J.STOBART & SONS LIMITED

🌳Matureactive
00783738 · ltd · incorporated 1963-12-06
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
—
not disclosed
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
78/100
Strong
🔔
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What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 10910
Sector: Manufacturing
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company with a 90-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 78/100 (strong), bankability 67/100. Strong seller-intent signal (73/100, director aged 90). 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

7 live charges · 3 lenders · oldest 57.6y

35/100
too messy

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

  • · Oldest live charge is 57.6 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · 3 lenders named — inter-creditor friction likely.
  • · Legal-friction score 25/100 — workable, but lender will want more DD.

Data confidence

Overall: medium (55/100)

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
No iXBRL financials extracted
0
Lenders & charges
7 charges (7/7 with lender, 7/7 with type)
90
Directors & officers
7 officers (5 active, 7 linked, 5 with DOB)
84
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
99 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
78/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

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

Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
75
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
77
Few red flags.
Signal strength
100
Good data coverage for analysis.

Recent activity

Last 30 days
0
filings
Last 90 days
0
filings
Last 180 days
0
filings
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (32 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-09-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-medium
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-10-09
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-medium
    accounts · AA
  3. 2023-10-04
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2022-09-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-full
    accounts · AA
  5. 2021-10-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-full
    accounts · AA
  6. 2020-12-15
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-full
    accounts · AA
  7. 2019-10-01
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2018-10-02
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2018-08-07
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  10. 2018-08-07
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  11. 2017-09-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-full
    accounts · AA
  12. 2016-10-02
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-medium
    accounts · AA
  13. 2015-10-01
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-medium
    accounts · AA
  14. 2015-08-19
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  15. 2014-09-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-medium
    accounts · AA
  16. 2011-09-27
    🔒
    Charge registered #7
    Lender: Barclays Bank PLC
  17. 2011-07-22
    ➕
    STOBART, Celia Margaret appointed
    secretary
  18. 2010-11-12
    ➖
    STOBART, Margaret resigned
    secretary
  19. 2010-11-12
    ➖
    STOBART, Margaret resigned
    director
  20. 1999-07-23
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #6
  21. 1999-07-23
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #1
  22. 1999-07-23
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #5
  23. 1999-07-23
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #4
  24. 1999-07-23
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #3
  25. 1999-07-23
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #2
  26. 1975-03-31
    🔒
    Charge registered #6
    Lender: Council for Small Industries in Rural Areas
  27. 1975-03-31
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: Council for Small Industries in Rural Areas
  28. 1971-04-15
    🔒
    Charge registered #5
    Lender: Council for Small Industries in Rural Areas
  29. 1971-04-15
    🔒
    Charge registered #4
    Lender: Council for Small Industries in Rural Areas
  30. 1969-04-29
    🔒
    Charge registered #3
    Lender: Council for Small Industries in Rural Areas
  31. 1968-11-26
    🔒
    Charge registered #2
    Lender: Martins Bank LTD
  32. 1963-12-06
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As J.STOBART & SONS LIMITED

Owner dependency

78/100
High — earn-out structure required

Material founder dependency. Consider a 2-3 year earn-out and build in a handover plan before completion.

FACTORS
  • -4 active directors: Broader management team in place — suggests transferable governance.
  • +Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "STOBART" — strong identity link between founder and business.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 90 — succession pressure is live.
  • +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.

Succession & seller-readiness

70/100
Strong succession signal

Multiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.

SIGNALS
  • primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 90 years old. Natural succession window is now.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 63 years old and no new directors in the last 3 years — succession not yet being planned internally.

Red flags

1 med ·
Charge satisfaction-then-recreation pattern
medium

Multiple instances where a charge was satisfied and a new charge created within 6 months. Suggests active refinancing cycle.

Shareholders & ownership

1 active beneficial owner
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Ronald John Stobart
Individual · British · DOB 04/1936 · age 90
50–75%
50–75%board controlsig. influence50-75% shares · 50-75% voting · board control · significant influence22/07/2016

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

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————7y——
Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions

7 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.

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Company details

Statusactive
Typeltd
Incorporated1963-12-06
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC10910 — SIC 10910

Registered office

Newlands Mill
Hesket New Market
Wigton
Cumbria
CA7 8HP

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last made up to: 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-08-05
Last: 2025-07-22

Officers (5 active · 2 resigned)

STOBART, Celia Margaret→
secretary · appointed 2011-07-22
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
RIGG, Linda Elizabeth→
director · ~66y
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
STOBART, Peter John→
director · ~61y
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
STOBART, Richard Andrew→
director · ~64y
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
STOBART, Ronald John→
director · ~90y
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
STOBART, Margaret→
secretary · resigned 2010-11-12
Resigned
STOBART, Margaret→
director · ~90y · resigned 2010-11-12
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

7
Total charges
1
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:7 of 7 shown
TypeProperties
outstanding
Barclays
Barclays Bank PLC
Deed of charge over credit balances1 property27/09/2011—
satisfied
Council for Small Industries in Rural Areas
Charge1 property31/03/197523/07/1999
satisfied
Council for Small Industries in Rural Areas
Debenture1 property31/03/197523/07/1999
satisfied
Council for Small Industries in Rural Areas
Further charge1 property15/04/197123/07/1999
satisfied
Council for Small Industries in Rural Areas
Debenture1 property15/04/197123/07/1999
satisfied
Council for Small Industries in Rural Areas
Legal charge1 property29/04/196923/07/1999
satisfied
Martins Bank
Martins Bank LTD
Debenture1 property26/11/196823/07/1999
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (99 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-medium
accounts · AA
2025-09-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-08-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-medium
accounts · AA
2024-10-09
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-07-25
accounts-with-accounts-type-full
accounts · AA
2023-10-04
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-07-28
accounts-with-accounts-type-full
accounts · AA
2022-09-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-08-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-full
accounts · AA
2021-10-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-07-26
accounts-with-accounts-type-full
accounts · AA
2020-12-15
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-08-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-full
accounts · AA
2019-10-01
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-07-25
accounts-with-accounts-type-full
accounts · AA
2018-10-02