FEDERATED FARMERS LIMITED

🌳Matureactive
02599188 · ltd · incorporated 1991-04-08
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
—
year to Sept 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
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: Support activities for crop production
Sector: Agriculture, forestry & fishing
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company with a 78-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 78). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).

Data confidence

Overall: medium (78/100)

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
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
7 officers (3 active, 7 linked, 3 with DOB)
79
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
3 connected companies via shared directors
54
Filing history
86 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
80/100Exceptional
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
90
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£0Sept 2024Sept 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2025-09-302024-09-30
Average employees00

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
2
filings
  • • 1 accounts
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
2
filings
  • • 1 accounts
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (28 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-04-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-10-28
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
  3. 2025-10-28
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  4. 2025-02-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  5. 2024-05-07
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  6. 2023-02-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  7. 2022-05-10
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  8. 2021-06-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  9. 2020-05-07
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  10. 2020-04-28
    ➕
    FIRTH, Martin appointed
    secretary
  11. 2020-04-28
    ➖
    SHEPPARD, Annette Sandra resigned
    secretary
  12. 2020-04-28
    📄
    appoint-person-secretary-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP03
  13. 2020-04-28
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  14. 2020-04-28
    📄
    termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM02
  15. 2019-06-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  16. 2018-09-26
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  17. 2018-09-26
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  18. 2018-09-18
    ➕
    FIRTH, Martin James appointed
    director
  19. 2018-09-18
    ➖
    EAST, John Gerald resigned
    director
  20. 2018-06-01
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  21. 1991-12-31
    ➕
    EAST, John Gerald appointed
    director
  22. 1991-04-18
    ➕
    SHEPPARD, Michael Lindsay appointed
    director
  23. 1991-04-18
    ➕
    SHEPPARD, Annette Sandra appointed
    secretary
  24. 1991-04-18
    ➖
    MBC SECRETARIES LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  25. 1991-04-18
    ➖
    MBC NOMINEES LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-director
  26. 1991-04-08
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As FEDERATED FARMERS LIMITED
  27. 1991-04-08
    ➕
    MBC SECRETARIES LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  28. 1991-04-08
    ➕
    MBC NOMINEES LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-director

Owner dependency

83/100
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 35 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 78 — succession pressure is live.

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 78 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 35 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 35 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

2 active beneficial owners
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mrs Annette Sandra Sheppard
Individual · British · DOB 09/1948 · age 78
25–50%
25–50%25-50% shares · 25-50% voting11/04/2023
Mr Michael Lindsay Sheppard
Individual · British · DOB 02/1948 · age 78
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.

🔒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 · CB postcode area
CompanyEst. valueTurnoverNet worthStaffAgeOppDirector
DAVID BRITNELL EVENTING LTD→
15583494 · est 2024 · no financials extracted
————2y——
DB CONTRACTING (CAMBS) LIMITED→
12529105 · est 2020 · no financials extracted
————6y——
DRA FARMING LIMITED→
11817054 · est 2019 · no financials extracted
————7y——
DRAKELEY STABLES LIMITED→
10930521 · est 2017 · no financials extracted
————8y——
EXTRA POTASH LTD→
13564588 · est 2021 · no financials extracted
————4y——
F.C. BUTLER & SONS LIMITED→
00678679 · est 1960 · no financials extracted
————65y——
FAIRLAWNS RACING LIMITED→
11586698 · est 2018 · no financials extracted
————7y——
FARCET FEN LIMITED→
10489942 · est 2016 · no financials extracted
————9y——
FARM SUPPLY COMPANY (THIRSK) LIMITED→
00920474 · est 1967 · no financials extracted
————58y——
FENDICKS FISHERY LTD→
13862567 · est 2022 · no financials extracted
————4y——
FENLAND ORGANICS LIMITED→
05927293 · est 2006 · no financials extracted
————19y——
FENLAX UK LIMITED→
08379883 · est 2013 · no financials extracted
————13y——
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
Incorporated1991-04-08
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC01610 — Support activities for crop production

Registered office

C/O Tayabali Tomlin
5 High Green
Great Shelford
Cambridge
CB2 5EG

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-06-30
Last made up to: 2025-09-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-04-22
Last: 2026-04-08

Officers (3 active · 4 resigned)

FIRTH, Martin→
secretary · appointed 2020-04-28
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
FIRTH, Martin James→
director · ~51y · appointed 2018-09-18
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
SHEPPARD, Michael Lindsay→
director · ~78y · appointed 1991-04-18
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
SHEPPARD, Annette Sandra→
secretary · appointed 1991-04-18 · resigned 2020-04-28
Resigned
MBC SECRETARIES LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 1991-04-08 · resigned 1991-04-18
Resigned
EAST, John Gerald→
director · ~71y · appointed 1991-12-31 · resigned 2018-09-18
Resigned
MBC NOMINEES LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 1991-04-08 · resigned 1991-04-18
Resigned

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

Recent filings (86 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2026-04-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-04-30
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2025-10-28
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2025-10-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-04-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-02-27
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-05-07
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-04-11
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-04-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-02-28
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-05-10
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-04-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-06-24
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-04-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-05-07