M.E. FURNISS & SONS (FARMS)

💤Zombieactive
00956173 · private-unlimited · incorporated 1969-06-13
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
—
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Turnover
—
not disclosed
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
79/100
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
ALSO REGISTERED FOR
  • 01460SIC 01460
Investor take
Pursue
Strong opportunity: active trading company with strong profile and acceptable with review structure.

Opportunity 79/100 (strong), bankability 67/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 58). 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 53.3y

15/100
under pressure

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

  • · Oldest live charge is 53.3 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · 4 lenders named — inter-creditor friction likely.
  • · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.

Data confidence

Overall: medium (57/100)

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

Company profile
address, 2 SIC codes, incorporation date
100
Financials
No iXBRL financials extracted
0
Lenders & charges
5 charges (5/5 with lender, 5/5 with type)
90
Directors & officers
6 officers (1 active, 6 linked, 5 with DOB)
87
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
1 connected companies via shared directors
48
Filing history
63 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
79/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

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

Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
80
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
77
Few red flags.
Signal strength
100
Good data coverage for analysis.

Recent activity

Last 30 days
1
filing
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 90 days
1
filing
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
2
filings
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
  • • 1 officers
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (30 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-02-25
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  2. 2026-01-29
    ➖
    FURNISS, Peter John resigned
    director
  3. 2022-06-14
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  4. 2021-11-17
    📄
    mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
    mortgage · MR04
  5. 2021-11-17
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #5
  6. 2021-02-08
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  7. 2021-02-08
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  8. 2016-06-14
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  9. 2015-08-10
    📄
    mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
    mortgage · MR01
  10. 2015-08-04
    🔒
    Charge registered #5
    Lender: Pamela Mary Carvell
  11. 2015-06-23
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  12. 2014-11-19
    📄
    mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
    mortgage · MR04
  13. 2014-11-19
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #2
  14. 2014-06-30
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  15. 2014-04-10
    📄
    mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
    mortgage · MR04
  16. 2014-04-10
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #1
  17. 2014-03-12
    📄
    mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number
    mortgage · MR01
  18. 2014-03-03
    🔒
    Charge registered #4
    Lender: Lloyds Bank PLC
  19. 2013-09-25
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address
    address · AD01
  20. 2013-06-24
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  21. 2013-04-05
    📄
    termination-secretary-company-with-name
    officers · TM02
  22. 2013-03-23
    ➖
    FURNISS, Barbara May resigned
    secretary
  23. 2013-03-23
    ➖
    FURNISS, Barbara May resigned
    director
  24. 2011-09-23
    🔒
    Charge registered #3
    Lender: Lloyds Tsb Bank PLC (The Bank)
  25. 2005-08-17
    ➖
    FURNISS, Graham Martin resigned
    director
  26. 2004-11-05
    ➕
    FURNISS, Neil Graham appointed
    director
  27. 2001-05-26
    ➖
    FURNISS, Martin Eric resigned
    director
  28. 1984-10-15
    🔒
    Charge registered #2
    Lender: Lloyds Bank PLC
  29. 1973-04-06
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: The Agricultural Mortgage Corporation LTD
  30. 1969-06-13
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As M.E. FURNISS & SONS (FARMS)

Owner dependency

100/100
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 name in company name: Company name contains director surname "FURNISS" — strong identity link between founder and business.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 22 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 22 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 57 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

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 Neil Graham Furniss
Individual · British · DOB 09/1968 · age 58
25–50%
25–50%board control25-50% shares · 25-50% voting · board control06/04/2016
1 historic (ceased) PSC
  • Mr Peter John Furnissceased 29/03/2019· 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting · board control

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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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.

See pricing →

Company details

Statusactive
Typeprivate-unlimited
Incorporated1969-06-13
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC01110 — Growing of cereals (except rice), leguminous crops and oil seeds

Registered office

15 Bridge Road
Wellington
Telford
Shropshire
TF1 1EB

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: —
Last made up to: —
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-06-27
Last: 2026-06-13

Officers (1 active · 5 resigned)

FURNISS, Neil Graham→
director · ~58y · appointed 2004-11-05
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
FURNISS, Barbara May→
secretary · resigned 2013-03-23
Resigned
FURNISS, Barbara May→
director · ~107y · resigned 2013-03-23
Resigned
FURNISS, Graham Martin→
director · ~84y · resigned 2005-08-17
Resigned
FURNISS, Martin Eric→
director · ~113y · resigned 2001-05-26
Resigned
FURNISS, Peter John→
director · ~80y · resigned 2026-01-29
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

5
Total charges
2
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:5 of 5 shown
TypeProperties
satisfied
Pamela Mary Carvell
A registered charge1 property04/08/201517/11/2021
outstanding
Lloyds Banking Group
Lloyds Bank PLC
A registered charge1 property03/03/2014—
outstanding
Lloyds Banking Group
Lloyds Tsb Bank PLC (The Bank)
Mortgage1 property23/09/2011—
satisfied
Lloyds Banking Group
Lloyds Bank PLC
Legal charge1 property15/10/198419/11/2014
satisfied
The Agricultural Mortgage Corporation
The Agricultural Mortgage Corporation LTD
Charge1 property06/04/197310/04/2014
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (63 total)

confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-06-25
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2026-02-25
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-06-19
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-06-18
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-06-15
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-06-15
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2022-06-14
mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
mortgage · MR04
2021-11-17
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-06-16
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2021-02-08
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2021-02-08
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-06-17
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-06-18
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2018-06-18
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2017-06-13