SMITH & MERCER INVESTMENTS LIMITED
Opportunity 74/100 (strong), bankability 67/100. High owner-dependency — earn-out structure likely required for clean transition. Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Consolidate lender relationships. 3 distinct lenders creates friction — refinance into single-lender structure for cleaner diligence. Most likely exit: distressed disposal / insolvency (65/100).
Refinance opportunity
3 live charges · 3 lenders · oldest 4.5y
Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.
- · Charge age ~4.5 years — mid-life; refi window approaching.
- · 3 lenders named — inter-creditor friction likely.
- · Cashflow trend is negative — lender view likely cautious.
Data confidence
Overall: high (81/100)Strong data coverage across all sections. AI outputs should be trusted with minimal caveats.
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 | 2025-07-31 | 2024-07-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £177.7k | £182.1k |
| Current assets | £5.6k | £6.5k |
| Cash | £4.4k | £5.3k |
| Debtors | £1.2k | £1.2k |
| Net assets | £-18.8k | £-14.4k |
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
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
- • 1 accounts
- • 1 accounts
Corporate timeline (15 events)Click to expand
- 2026-03-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2025-04-24📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2025-03-11📄mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charles-court-order-extend-with-charge-number-charge-creation-datemortgage · MR01
- 2024-04-24📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2023-11-23🔒Charge registered #3Lender: Cumberland Buyilding Society
- 2022-12-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2022-05-30📄change-account-reference-date-company-current-extendedaccounts · AA01
- 2022-03-07📄mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-datemortgage · MR01
- 2022-03-02🔒Charge registered #2Lender: Shawbrook Bank Limited
- 2021-12-13📄mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-datemortgage · MR01
- 2021-11-24🔒Charge registered #1Lender: Cumberland Building Society
- 2021-04-01🏢Company incorporatedAs SMITH & MERCER INVESTMENTS LIMITED
- 2021-04-01➕MERCER, Paul James appointeddirector
- 2021-04-01➕SMITH, Craig Alexander appointeddirector
- 2021-04-01📄incorporation-companyincorporation · NEWINC
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.
- +Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "MERCER" — strong identity link between founder and business.
- +No director turnover: Company is 5 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.
Succession & seller-readiness
Limited succession signal. Not a near-term off-market candidate.
- secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
Red flags
cleanShareholders & ownership
2 active beneficial owners| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Craig Alexander Smith Individual · British · DOB 03/1981 · age 45 | 25–50% | 25–50% | board control25-50% shares · 25-50% voting · board control | 01/04/2021 |
Mr Paul James Mercer Individual · British · DOB 03/1974 · age 52 | 25–50% | 25–50% | board control25-50% shares · 25-50% voting · board control | 01/04/2021 |
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.
See pricing →Similar companies
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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 →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.
Mortgages & charges
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| outstanding | Cumberland Buyilding Society | A registered charge | 1 property | 23/11/2023 | — | |
| outstanding | Shawbrook Shawbrook Bank Limited | A registered charge | 1 property | 02/03/2022 | — | |
| outstanding | Cumberland Building Society | A registered charge | 2 properties | 24/11/2021 | — |