Companies have nine months after the year-end to file accounts. Overdue filings are one of the earliest distress signals, and they are visible the moment the deadline passes. Repeated late filing is worse than a single miss.
A County Court Judgment means a creditor went to court to force payment. One may be a dispute; several over a short period show a pattern. See what a CCJ is and how it affects risk.
A creditor has asked the court to liquidate the company over a debt of £750 or more. This is the point of no return for most companies, and it freezes the bank account in practice. On Black Flag Alert an active petition forces the risk rating to 10.
Liabilities exceed assets: the company is technically insolvent. The balance sheet says so in one line. When net assets turn negative the funding component of the R-Score is forced to zero.
Borrowings growing faster than equity, and profit no longer covering the interest bill. Interest cover below 1x means the trade does not service its own debt. Both ratios are on every profile, explained in plain English.
A resignation close to the trouble is a signal worth reading, especially if the departing director is a finance director or long-serving. Filing history shows every appointment and resignation with dates.
The cash ratio falling toward zero while debtor days stretch: customers are paying late and the company cannot absorb it. The cash coverage ratio measures exactly this.
None of these signs alone proves a company is failing. Together, appearing over months, they are the clearest early picture the public record offers. The Black Flag Alert profile puts them in one place: filing behaviour, the CCJ register, winding-up petitions, charges, five years of ratios, and a risk rating that reacts to them as they happen.
Watch for these signals on any company. Set a watchlist and get notified when the record changes.