HOIST PROJECTS LTD

Risk Rating: HIGH Justification: The company's status is listed as "Liquidation," indicating an inability to meet financial obligations and a cessation of normal business operations. Furthermore, statutory filings are significantly overdue, and the last filed accounts (from 2018) revealed a heavy reliance on illiquid current assets to cover short-term debts.

Key Concerns: - Liquidation Status: The most critical concern is the company's formal status. It is currently in liquidation, meaning the business has failed and is undergoing a process to realize assets and pay creditors. An investment at this stage carries extreme risk, likely resulting in a total loss of capital for equity holders. - Asset Quality and Liquidity: The last filed accounts (Nov 2018) showed current assets of £1.25M against current liabilities of £995k. However, £969k of the current assets were categorized as "Amounts recoverable on long term work-in-progress," with trade debtors dropping to zero. Long-term WIP in the construction sector is highly illiquid and difficult to collect, casting significant doubt on the company's historical liquidity position. - Regulatory Compliance: Both the annual accounts and the confirmation statement are overdue. The most recent financial data available is over five years old (Nov 2018), creating severe information asymmetry and obscuring the events that led to the company's insolvency.

Positive Indicators: - Historical Profitability: The financial history up to 2018 demonstrates a period of growth and profitability. Net assets grew from £27k in 2013 to £339k in 2018, with retained earnings reaching £339k. - Historical Cash Generation: The company increased its cash position from £63k in 2013 to £226k in 2018, indicating it was capable of generating cash from its operations prior to its decline. - Low Long-term Debt: In the 2018 accounts, creditors due after more than one year were minimal (£2,049), suggesting the company was not heavily burdened by long-term borrowings at that time.

Due Diligence Notes: - Liquidation Details: Investigate the type of liquidation (Compulsory vs. Creditors' Voluntary) and identify the appointed liquidator. This will clarify whether the process was initiated by creditors due to unpaid debts or by the directors. - Debtor Realization: Examine the nature of the £969k "Amounts recoverable on long term work-in-progress" noted in the 2018 accounts. Determine if these were ever realized, written off, or if they represent disputed contracts that contributed to the cash flow failure. - Director Conduct: Review the Insolvency Service records for any disqualification orders against the current directors (Aidan Gillan, David Moneypenny, Peter Gillan) related to this or other former appointments, given the transition from apparent solvency to liquidation. - Name Change Context: The company changed its name from PG CONTRACTS (NI) LTD to HOIST PROJECTS LTD in December 2019, shortly after the 2018 accounts were approved. Investigate whether this rebranding was tied to a shift in operations, a refinancing attempt, or other structural changes preceding the collapse.