F.W.& H.S.GODDARD LIMITED

🌳Matureactive
00342236 · ltd · incorporated 1938-07-07
Investment thesis
Well-run mature business — low negotiation leverage; premium likely.
Why interesting: Textbook target; clean filings, stable trading.
Why risky: No pressure on seller; any deal likely at full price.
Opportunity decay
hardening · 12-months
Already tight — no obvious softening catalysts on the horizon.
  • · Thesis: well-run, low negotiation leverage
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Mar 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: Growing of cereals (except rice), leguminous crops and oil seeds
Sector: Agriculture, forestry & fishing
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company with a 62-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 62). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).

Data confidence

Overall: medium (78/100)

Adequate coverage. AI outputs are reliable for the sections scored high; verify the rest in diligence.

Company profile
address, 1 SIC codes, incorporation date
100
Financials
2 years of iXBRL accounts extracted (YoY deltas available) + narrative notes parsed
75
Lenders & charges
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
9 officers (3 active, 9 linked, 6 with DOB)
83
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
1 connected companies via shared directors
48
Filing history
105 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
80/100Exceptional
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

Strong composite across quality, acquirability, and risk. High-priority target — progress to serious diligence.

Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
80
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
£0£0£0£0£0£0Mar 2024Mar 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2025-03-312024-03-31
Average employees3300

Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.

🔒Filing-note intelligence

1 signal detected in this company's narrative notes — going-concern language, audit opinion, contingent liabilities, related-party transactions.

Available from the Pro tier upwards.

See pricing →

Recent activity

Last 30 days
0
filings
Last 90 days
0
filings
Last 180 days
1
filing
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (26 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-09-04
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-12-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-03-21
    📄
    change-account-reference-date-company-current-shortened
    accounts · AA01
  4. 2024-03-20
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  5. 2023-01-19
    📄
    memorandum-articles
    incorporation · MA
  6. 2023-01-03
    📄
    resolution
    resolution · RESOLUTIONS
  7. 2023-01-03
    📄
    capital-name-of-class-of-shares
    capital · SH08
  8. 2023-01-03
    📄
    resolution
    resolution · RESOLUTIONS
  9. 2022-11-16
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2022-02-15
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  11. 2021-06-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  12. 2019-12-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  13. 2018-11-15
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  14. 2017-12-20
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  15. 2017-03-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  16. 2013-09-11
    ➖
    GODDARD, Stewart Alan Malcolm resigned
    director
  17. 2007-07-04
    ➖
    GODDARD, Marjorie Joan resigned
    director
  18. 2003-10-31
    ➕
    GODDARD, Sally Ann appointed
    secretary
  19. 2003-10-13
    ➖
    GODDARD, Marjorie Joan resigned
    secretary
  20. 1996-10-09
    ➕
    GODDARD, Sally Ann appointed
    director
  21. 1995-12-15
    ➕
    GODDARD, Mark Alexander appointed
    director
  22. 1995-11-15
    ➖
    GODDARD, John Frederick resigned
    director
  23. 1994-09-21
    ➕
    GODDARD, Marjorie Joan appointed
    secretary
  24. 1994-09-05
    ➖
    GODDARD, Jean Doreen resigned
    secretary
  25. 1994-09-05
    ➖
    GODDARD, Jean Doreen resigned
    director
  26. 1938-07-07
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As F.W.& H.S.GODDARD LIMITED

Owner dependency

99/100
Critical — business is the founder

The business appears inseparable from the founder. Acquisition without a serious earn-out or meaningful transition period would likely destroy value.

FACTORS
  • +Two-director setup: Only two active directors — typical of owner-managed SMEs but limits succession.
  • +Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "GODDARD" — strong identity link between founder and business.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 31 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 62 — approaching natural succession window.
  • +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.

Succession & seller-readiness

76/100
Likely off-market candidate

Strong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.

SIGNALS
  • secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 62. Early succession window.
  • secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
  • primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 31 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 88 years old and no new directors in the last 3 years — succession not yet being planned internally.
  • supportingClean filings + long tenure: Disciplined long-tenure operator — classic lifestyle-business pattern that often sells quietly.

Red flags

clean
No red flags detected from available public data. (This is not a clean bill of health — detailed accounts review still recommended.)

Shareholders & ownership

2 active beneficial owners
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Mark Alexander Goddard
Individual · British · DOB 02/1964 · age 62
50–75%
50–75%50-75% shares · 50-75% voting30/06/2016
Mr Samuel Mark Goddard
Individual · British · DOB 11/1987 · age 39
25–50%
25–50%25-50% shares · 25-50% voting30/06/2016

From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.

🔒Co-director network graph

Radial SVG graph showing every company connected via shared directors, colour-coded by status.

Available from the Pro tier upwards.

See pricing →

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DAVID BRITNELL EVENTING LTD→
15583494 · est 2024 · no financials extracted
————2y——
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11817054 · est 2019 · no financials extracted
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12330525 · est 2019 · no financials extracted
————6y——
EXTRA POTASH LTD→
13564588 · est 2021 · no financials extracted
————4y——
F.C. BUTLER & SONS LIMITED→
00678679 · est 1960 · no financials extracted
————65y——
FAIRLAWNS RACING LIMITED→
11586698 · est 2018 · no financials extracted
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FARCET FEN LIMITED→
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————9y——
FARM PARTNERS LIMITED→
03020365 · est 1995 · no financials extracted
————31y——
Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions

6 specific questions generated from this company's actual signals — liquidity, leverage, director age, charge count, red flags, age-of-company.

Available from the Pro tier upwards.

See pricing →
🔒Advanced scoring suite

Exit-route ranking, improvement thesis, quiet-distress detector, covenant-pressure proxy, extraction monitor, approaching triggers, ownership drift, local cluster, value trap, debt capacity, archetype classification — 48+ scoring modules.

Available from the Pro tier upwards.

See pricing →

Company details

Statusactive
Typeltd
Incorporated1938-07-07
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC01110 — Growing of cereals (except rice), leguminous crops and oil seeds

Registered office

The Hall Farm
Little Walden
Saffron Walden
Essex
CB10 1XA

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-01-07
Last: 2025-12-24

Officers (3 active · 6 resigned)

GODDARD, Sally Ann→
secretary · appointed 2003-10-31
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
GODDARD, Mark Alexander→
director · ~62y · appointed 1995-12-15
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
GODDARD, Sally Ann→
director · ~62y · appointed 1996-10-09
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
GODDARD, Jean Doreen→
secretary · resigned 1994-09-05
Resigned
GODDARD, Marjorie Joan→
secretary · appointed 1994-09-21 · resigned 2003-10-13
Resigned
GODDARD, Jean Doreen→
director · ~100y · resigned 1994-09-05
Resigned
GODDARD, John Frederick→
director · ~96y · resigned 1995-11-15
Resigned
GODDARD, Marjorie Joan→
director · ~95y · resigned 2007-07-04
Resigned
GODDARD, Stewart Alan Malcolm→
director · ~96y · resigned 2013-09-11
Resigned

Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.

Recent filings (105 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-01-28
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-09-04
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-12-25
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-12-17
change-account-reference-date-company-current-shortened
accounts · AA01
2024-03-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-03-20
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-12-27
memorandum-articles
incorporation · MA
2023-01-19
resolution
resolution · RESOLUTIONS
2023-01-03
capital-name-of-class-of-shares
capital · SH08
2023-01-03
resolution
resolution · RESOLUTIONS
2023-01-03
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-12-24
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-11-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-02-15
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-02-02