CHURCH FARM (EAST STOUR) LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
00506911 · ltd · incorporated 1952-04-15
Investment thesis
Zombie company — trading but stalled; unlikely mover.
Why interesting: Quiet, steady; could be a succession or carve-out candidate with the right conversation.
Why risky: No growth signal; thin margin for error on price.
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Mar 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 01500
Sector: Agriculture, forestry & fishing
Investor take
Pursue
Strong opportunity: active trading company with exceptional profile and bankable structure.

Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 58). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Discharge stale live charges. 3 live charge(s) created 15+ years ago — likely paid but undischarged. Clean register. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

3 live charges · 2 lenders · oldest 40.0y

30/100
under pressure

Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.

  • · Oldest live charge is 40.0 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · Two lenders — manageable, but coordination required.
  • · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.

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
3 charges (3/3 with lender, 3/3 with type)
90
Directors & officers
4 officers (1 active, 4 linked, 3 with DOB)
85
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
112 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
82/100Exceptional
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
100
Good data coverage for analysis.

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
£0£470k£940k£1.4m£1.9m£2.4mMar 2024Mar 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2025-03-312024-03-31
Total assets—£2.35M
Net assets—£2.35M
Average employees100—

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 (23 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-01-02
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-12-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-09-11
    📄
    gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
    gazette · DISS40
  4. 2024-09-10
    📄
    gazette-notice-compulsory
    gazette · GAZ1
  5. 2024-09-09
    📄
    change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortened
    accounts · AA01
  6. 2024-09-07
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  7. 2023-04-10
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  8. 2022-08-01
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  9. 2021-07-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  10. 2020-09-04
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  11. 2020-04-06
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  12. 2020-04-06
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  13. 2019-03-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  14. 2018-03-05
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  15. 2018-02-16
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  16. 2017-08-14
    ➖
    SALISBURY, Oliver Clement resigned
    director
  17. 2015-01-01
    ➖
    SALISBURY, Christine Mary resigned
    secretary
  18. 2015-01-01
    ➖
    SALISBURY, Christine Mary resigned
    director
  19. 2005-03-31
    ➕
    SALISBURY, Thomas Winston appointed
    director
  20. 2002-12-19
    🔒
    Charge registered #4
    Lender: Nfu Mutual Finance Limited
  21. 2002-12-19
    🔒
    Charge registered #2
    Lender: Nfu Mutual Finance Limited
  22. 1986-07-24
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: National Westminster Bank PLC
  23. 1952-04-15
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As CHURCH FARM (EAST STOUR) LIMITED

Owner dependency

93/100
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
  • +Sole director: Only one active director — all governance concentrated on one person.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 21 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 58 — approaching natural succession window.

Succession & seller-readiness

85/100
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 58. Early succession window.
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
  • primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 21 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 74 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

1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Thomas Winston Salisbury
Individual · British · DOB 02/1968 · age 58
75–100%
75–100%board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control · trust interest · firm interest19/01/2017
1 historic (ceased) PSC
  • Mr Oliver Clement Salisburyceased 14/08/2017· 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting

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

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AGVANCED GRAIN SYSTEMS LIMITED→
13608840 · est 2021 · no financials extracted
————4y——
BATH ORCHARD LTD→
16893621 · est 2025 · no financials extracted
———————
BLOODSTOCK LTD→
10285813 · est 2016 · no financials extracted
————9y——
C J EQUINE SERVICES LIMITED→
11380044 · est 2018 · no financials extracted
————7y——
CLAREMONT FARM PRODUCE LTD→
14578152 · est 2023 · no financials extracted
————3y——
COASTAL NETS LIMITED→
06448718 · est 2007 · no financials extracted
————18y——
COBB FARMING LIMITED→
10395910 · est 2016 · no financials extracted
————9y——
COKERS FROME FARM LIMITED→
01041607 · est 1972 · no financials extracted
————54y——
CROCKER FARMS LIMITED→
03624076 · est 1998 · no financials extracted
————27y——
CROCKWAY FARMS LIMITED→
07774685 · est 2011 · no financials extracted
————14y——
CUT & GO TREE SERVICES LTD→
15217501 · est 2023 · no financials extracted
————2y——
CUTLERS FARM LIMITED→
00734686 · est 1962 · no financials extracted
————63y——
Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions

8 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
Incorporated1952-04-15
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC01500 — SIC 01500

Registered office

20 Vespasian Way
Dorchester
Dorset
DT1 2RD
England

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-11-26
Last: 2025-11-12

Officers (1 active · 3 resigned)

SALISBURY, Thomas Winston→
director · ~58y · appointed 2005-03-31
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
SALISBURY, Christine Mary→
secretary · resigned 2015-01-01
Resigned
SALISBURY, Christine Mary→
director · ~91y · resigned 2015-01-01
Resigned
SALISBURY, Oliver Clement→
director · ~91y · resigned 2017-08-14
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

3
Total charges
3
Outstanding
2
Active lenders
Status:Lender:3 of 3 shown
TypeProperties
outstanding
Nfu Mutual Finance
Nfu Mutual Finance Limited
Legal mortgage1 property19/12/2002—
outstanding
Nfu Mutual Finance
Nfu Mutual Finance Limited
Legal mortgage1 property19/12/2002—
outstanding
National Westminster Bank
National Westminster Bank PLC
Legal mortgage1 property24/07/1986—
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (112 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-03-31
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2026-01-02
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-04-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-12-27
gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
gazette · DISS40
2024-09-11
gazette-notice-compulsory
gazette · GAZ1
2024-09-10
change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortened
accounts · AA01
2024-09-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-09-07
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-04-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-04-10
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-04-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-08-01
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-04-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-07-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-04-07