FIFIELDS LIMITED
Company number 04443109 · 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 Assessment: FIFIELDS LIMITED (04443109)
Sector: Development of building projects (SIC 41100) | Incorporated 2002 | Exeter, Devon
1. Financial Health Score: B+ (Strong, with minor watch items)
Fifields Limited presents as a financially fit, mature business with a robust constitution: nearly £1m in shareholders' funds, a cash reserve of £1.48m, and no long-term debt. The grade is held back from an A by three factors: a dip in reserves in FY2024, a doubling of debtors in FY2025 that concentrates risk, and the inherent cyclicality of property development. Think of this as a patient in good shape whose latest blood test shows one or two markers worth monitoring rather than treating.
2. Key Vital Signs
| Vital Sign | FY2025 | FY2024 | Clinical Reading |
|---|---|---|---|
| Net assets (shareholders' funds) | £957,082 | £861,211 | Strong – +11.1% recovery; the company's "immune system" |
| Cash at bank | £1,483,244 | £1,065,972 | Excellent – +39%; a strong, steady pulse |
| Current ratio (current assets ÷ current liabilities) | 1.58 | 2.03 | Healthy – comfortably above 1.0, though tightening |
| Cash cover of current liabilities | 92% | 136% | Very strong – cash alone nearly pays all short-term debts |
| Debtors | £1,070,273 | £530,148 | Watch – doubled (+102%); circulatory congestion risk |
| Creditors (due within 1 year) | £1,615,605 | £785,967 | Watch – more than doubled (+106%) |
| Fixed assets | £25,560 | £51,058 | Asset-light – minimal plant/vehicles; typical of a developer using subcontractors |
| Long-term debt | None disclosed | None disclosed | Excellent – no external borrowings on the balance sheet |
| 10-year reserve trend | £251,637 (2016) → £957,082 (2025) | — | Outstanding – ~16% compound annual growth |
3. Symptoms Analysis
The strong pulse (liquidity). Cash has grown from £90k in 2016 to £1.48m in 2025. This is the single most reassuring vital sign: the business generates and retains cash rather than consuming it.
Elevated cholesterol (debtors). Amounts owed to the company doubled to £1.07m in FY2025 and now represent 42% of current assets. In property development this often reflects staged payments, retentions, or balances with connected project vehicles. It is not yet a blockage, but a single large debtor default would be felt acutely.
The FY2024 dip. Net assets fell £145k (–14.4%) between 2023 and 2024, then recovered £96k in 2025. Because the company files under total exemption (no public P&L), we cannot see whether this was a trading loss or a dividend extraction. Either is survivable; the pattern matters more than the event.
A lumpy heartbeat — normal for this patient type. The reserve history shows classic project-cycle rhythm: +144% in 2019 (a major project completing), steady gains in 2020–2023, a dip in 2024, recovery in 2025. Volatility here is a feature of the business model, not necessarily a symptom of disease.
Clean compliance record. Accounts and confirmation statements are filed on time; the company is active with no insolvency markers. The FY2025 accounts were approved in October 2025 — timely and orderly.
Governance note. One director (name shown to subscribers) resigned in December 2025, leaving a three-person board, and control rests with a single PSC (name shown to subscribers). Small, concentrated leadership is efficient but creates key-person dependency.
4. Diagnosis
Overall condition: financially robust with project-cycle volatility and rising counterparty concentration.
Fifields is a 23-year-old business that has successfully reinvented itself (from fire protection, to electrical & plumbing, to building development) and compounded its reserves roughly fourfold over nine years without taking on bank debt. The balance sheet behaves like a well-conditioned athlete's: it expands during project build-up (assets peaked at £2.55m in 2025) and contracts on completion (down to £1.6m in 2024), with cash as the constant lifeblood.
The two genuine watch items are the doubled debtor book (recovery risk) and the doubled creditor book (obligation risk). Crucially, these roughly offset each other — creditors are effectively financing the debtors — and net current assets actually improved to £937,912. Cash covers 92% of everything owed within a year, so even a stressed scenario leaves the company standing.
5. Prognosis: Stable to Positive
The company's substantial cash buffer gives it strong resistance to the sector's known pathogens: interest rate rises, housing market slowdowns, and build-cost inflation. Expect the familiar pattern of lumpy but upward-trending reserves, with periodic dip years when projects are mid-build. The principal threats to the outlook are a major debtor failing to pay, a stalled development pipeline, or key-person disruption — none of which show acute symptoms today.
6. Recommendations (Prescription for Continued Wellness)
- Run a debtor stress test. Obtain an aged-debtor breakdown for the £1.07m book, confirm what relates to retentions vs. connected parties, and set concentration limits or credit insurance for any single exposure above ~20%.
- Diagnose the FY2024 dip internally. If it was a trading loss, tighten project appraisal margins; if dividends, formalise a distribution policy that preserves a minimum cash floor (e.g., 12 months of overheads).
- Put the cash to work safely. £1.48m on deposit should be swept across FSCS-protected institutions or treasury accounts earning competitive interest, while keeping the development buffer intact.
- Strengthen the governance spine. Document succession and delegated authority following the recent board departure; consider whether a third PSC-independent check exists for major commitments.
- Monitor creditor terms. Ensure the enlarged creditor book is operational (trade/subcontractor retentions) rather than stretched payables — paying on time protects the supply chain that this asset-light model depends on.
- Hedge the cycle. Where possible, secure pre-sales or fixed-price construction contracts before committing to new developments, and maintain the current zero-debt discipline.
- Consider fuller disclosure if seeking credit. Filleted accounts limit what lenders and credit agencies can see; volunteering turnover/profit figures can improve credit terms when needed.