ROST COFFEE LTD

💤Zombieactive
SC637633 · ltd · incorporated 2019-08-01
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 Dec 2024
Net worth
£-32.6k
book net assets
Opportunity
76/100
Strong
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What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 10832
Sector: Manufacturing
ALSO REGISTERED FOR
  • 46370Wholesale of coffee, tea, cocoa and spices
  • 47290Other retail sale of food in specialised stores
Investor take
Pass (distressed without resilience)
Distressed active trading company — structural issues outweigh the discount.

Opportunity 76/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (60/100, director aged 66). 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: high (80/100)

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

Company profile
address, 3 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
3 officers (1 active, 3 linked, 3 with DOB)
90
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 3 total, 3 with control declared
90
Director network
2 connected companies via shared directors
51
Filing history
24 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
76/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

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

Business quality
65
Adequate — check latest filings for context.
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
Negative net assets
Liabilities exceed assets by £32,620
Cash YoY
-3%
Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£7k
↓ 3.2% YoY
Net Worth
-£33k
↓ 651% YoY
Current Assets
£11k
↑ 46% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
-£33k-£24k-£15k-£6k£2k£11kDec 2023Dec 2024

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2024-12-312023-12-31
Total assets£-32.6k£-4.3k
Current assets£11.1k£7.6k
Cash£6.8k£7.0k
Debtors£3.8k—
Net assets£-32.6k£-4.3k

Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.

🔒Filing-note intelligence

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

Last 30 days
0
filings
Last 90 days
0
filings
Last 180 days
0
filings
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (22 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-07-16
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-09-03
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2023-04-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2022-12-20
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  5. 2022-12-20
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  6. 2022-12-20
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
  7. 2022-12-20
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  8. 2022-12-20
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  9. 2022-12-06
    ➖
    BARR, Stephen William James resigned
    director
  10. 2022-12-06
    ➖
    REGAN, Mark resigned
    director
  11. 2022-12-01
    ➕
    DIBDIN, Ian appointed
    director
  12. 2022-12-01
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  13. 2022-12-01
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  14. 2022-11-28
    📄
    change-account-reference-date-company-current-shortened
    accounts · AA01
  15. 2022-11-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  16. 2021-12-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  17. 2020-11-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  18. 2019-11-14
    📄
    change-account-reference-date-company-current-shortened
    accounts · AA01
  19. 2019-08-01
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As ROST COFFEE LTD
  20. 2019-08-01
    ➕
    BARR, Stephen William James appointed
    director
  21. 2019-08-01
    ➕
    REGAN, Mark appointed
    director
  22. 2019-08-01
    📄
    incorporation-company
    incorporation · NEWINC

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 66 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

65/100
Strong succession signal

Multiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.

SIGNALS
  • primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 66. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.

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

1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Ian Dibdin
Individual · British · DOB 09/1960 · age 66
75–100%
75–100%board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control06/12/2022
2 historic (ceased) PSCs
  • Mr Mark Reganceased 06/12/2022· 25-50% shares
  • Mr Stephen William James Barrceased 06/12/2022· 25-50% shares

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

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CompanyEst. valueTurnoverNet worthStaffAgeOppDirector
BIOMAR LIMITED→
SC119586 · est 1989
———870036y8360y
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SC311872 · est 2006 · no financials extracted
————19y8286y
GRAHAMS THE FAMILY DAIRY LIMITED→
SC312966 · est 2006 · no financials extracted
————19y8286y
HARVIESTOUN BREWERY (HOLDINGS) LIMITED→
SC334493 · est 2007
———218y8287y
DEVON ALES LIMITED→
SC162887 · est 1996
———030y8180y
ARGO FOODS LIMITED→
SC245558 · est 2003
———1323y8062y
ASHERS ICE CREAM LIMITED→
SC351857 · est 2008
——£755.7k—17y8061y
D CAMPBELL & SON LTD→
SC376494 · est 2010
———616y8074y
GRAHAMS THE FAMILY DAIRY (MILK PRODUCTS) LIMITED→
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————10y8086y
HARVIESTOUN BREWERY LIMITED→
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———2042y8087y
INTOXICATING BRANDS LIMITED→
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SCOTBEEF INVERURIE LIMITED→
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————13y——
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
Incorporated2019-08-01
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC10832 — SIC 10832

Registered office

8 Falcon Drive
Larbert
FK5 4QX
Scotland

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last made up to: 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-08-28
Last: 2025-08-14

Officers (1 active · 2 resigned)

DIBDIN, Ian→
director · ~66y · appointed 2022-12-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
BARR, Stephen William James→
director · ~49y · appointed 2019-08-01 · resigned 2022-12-06
Resigned
REGAN, Mark→
director · ~47y · appointed 2019-08-01 · resigned 2022-12-06
Resigned

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

Recent filings (24 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-08-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-07-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-09-03
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-08-09
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-08-08
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-08-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-04-24
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2022-12-20
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2022-12-20
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2022-12-20
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2022-12-20
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2022-12-20
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2022-12-01
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2022-12-01
change-account-reference-date-company-current-shortened
accounts · AA01
2022-11-28