RED HEN LTD.
Opportunity 74/100 (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 -48% YoY — forensic review of receivables, stock turns, and creditor days. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (58/100).
Data confidence
Overall: medium (78/100)Adequate coverage. AI outputs are reliable for the sections scored high; verify the rest in diligence.
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 102Key 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 | 2024-09-30 | 2023-09-30 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £20.1k | £43.4k |
| Current assets | £22.6k | £45.5k |
| Cash | £22.6k | £43.2k |
| Debtors | £47 | £2.3k |
| Net assets | £20.1k | £43.4k |
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
Corporate timeline (18 events)Click to expand
- 2025-05-20📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-06-07📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-03-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-02-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-01-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-06-18📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-09-30📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2019-09-25📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2019-03-21📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-12-04📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2016-11-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2016-02-01📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2015-09-23📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2014-11-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2014-11-06📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2013-09-23🏢Company incorporatedAs RED HEN LTD.
- 2013-09-23➕DODD, Andrea Elizabeth, Dr appointeddirector
- 2013-09-23➕DODD, Thomas Robert, Dr appointeddirector
Owner dependency
Material founder dependency. Consider a 2-3 year earn-out and build in a handover plan before completion.
- +Two-director setup: Only two active directors — typical of owner-managed SMEs but limits succession.
- +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.
- +No director turnover: Company is 13 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.
Succession & seller-readiness
Some succession indicators present. Worth watching; approach if sector/strategy fits.
- secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
- secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 13 years.
- supportingClean filings + long tenure: Disciplined long-tenure operator — classic lifestyle-business pattern that often sells quietly.
Red flags
cleanShareholders & ownership
2 active beneficial owners| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Dr Thomas Robert Dodd Individual · British · DOB 11/1977 · age 49 | 25–50% | 25–50% | sig. influence25-50% shares · 25-50% voting · significant influence | 06/04/2016 |
Dr Andrea Elizabeth Dodd Individual · British · DOB 05/1977 · age 49 | 25–50% | 25–50% | sig. influence25-50% shares · 25-50% voting · significant influence | 06/04/2016 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
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6 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 · 0 resigned)
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.