FAST DESPATCH LOGISTICS LIMITED
Company number 11142249 · Monitor this company
This analysis was written by an AI from the company's public filings. It may contain errors or omissions and is not financial or professional advice.
Financial Health Score: F
Explanation: The patient is in a state of severe financial cardiac arrest. With negligible cash reserves, massive insolvency, and a pending "Proposal to Strike Off" from the registry, this business is on life support. The recent resignation of the primary director and the presence of a colossal tax debt indicate that the corporate body is failing, with vital signs pointing toward terminal closure rather than recovery.
1. Key Vital Signs
- Cash Reserves (Blood Pressure): £218 This is dangerously low, representing a massive drop from £12,844 in 2023 and £1,044,785 in 2020. The business is suffering from extreme financial anemia; it lacks the liquidity required to pump through its operational veins and sustain day-to-day life.
- Net Assets / Shareholders' Funds (Body Mass): -£630,076 The company is deeply insolvent. Its liabilities vastly exceed its assets. This represents a catastrophic deterioration from a healthy £2.568 million in positive equity back in 2021.
- Current Liabilities (Arterial Blockage): £1,781,692 Debts due within one year are starving the business of oxygen. Most alarmingly, £1,349,296 of this is owed in "Taxation and social security costs," which has not changed from the previous year. This suggests HMRC is owed a substantial sum, and the debt is not being serviced.
- Tangible Assets (Bone Density): £2,991,500 The only thing keeping this patient from flatlining is a property asset (Land and Buildings). However, this asset is heavily leveraged, with long-term bank loans (£1.84M) and short-term creditors effectively suffocating the equity in the property.
2. Symptoms Analysis
- Symptoms of Distress - The Strike-Off Notice: The company status is "Active - Proposal to Strike off." This is the corporate equivalent of a Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) order. An external party (likely Companies House) or the directors have initiated the process to euthanize the company.
- Director Abandonment: The company's Person with Significant Control (name shown to subscribers, who owns over 75% of shares) resigned as a director in April 2026. When the primary surgeon abandons the operating table, it signals a lack of faith in the patient's survival.
- Stagnant Tumor (Tax Debt): The £1.35M tax debt has not decreased since the previous year. This is not a bill that is being actively paid off; it is a stagnant, toxic growth that is likely accruing penalties and interest.
- Zero Employees: The average number of employees is zero. The business has no operational pulse; it is a shell holding a property and a massive amount of debt.
- Overdue Filing: The accounts are marked as overdue, showing a lack of administrative care and compliance, further indicating that the business is not being actively managed.
3. Diagnosis
The diagnosis is Terminal Corporate Insolvency with Imminent Administrative Dissolution.
The financial data reveals a business that has suffered a dramatic reversal of fortune, moving from £2.5M in positive net assets in 2021 to over £630k in negative net assets by 2024. The company is entirely reliant on the life support of its property asset to balance the books against its enormous debts.
The going concern note in the accounts states that the company relies on the "continued support of the directors and shareholders." However, with the primary shareholder/director having resigned and the company facing a strike-off, this life support has been unplugged. The massive, unserviced tax liability is a ticking time bomb that will likely attract enforced action from HMRC if the strike-off is not completed first.
4. Recommendations
- Triage the Strike-Off Process: If the intention is to close the entity, ensure the strike-off proceeds smoothly. However, be aware that a strike-off will likely be suspended by HMRC due to the outstanding £1.35M tax debt. Creditors like HMRC typically block a voluntary strike-off to force a formal insolvency procedure.
- Prepare for Formal Liquidation: Given the size of the tax debt and the negative equity, a Creditors' Voluntary Liquidation (CVL) is the most appropriate course of treatment. This allows for the orderly sale of the £2.99M property, paying off the bank loan and as much of the tax debt as possible, while formally closing the company under professional supervision.
- Address the Property Asset: The £2.99M property must be professionally valued and prepared for sale. The proceeds from this sale are the only means of settling the substantial liabilities. Ensure that any sale achieves maximum market value to minimize the shortfall left to HMRC.
- Director Compliance: Even though the primary director has resigned, as a Person with Significant Control, name shown to subscribers must ensure that all statutory filings are completed and that he cooperates with any formal insolvency proceedings to avoid potential accusations of wrongful trading or disqualification.