong
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What this business does
Primary activity: Other letting and operating of own or leased real estate
Sector: Real estate
Investor take
Special-situation opportunity
Distressed property with salvageable qualities — special-situations priority.

Opportunity 78/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (68/100, director aged 72). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Cash flow review and working-capital discipline. Cash down -100% YoY — forensic review of receivables, stock turns, and creditor days. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).

Data confidence

Overall: high (85/100)

Strong data coverage across all sections. AI outputs should be trusted with minimal caveats.

Company profile
address, 1 SIC codes, incorporation date
100
Financials
3 years of iXBRL accounts extracted + narrative notes parsed
95
Lenders & charges
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
3 officers (2 active, 3 linked, 2 with DOB)
83
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
3 connected companies via shared directors
54
Filing history
43 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
🔒Estimated company valuation

Sector-multiple EBITDA, turnover, and NAV-proxy valuation range with confidence tier — derived from extracted iXBRL financials.

Available from the Pro tier upwards.

See pricing →
Opportunity Score
78/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

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

Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
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
Positive net assets
Net assets £7,001
Very low cash
Cash position: £5
Net assets shrinking
Down £5,428 YoY
Cash draining
Cash down 100% YoY
Cash YoY
-100%
Year on year

Key financials

3 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£5
↓ 100% YoY
Net Worth
£7k
↓ 44% YoY
Current Assets
£2k
↓ 62% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£3k£5k£8k£10k£13kAug 2023Aug 2024Aug 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2025-08-312024-08-312023-08-31
Total assets£7.0k£12.4k£12.6k
Current assets£1.8k£4.7k£1.8k
Cash£5£2.9k£27
Debtors£1.8k£1.8k£1.8k
Net assets£7.0k£12.4k£12.6k

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
2
filings
  • • 1 accounts
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
2
filings
  • • 1 accounts
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (20 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-05-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-04-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-05-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2023-05-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  5. 2022-06-20
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  6. 2021-06-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  7. 2020-07-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2019-05-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2018-05-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2017-05-19
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  11. 2016-05-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  12. 2016-05-24
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  13. 2015-10-23
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  14. 2015-05-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  15. 2014-10-14
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  16. 2013-10-21
    ➕
    YU, Wing Leung Jeff appointed
    secretary
  17. 2012-06-01
    ➕
    LEE, Tin Sun appointed
    director
  18. 2012-06-01
    ➖
    IU, Leo Pak Nin resigned
    director
  19. 2010-08-31
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As HIGHLAND CHINESE FOODS LTD
  20. 2010-08-31
    ➕
    IU, Leo Pak Nin appointed
    director

Owner dependency

90/100
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 age: Director aged approximately 72 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

98/100
Likely off-market candidate

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

SIGNALS
  • primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 72 years old. Natural succession window is now.
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
  • secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 14 years.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 16 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

2 active beneficial owners
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Tin Sun Lee
Individual · British · DOB 08/1954 · age 72
25–50%
—25-50% shares30/04/2017
Mr Wing Leung Jeff Yu
Individual · British · DOB 07/1982 · age 44
25–50%
—25-50% shares30/04/2017

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 →

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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
Incorporated2010-08-31
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC68209 — Other letting and operating of own or leased real estate

Registered office

58 Long Lane
Broughty Ferry
Dundee
DD5 1HH

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-05-31
Last made up to: 2025-08-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-05-14
Last: 2026-04-30

Officers (2 active · 1 resigned)

YU, Wing Leung Jeff→
secretary · appointed 2013-10-21
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
LEE, Tin Sun→
director · ~72y · appointed 2012-06-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
IU, Leo Pak Nin→
director · ~35y · appointed 2010-08-31 · resigned 2012-06-01
Resigned

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

Recent filings (43 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2026-05-21
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-05-13
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-04-30
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-04-22
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-05-21
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-04-30
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-05-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-05-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-06-20
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-06-10
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-06-30
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-06-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-07-21
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-05-27
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-05-21