BEST NEST HATCHERIES LIMITED

🌳Matureactive
02647672 · ltd · incorporated 1991-09-20
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 Oct 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 01470
Sector: Agriculture, forestry & fishing
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company with a 76-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 76). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).

Data confidence

Overall: medium (76/100)

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
8 officers (3 active, 8 linked, 3 with DOB)
78
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
97 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£0Oct 2024Oct 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2025-10-312024-10-31
Average employees5400

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
1
filing
  • • 1 accounts
Last 180 days
1
filing
  • • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (30 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-03-25
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-10-01
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  3. 2025-02-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  4. 2024-10-28
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  5. 2024-06-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  6. 2023-08-31
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  7. 2023-06-08
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  8. 2023-04-11
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  9. 2022-06-06
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  10. 2022-02-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  11. 2021-05-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  12. 2020-04-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  13. 2019-03-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  14. 2018-02-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  15. 2017-10-31
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  16. 2017-10-09
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  17. 2012-06-14
    ➕
    WESTBROOKE, Amanda Ann Caroline appointed
    director
  18. 1998-06-01
    ➕
    FORBES, Michael Christopher appointed
    secretary
  19. 1998-02-16
    ➖
    RICHMOND-WATSON, Julian Howard resigned
    secretary
  20. 1991-12-31
    ➖
    RICHMOND-WATSON, Julian Howard resigned
    director
  21. 1991-10-10
    ➕
    SHEPPARD, Richard David Anthony appointed
    director
  22. 1991-10-10
    ➕
    RICHMOND-WATSON, Julian Howard appointed
    secretary
  23. 1991-10-10
    ➕
    RICHMOND-WATSON, Julian Howard appointed
    director
  24. 1991-09-20
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As BEST NEST HATCHERIES LIMITED
  25. 1991-09-20
    ➕
    COMBINED SECRETARIAL SERVICES LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  26. 1991-09-20
    ➖
    COMBINED SECRETARIAL SERVICES LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  27. 1991-09-20
    ➕
    COMBINED NOMINEES LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-director
  28. 1991-09-20
    ➖
    COMBINED NOMINEES LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-director
  29. 1991-09-20
    ➕
    COMBINED SECRETARIAL SERVICES LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-director
  30. 1991-09-20
    ➖
    COMBINED SECRETARIAL SERVICES LIMITED resigned
    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 76 — 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 76 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

1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Richard David Anthony Sheppard
Individual · British · DOB 02/1950 · age 76
75–100%
75–100%board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control06/04/2016

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

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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
Typeltd
Incorporated1991-09-20
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC01470 — SIC 01470

Registered office

C/O Gravita Oxford Llp First Floor, Park Central
40/41 Park End Street
Oxford
OX1 1JD
United Kingdom

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-07-31
Last made up to: 2025-10-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-10-04
Last: 2025-09-20

Officers (3 active · 5 resigned)

FORBES, Michael Christopher→
secretary · appointed 1998-06-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
SHEPPARD, Richard David Anthony→
director · ~76y · appointed 1991-10-10
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
WESTBROOKE, Amanda Ann Caroline→
director · ~44y · appointed 2012-06-14
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
RICHMOND-WATSON, Julian Howard→
secretary · appointed 1991-10-10 · resigned 1998-02-16
Resigned
COMBINED SECRETARIAL SERVICES LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 1991-09-20 · resigned 1991-09-20
Resigned
RICHMOND-WATSON, Julian Howard→
director · ~79y · appointed 1991-10-10 · resigned 1991-12-31
Resigned
COMBINED NOMINEES LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 1991-09-20 · resigned 1991-09-20
Resigned
COMBINED SECRETARIAL SERVICES LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 1991-09-20 · resigned 1991-09-20
Resigned

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

Recent filings (97 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2026-03-25
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-10-02
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2025-10-01
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-02-28
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2024-10-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-09-24
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-06-17
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-09-20
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2023-08-31
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2023-06-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-04-11
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-09-21
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2022-06-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-02-21
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-09-27