A.E. FRANKLIN LIMITED

🌳Matureactive
00564529 · ltd · incorporated 1956-04-11
Investment thesis
Property vehicle with leveraged stack — refinance / partial-release angle.
Why interesting: Asset-backed; value largely in underlying property; lender engagement likely possible.
Why risky: Multiple lenders to manage; inter-creditor friction and partial-release cost possible.
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Jun 2025
Net worth
£645.7k
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
🔔
Follow this company (free)
Email alerts on filings, charges, director changes, gazette notices. No account needed.

Unsubscribe any time from any email. GDPR-respectful.

🔒Generate AI memo →🔒Outreach pack →🔒Corporate story →📑 Reports →Sign in to watch
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 01500
Sector: Agriculture, forestry & fishing
ALSO REGISTERED FOR
  • 47190Other retail sale in non-specialised stores
  • 47760SIC 47760
  • 68209Other letting and operating of own or leased real estate
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company with a 89-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 67/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 89). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Consolidate lender relationships. 3 distinct lenders creates friction — refinance into single-lender structure for cleaner diligence. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

5 live charges · 3 lenders · oldest 31.8y

35/100
too messy

Refinance path is blocked by complexity. Rethink structure or expect bespoke, expensive terms.

  • · Oldest live charge is 31.8 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · 3 lenders named — inter-creditor friction likely.
  • · Legal-friction score 35/100 — workable, but lender will want more DD.

Data confidence

Overall: high (82/100)

Strong data coverage across all sections. AI outputs should be trusted with minimal caveats.

Company profile
address, 4 SIC codes, incorporation date
100
Financials
2 years of iXBRL accounts extracted (YoY deltas available) + narrative notes parsed
75
Lenders & charges
5 charges (5/5 with lender, 5/5 with type)
90
Directors & officers
5 officers (3 active, 5 linked, 3 with DOB)
82
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
11 connected companies via shared directors
78
Filing history
107 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.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 102
Positive net assets
Net assets £645,703
Net assets shrinking
Down £3,001 YoY
Cash YoY
+263%
Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£17k
↑ 263% YoY
Net Worth
£646k
~ YoY
Current Assets
£18k
↑ 208% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£130k£259k£389k£519k£649kJun 2024Jun 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2025-06-302024-06-30
Total assets£714.2k£733.7k
Current assets£17.9k£5.8k
Cash£16.7k£4.6k
Debtors£387£387
Net assets£645.7k£648.7k

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
1
filing
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
2
filings
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
  • • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (28 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-03-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-03-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-06-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2023-09-02
    📄
    gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
    gazette · DISS40
  5. 2023-08-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  6. 2023-08-30
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  7. 2023-08-29
    📄
    gazette-notice-compulsory
    gazette · GAZ1
  8. 2022-03-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  9. 2021-06-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  10. 2020-02-25
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  11. 2019-03-25
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  12. 2018-02-15
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  13. 2017-03-13
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  14. 2016-03-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  15. 2007-12-01
    ➖
    MITCHELL, Peter Robert Nathaniel resigned
    secretary
  16. 2005-12-12
    ➖
    MITCHELL, Elizabeth resigned
    director
  17. 2001-12-14
    🔒
    Charge registered #5
    Lender: National Westminster Bank PLC
  18. 2001-12-14
    🔒
    Charge registered #4
    Lender: National Westminster Bank PLC
  19. 2001-12-11
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #1
  20. 2001-07-09
    ➕
    MITCHELL, Peter Robert Nathaniel appointed
    director
  21. 2001-07-09
    ➕
    MITCHELL, Peter Robert Nathaniel appointed
    secretary
  22. 2001-06-20
    🔒
    Charge registered #3
    Lender: National Westminster Bank PLC
  23. 1998-11-06
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #2
  24. 1996-04-19
    🔒
    Charge registered #2
    Lender: Allied Irish Banks, P.L.C. and/or Aib Finance Limited
  25. 1994-09-30
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: Allied Irish Banks, P.L.C. as Security Trustee for Itself and Aib Finance Limited
  26. 1986-04-24
    ➕
    MITCHELL, Elizabeth appointed
    director
  27. 1980-08-06
    ➕
    MITCHELL, Robert Evan appointed
    director
  28. 1956-04-11
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As A.E. FRANKLIN LIMITED

Owner dependency

91/100
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.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 46 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 89 — succession pressure is live.
  • +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.

