JM QUALITY FOODS LTD
💤Zombieactive
SC512811 · ltd · incorporated 2015-08-11
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 Aug 2025
Net worth
£51.8k
book net assets
Opportunity
78/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Non-specialised wholesale of food, beverages and tobacco
Sector: Wholesale & retail
Investor take
PursueStrong opportunity: asset-holding vehicle with strong profile and bankable structure.
Opportunity 78/100 (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: 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.
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
2 officers (1 active, 2 linked, 2 with DOB)
90
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
32 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
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 · FRS 105 (micro)Positive net assets
Net assets £51,791
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
£52k
↑ 97% YoY
Current Assets
£77k
↑ 75% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 105 (micro)| Metric | 2025-08-31 | 2024-08-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £51.8k | £34.6k |
| Current assets | £76.7k | £43.8k |
| Net assets | £51.8k | £26.3k |
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 accounts
Last 180 days
1
filing
- • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (20 events)Click to expand
- 2026-03-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2025-08-20📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2025-08-20📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2025-08-20📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2024-12-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-04-24📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-05-02📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-08-01📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2022-08-01📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2022-06-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-12-16📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2021-10-26➖MCNELLIS, Debbie resigneddirector
- 2021-05-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2020-05-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2019-05-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2018-01-11📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2018-01-11📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2017-03-01➕MCNELLIS, Debbie appointeddirector
- 2015-08-11🏢Company incorporatedAs JM QUALITY FOODS LTD
- 2015-08-11➕MCNELLIS, John appointeddirector
Owner dependency
83/100
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.
- +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 63 — approaching natural succession window.
Succession & seller-readiness
70/100
Strong succession signalMultiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.
SIGNALS
- primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 63. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
- 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 John Mcnellis Individual · British · DOB 04/1963 · age 63 | 75–100% | 75–100% | 75-100% shares · 75-100% voting | 06/04/2016 |
1 historic (ceased) PSC
- Debbie Mcnellisceased 26/10/2021· 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Similar companies
Active · Wholesale & distribution · ML postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KORBAN DISTRIBUTION LTD→ SC762657 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| KUVAKA LTD.→ SC760101 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| LOCALKILTS LIMITED→ SC792219 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| LUMIX PRODUCTS LTD→ SC852844 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| M N D UNITED LTD→ SC744344 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| M&M INTERNATIONAL DISTRIBUTION LTD→ SC549479 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| MARINICO LIMITED→ SC737144 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| MARNOCH MERCHANDISING LIMITED→ SC732020 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| MD GLOBAL TRADE LIMITED→ SC836969 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| MEDLAUBRI LTD→ SC816253 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| MERMAIDS SCOTLAND LIMITED→ SC575300 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| MIDDLEHOUSE FARMS LTD→ SC710034 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2015-08-11
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC46390 — Non-specialised wholesale of food, beverages and tobacco
Registered office
Second Floor Airbles House
270 Airbles Road
Motherwell
ML1 3AT
United Kingdom
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-05-31
Last made up to: 2025-08-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-08-14
Last: 2025-07-31
Officers (1 active · 1 resigned)
MCNELLIS, John→
Activedirector · ~63y · appointed 2015-08-11
View their other companies + combined net worth →
MCNELLIS, Debbie→
Resigneddirector · ~45y · appointed 2017-03-01 · resigned 2021-10-26
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (32 total)
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2026-03-25
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-08-21
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2025-08-20
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2025-08-20
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2025-08-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-12-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-08-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-04-24
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-08-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-05-02
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-08-08
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2022-08-01
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2022-08-01
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-06-28
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2021-12-16