DAVID BUTLER (AGRICULTURAL CONTRACTING) LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
01333625 · ltd · incorporated 1977-10-12
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 Sept 2024
Net worth
£460.2k
book net assets
Opportunity
78/100
Strong
🔔
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: Support activities for crop production
Sector: Agriculture, forestry & fishing
Investor take
Pursue
Asset-holding vehicle with a 60-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 78/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 60). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Broaden director team. Sole director creates succession risk and reduces buyer comfort. Appoint a second director or strong #2. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).

Data confidence

Overall: medium (69/100)

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
1 year of iXBRL accounts extracted (no YoY comparison) + narrative notes parsed
50
Lenders & charges
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
6 officers (2 active, 6 linked, 4 with DOB)
83
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
100 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
80
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
77
Few red flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declared
Positive net assets
Net assets £460,241

Key financials

1 year extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£68k
Net Worth
£460k
Current Assets
£88k
Current Liabilities
—

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2024-09-30
Total assets£460.9k
Current assets£87.8k
Cash£67.6k
Debtors£20.2k
Net assets£460.2k

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
6
filings
  • • 3 officers
  • • 1 accounts
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (24 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-03-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  2. 2026-01-26
    📄
    appoint-person-secretary-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP03
  3. 2026-01-26
    📄
    termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM02
  4. 2026-01-26
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  5. 2026-01-26
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  6. 2025-11-28
    ➕
    BUTLER, Christopher James appointed
    secretary
  7. 2025-11-28
    ➖
    BUTLER, Judith Elizabeth resigned
    secretary
  8. 2025-11-28
    ➖
    BUTLER, Judith Elizabeth resigned
    director
  9. 2025-06-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2024-06-25
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  11. 2023-06-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  12. 2022-04-20
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  13. 2021-06-16
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  14. 2020-12-18
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  15. 2020-12-18
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  16. 2020-12-18
    📄
    change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH03
  17. 2020-06-10
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  18. 2019-06-14
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  19. 2018-05-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  20. 1997-06-19
    ➖
    BUTLER, Andrew David resigned
    director
  21. 1993-11-30
    ➕
    BUTLER, Christopher James appointed
    director
  22. 1993-11-30
    ➕
    BUTLER, Andrew David appointed
    director
  23. 1993-02-10
    ➖
    BUTLER, David Arnold resigned
    director
  24. 1977-10-12
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As DAVID BUTLER (AGRICULTURAL CONTRACTING) LIMITED

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 "BUTLER" — strong identity link between founder and business.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 33 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 60 — approaching natural succession window.

Succession & seller-readiness

75/100
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 60. 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 33 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • supportingClean filings + long tenure: Disciplined long-tenure operator — classic lifestyle-business pattern that often sells quietly.

Red flags

1 med ·
2 director resignations in last 12 months
medium

Multiple recent departures can indicate governance disagreement, succession event, or preparation for sale/stress.

Evidence: BUTLER, Judith Elizabeth resigned 2025-11-28; BUTLER, Judith Elizabeth resigned 2025-11-28

Shareholders & ownership

1 active beneficial owner
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Christopher James Butler
Individual · British · DOB 12/1966 · age 60
——sig. influencesignificant influence01/12/2016
1 historic (ceased) PSC
  • Mrs Judith Elizabeth Butlerceased 28/11/2025· significant influence

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

Similar companies

Active · Agriculture · CB postcode area
CompanyEst. valueTurnoverNet worthStaffAgeOppDirector
COVERANDCARRY LIMITED→
09953145 · est 2016 · no financials extracted
————10y——
CRANFORD BLOODSTOCK LTD→
06003532 · est 2006 · no financials extracted
————19y——
CRF RACING SERVICES LTD→
13006888 · est 2020 · no financials extracted
————5y——
CROPS FOR THE FUTURE (UK) CIC→
12501585 · est 2020 · no financials extracted
————6y——
CROPSTAR LIMITED→
06266986 · est 2007 · no financials extracted
————18y——
D C PRODUCE LIMITED→
03387557 · est 1997 · no financials extracted
————28y——
DABAN BLOODSTOCK LIMITED→
14777655 · est 2023 · no financials extracted
————3y——
DARLOW CONTRACT SERVICES LTD→
03734033 · est 1999 · no financials extracted
————27y——
DAVID BRITNELL EVENTING LTD→
15583494 · est 2024 · no financials extracted
————2y——
DAVID TURNER & CO LIMITED→
07280466 · est 2010 · no financials extracted
————15y——
DB CONTRACTING (CAMBS) LIMITED→
12529105 · est 2020 · no financials extracted
————6y——
DB EQUINE LIMITED→
16966551 · est 2026 · no financials extracted
———————
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
Typeltd
Incorporated1977-10-12
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC01610 — Support activities for crop production

Registered office

Bush Farm
Stow-Cum-Quy
Cambridge
CB25 9AJ

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-06-30
Last made up to: 2025-09-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-12-17
Last: 2025-12-03

Officers (2 active · 4 resigned)

BUTLER, Christopher James→
secretary · appointed 2025-11-28
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
BUTLER, Christopher James→
director · ~60y · appointed 1993-11-30
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
BUTLER, Judith Elizabeth→
secretary · resigned 2025-11-28
Resigned
BUTLER, Andrew David→
director · ~62y · appointed 1993-11-30 · resigned 1997-06-19
Resigned
BUTLER, David Arnold→
director · ~87y · resigned 1993-02-10
Resigned
BUTLER, Judith Elizabeth→
director · ~89y · resigned 2025-11-28
Resigned

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

Recent filings (100 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2026-03-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-01-27
appoint-person-secretary-company-with-name-date
officers · AP03
2026-01-26
termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM02
2026-01-26
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2026-01-26
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2026-01-26
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-06-30
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-12-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-06-25
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-02-01
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-06-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-12-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-04-20
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-01-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-06-16