CHARLBURY FARMS (HINTON) LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
00690838 · ltd · incorporated 1961-04-26
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 Apr 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
75/100
Strong
🔔
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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 83-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 75/100 (strong), bankability 57/100. Strong seller-intent signal (68/100, director aged 83). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Consolidate lender relationships. 4 distinct lenders creates friction — refinance into single-lender structure for cleaner diligence. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

5 live charges · 4 lenders · oldest 51.5y

15/100
under pressure

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

  • · Oldest live charge is 51.5 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · 4 lenders named — inter-creditor friction likely.
  • · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.

Data confidence

Overall: medium (77/100)

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
5 charges (5/5 with lender, 5/5 with type)
90
Directors & officers
5 officers (2 active, 5 linked, 3 with DOB)
82
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
96 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
75/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.

Business quality
60
Adequate — check latest filings for context.
Acquirability
70
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
82
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£0£0£0£0£0Apr 2024Apr 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2025-04-262024-04-26
Average employees4400

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

🔒Filing-note intelligence

2 signals 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
2
filings
  • • 1 accounts
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (26 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-01-07
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-01-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-01-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2023-01-25
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  5. 2022-01-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  6. 2021-01-25
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  7. 2020-01-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2019-01-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2018-01-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2018-01-05
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  11. 2017-01-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  12. 2016-03-30
    📄
    mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
    mortgage · MR01
  13. 2016-03-30
    🔒
    Charge registered #5
    Lender: Lloyds Bank PLC
  14. 2016-01-22
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  15. 2016-01-15
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  16. 2015-06-16
    📄
    capital-name-of-class-of-shares
    capital · SH08
  17. 2009-06-19
    🔒
    Charge registered #4
    Lender: Lloyds Tsb Bank PLC
  18. 2009-06-19
    🔒
    Charge registered #3
    Lender: Lloyds Tsb Bank PLC
  19. 2000-06-20
    ➖
    COOKE, Julian Peter resigned
    director
  20. 2000-04-01
    ➕
    COOKE, Julian Peter appointed
    secretary
  21. 2000-04-01
    ➖
    COOKE, Richard David resigned
    secretary
  22. 2000-04-01
    ➕
    COOKE, Julian Peter appointed
    director
  23. 2000-04-01
    ➖
    COOKE, Richard David resigned
    director
  24. 1985-11-06
    🔒
    Charge registered #2
    Lender: The Agricultural Mortgage Corporation PLC
  25. 1974-11-21
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: Lloyds Bank LTD
  26. 1961-04-26
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As CHARLBURY FARMS (HINTON) LIMITED

Owner dependency

90/100
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.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 83 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

85/100
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 83 years old. Natural succession window is now.
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 65 years old and no new directors in the last 3 years — succession not yet being planned internally.

Red flags

1 low
5 live charges
low

Heavily leveraged with multiple live security positions — understand the capital structure before proceeding.

Shareholders & ownership

2 active beneficial owners
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Peter George Cooke
Individual · British · DOB 02/1943 · age 83
50–75%
50–75%50-75% shares · 50-75% voting06/04/2016
Mr Julian Peter Cooke
Individual · British · DOB 04/1967 · age 59
25–50%
25–50%25-50% shares · 25-50% voting06/04/2016

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

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ARROW FENCING LTD→
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————2y——
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10772519 · est 2017 · no financials extracted
————8y——
BAKER'S AGRICULTURAL CONTRACTING LIMITED→
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————21y——
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01309918 · est 1977 · no financials extracted
————48y——
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17129470 · est 2026 · no financials extracted
———————
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00554429 · est 1955 · no financials extracted
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CHATLEY FARM LTD→
07952134 · est 2012 · no financials extracted
————14y——
CHILDS FARM ORCHARD LIMITED→
14377864 · est 2022 · no financials extracted
————3y——
CHLOE'S COBS LTD→
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CLOVERLAIT LIMITED→
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CLOVIS SUPPLIES LIMITED→
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———————
Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions

9 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
Incorporated1961-04-26
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC01110 — Growing of cereals (except rice), leguminous crops and oil seeds

Registered office

Church Farm
Little Hinton
Swindon
Wiltshire
SN4 0DW

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-01-26
Last made up to: 2025-04-26
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-01-19
Last: 2026-01-05

Officers (2 active · 3 resigned)

COOKE, Julian Peter→
secretary · appointed 2000-04-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
COOKE, Peter George→
director · ~83y
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
COOKE, Richard David→
secretary · resigned 2000-04-01
Resigned
COOKE, Julian Peter→
director · ~59y · appointed 2000-04-01 · resigned 2000-06-20
Resigned
COOKE, Richard David→
director · ~81y · resigned 2000-04-01
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

5
Total charges
5
Outstanding
2
Active lenders
Status:Lender:5 of 5 shown
TypeProperties
outstanding
Lloyds Banking Group
Lloyds Bank PLC
A registered charge1 property30/03/2016—
outstanding
Lloyds Banking Group
Lloyds Tsb Bank PLC
Mortgage2 properties19/06/2009—
outstanding
Lloyds Banking Group
Lloyds Tsb Bank PLC
Mortgage1 property19/06/2009—
outstanding
The Agricultural Mortgage Corporation
The Agricultural Mortgage Corporation PLC
Collateral charge1 property06/11/1985—
outstanding
Lloyds Banking Group
Lloyds Bank LTD
Legal mortgage1 property21/11/1974—
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (96 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2026-01-07
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-01-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-01-21
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-01-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-01-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-01-19
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-01-25
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-01-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-01-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-01-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-01-25
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-01-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-01-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-01-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-01-31