The Diligence Desk
Updated weeklyRed flags & analysis · Last updated 19 July 2026
Every week we take a real, already-public funding round and run it through the same lens this site applies to yours — the valuation maths, the cap-table shape, the SEIS/EIS fit and a Companies House sanity check — then show you what it found. Alongside it: the filing patterns, cap-table gaps and term-sheet clauses that quietly stall a raise. Written for founders preparing to raise and investors triaging inbound deals. No jargon left unexplained.
- Filing Signal19 July 20265 min read
Filing Signal: the holding company that appears before the announcement
A new parent company appears above a startup, then a round is announced. What that pattern usually means.
Read→ - Regulatory1 July 20264 min read
Companies House identity verification: what the ECCTA changes mean for your raise
UK directors and major shareholders now have to prove who they are. Do it before you raise, not mid-deal.
Read→ - Red flag24 June 20263 min read
The person with significant control who isn't on your cap table
Your deck says four founders. The public register says five owners. That gap stops the conversation.
Read→ - Red flag17 June 20263 min read
The unsatisfied debenture that stalls a term sheet
A loan you already repaid can sit on the public record for years. Until you clear it, investors count it.
Read→ - Explainer10 June 20263 min read
What an MFN clause in a SAFE actually does (and when it bites)
One clause quietly promises your first investors the best terms you give anyone later. Here's what it costs.
Read→ - Red flag3 June 20263 min read
Overdue accounts: the filing that quietly kills momentum
Filing your accounts a few weeks late feels like admin. It is one of the first things an investor checks.
Read→
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Subscribe (RSS)These notes are general information to help you prepare — not investment advice, not legal advice, and not a guarantee of any fundraising outcome. Companies House data can lag real filings by days or weeks. Where a post names a company, it reports publicly available figures and what the public register records as at the stated date; it does not comment on any company's conduct.