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I am trying to research someone who wants to do business with me. UK companie's house does not seem to have a profit & loss on file, just an abbreviated balance sheet?

I removed the company umber, filing date and figures less than a thousand, to offer some privacy.

It doesn't look very healthy, but three's not really enough detail for me to tell. I am especially missing the turnover & profit margin.

Can anyone here infer something from this, which is not readily apparent?

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[Clarification] I risk no money here. I will provide my time and the other company has an idea and some business contacts. It's a bit of a punt, but all that I risk is my time.

Sam Fox
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What this abbreviated balance sheet tells you is that this company has negative equity. The liabilities are greater than the value of the assets. The obvious problem for the company who wants to do business with you is that they are going to have a real hard time accessing credit to pay off any debts that they incur with doing business with you. In this case, the recommended course would be to ask them put cash up front instead of putting them on account.

You don't really need to look at the income statement to see that they are currently underwater. If their income statement turns out to be splendid, then you can wait for them to get their liabilities under control before you set up an account for them.

Phillip Siebold
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