Risk Analysis: PROJECT PEOPLE LIMITED

1. Risk Rating: MEDIUM

Justification: While the company demonstrates longevity (incorporated 1995) and current filing compliance, the concentrated family control structure with multiple PSCs holding >75% rights, limited officer diversity, and absence of accessible financial data to assess solvency and liquidity positions warrants a cautious medium rating. The group structure adds further opacity without available consolidated financials.

2. Key Concerns

Concentrated Control Structure: Three PSCs (Jayantilal Govind Koria, Savita Jayantilal Koria, and Pank Koria) each hold >75% voting rights and the right to appoint/remove directors. This overlapping control structure concentrates decision-making power within a single family, creating significant key-person dependency and potential governance risks. Minority shareholders or creditors would have limited influence over strategic decisions.

Limited Officer Depth: Only one individual director (Pank Koria) is listed alongside a corporate secretarial service. For a group-level company operating internationally in IT recruitment, this thin management structure raises concerns about operational resilience, succession planning, and the capacity for adequate oversight of group activities.

Financial Opacity: No financial data (balance sheet, P&L, cash flow indicators) has been made available for review. The company files as a "Group" entity, which permits filing exemptions and reduces disclosure requirements. Without visibility into net current assets, net assets, or retained earnings, solvency and liquidity assessments cannot be completed from available evidence.

3. Positive Indicators

Established Track Record: Incorporation date of February 1995 indicates nearly 30 years of continuous operation. Survival through multiple economic cycles—including the dot-com bust, 2008 financial crisis, and COVID-19—suggests underlying business resilience and adaptive management.

Filing Compliance: Accounts are current (made up to April 2024) and not overdue. The confirmation statement is also up to date. This indicates ongoing engagement with statutory obligations and reduces concern about administrative neglect.

Operational Scale: The group structure and international office network (UK, Europe) referenced in the website description, combined with a £50,000 share capital, suggest the company has grown beyond a micro-entity and maintains genuine commercial operations across multiple jurisdictions.

4. Due Diligence Notes

1. Obtain Latest Filed Accounts: Request the full group accounts made up to April 2024. Focus specifically on net current assets/liabilities, net assets position, P&L reserves, and any going concern qualifications from auditors. Determine whether the group claims audit exemption and, if so, why.

2. Clarify PSC Structure: Investigate how multiple individuals can each hold >75% of shares and voting rights. This may indicate different share classes, joint holdings, or a trust structure. Understanding the actual ownership waterfall and control dynamics is essential for assessing related-party transaction risks.

3. Subsidiary Analysis: Identify all group subsidiaries, their jurisdictions, and their financial contributions. Group structures in recruitment often involve offshore or separate entities for contractor payroll, which can create contingent liabilities or inter-company balances that affect group solvency.

4. Director Background Checks: Conduct comprehensive checks on Pank Koria and the Koria family members, including Insolvency Service disqualification records, other directorships (active and resigned), and any history of failed companies within the group or elsewhere.

5. Sector-Specific Risks: The dual SIC codes (IT services and temporary employment agency) indicate reliance on contract/contingent labour markets. Assess exposure to IR35 legislation changes, contractor misclassification risks, and the cyclical nature of IT recruitment spending.

6. Credit and Litigation Searches: Run CCJ, charge, and litigation searches against the company and its PSCs. For recruitment businesses, employment tribunal claims and tax disputes are common risk areas that may not appear in standard filings.