Succession & seller-readiness

96/100
Likely off-market candidate

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

SIGNALS
  • primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 89 years old. Natural succession window is now.
  • secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
  • primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 46 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 70 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 Robert Evan Mitchell
Individual · British · DOB 09/1937 · age 89
75–100%
—75-100% shares07/04/2016

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 →

Similar companies

Active · Agriculture · B postcode area
CompanyEst. valueTurnoverNet worthStaffAgeOppDirector
DAVIES TREE SERVICES LIMITED→
12253723 · est 2019 · no financials extracted
————6y——
EARLSWOOD HUNGRY HORSE LIMITED→
04361240 · est 2002 · no financials extracted
————24y——
ELMHURST TREE CARE LIMITED→
16208810 · est 2025 · no financials extracted
————1y——
ENCOURAGEMINT LTD→
14206011 · est 2022 · no financials extracted
————3y——
FAERIE TALE ALPACAS LTD→
07264432 · est 2010 · no financials extracted
————15y——
FERN ACRE LIMITED→
14717864 · est 2023 · no financials extracted
————3y——
FERTECH LTD→
13032603 · est 2020 · no financials extracted
————5y——
FIELD VIEW DOGS LTD→
17086722 · est 2026 · no financials extracted
———————
FINWOOD ENTERPRISES LIMITED→
04976667 · est 2003 · no financials extracted
————22y——
FOAHM LTD→
13070566 · est 2020 · no financials extracted
————5y——
FOOT PODIATRY SERVICES LTD→
16934724 · est 2025 · no financials extracted
———————
FOREST FARMS LIMITED→
01930786 · est 1985 · no financials extracted
————40y——
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
Incorporated1956-04-11
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC01500 — SIC 01500

Registered office

The Estate Office, Mitchells
Weeford Road
Sutton Coldfield
B75 6NA
England

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-03-31
Last made up to: 2025-06-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-04-07
Last: 2026-03-24

Officers (3 active · 2 resigned)

MITCHELL, Robert Evan→
secretary
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
MITCHELL, Peter Robert Nathaniel→
director · ~58y · appointed 2001-07-09
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
MITCHELL, Robert Evan→
director · ~89y · appointed 1980-08-06
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
MITCHELL, Peter Robert Nathaniel→
secretary · appointed 2001-07-09 · resigned 2007-12-01
Resigned
MITCHELL, Elizabeth→
director · ~67y · appointed 1986-04-24 · resigned 2005-12-12
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

5
Total charges
3
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:5 of 5 shown
TypeProperties
outstanding
National Westminster Bank
National Westminster Bank PLC
Legal charge2 properties14/12/2001—
outstanding
National Westminster Bank
National Westminster Bank PLC
Legal charge2 properties14/12/2001—
outstanding
National Westminster Bank
National Westminster Bank PLC
Legal mortgage2 properties20/06/2001—
satisfied
Allied Irish Banks, P.L.C. and/or Aib Finance
Allied Irish Banks, P.L.C. and/or Aib Finance Limited
Legal mortgage2 properties19/04/199606/11/1998
satisfied
Allied Irish Banks, P.L.C. as Security Trustee for Itself and Aib Finance
Allied Irish Banks, P.L.C. as Security Trustee for Itself and Aib Finance Limited
Legal mortgage1 property30/09/199411/12/2001
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (107 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-04-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2026-03-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-04-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-03-31
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-06-29
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-03-24
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-01-09
gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
gazette · DISS40
2023-09-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-08-30
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2023-08-30
gazette-notice-compulsory
gazette · GAZ1
2023-08-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-01-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-03-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-01-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-06-30