HIGHAM LANE FARMS LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
03263241 · ltd · incorporated 1996-10-14
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 Oct 2024
Net worth
£-10.7k
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: Growing of cereals (except rice), leguminous crops and oil seeds
Sector: Agriculture, forestry & fishing
Investor take
Pass (distressed without resilience)
Distressed active trading company — structural issues outweigh the discount.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 87). 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 (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
6 officers (1 active, 6 linked, 3 with DOB)
80
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
74 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.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 105 (micro)
Negative net assets
Liabilities exceed assets by £10,734

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
-£11k
↓ 1.6% YoY
Current Assets
£5k
↓ 61% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
-£11k-£6k-£1k£3k£8k£13kOct 2023Oct 2024

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 105 (micro)
Metric2024-10-312023-10-31
Total assets£-9.9k£-9.7k
Current assets£5.0k£12.8k
Net assets£-10.7k£-10.6k

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
0
filings
Last 180 days
0
filings
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (27 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-10-16
    📄
    second-filing-of-confirmation-statement-with-made-up-date
    confirmation-statement · RP04CS01
  2. 2025-07-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-07-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  4. 2024-05-22
    📄
    termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM02
  5. 2024-01-26
    ➖
    CALCOTT, Elizabeth resigned
    secretary
  6. 2023-07-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  7. 2022-07-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  8. 2021-07-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  9. 2021-07-26
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  10. 2020-07-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  11. 2019-07-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  12. 2018-07-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  13. 2017-12-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  14. 2016-07-08
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  15. 2015-10-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  16. 2015-10-14
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  17. 2005-07-11
    ➕
    CALCOTT, Eric Myles appointed
    director
  18. 2005-07-11
    ➖
    TILLSON, Charles David resigned
    director
  19. 2004-02-02
    ➕
    TILLSON, Charles David appointed
    director
  20. 2002-05-09
    ➖
    CALCOTT, Eric Myles resigned
    director
  21. 1996-10-24
    ➕
    CALCOTT, Elizabeth appointed
    secretary
  22. 1996-10-24
    ➖
    ALPHA SECRETARIAL LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  23. 1996-10-24
    ➕
    CALCOTT, Eric Myles appointed
    director
  24. 1996-10-24
    ➖
    ALPHA DIRECT LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-director
  25. 1996-10-14
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As HIGHAM LANE FARMS LIMITED
  26. 1996-10-14
    ➕
    ALPHA SECRETARIAL LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  27. 1996-10-14
    ➕
    ALPHA DIRECT LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-director

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.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 21 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 87 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

100/100
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 87 years old. Natural succession window is now.
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
  • primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 21 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 30 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 Eric Myles Calcott
Individual · British · DOB 02/1939 · age 87
75–100%
—75-100% shares14/10/2016

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

8 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
Incorporated1996-10-14
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC01110 — Growing of cereals (except rice), leguminous crops and oil seeds

Registered office

The Grange Wigginton Fields
Wigginton
Tamworth
Staffordshire
B79 9LH
United Kingdom

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-10-31
Last made up to: 2024-10-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-10-28
Last: 2025-10-14

Officers (1 active · 5 resigned)

CALCOTT, Eric Myles→
director · ~87y · appointed 2005-07-11
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
CALCOTT, Elizabeth→
secretary · appointed 1996-10-24 · resigned 2024-01-26
Resigned
ALPHA SECRETARIAL LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 1996-10-14 · resigned 1996-10-24
Resigned
CALCOTT, Eric Myles→
director · ~87y · appointed 1996-10-24 · resigned 2002-05-09
Resigned
TILLSON, Charles David→
director · ~78y · appointed 2004-02-02 · resigned 2005-07-11
Resigned
ALPHA DIRECT LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 1996-10-14 · resigned 1996-10-24
Resigned

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

Recent filings (74 total)

second-filing-of-confirmation-statement-with-made-up-date
confirmation-statement · RP04CS01
2025-10-16
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-10-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-07-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-10-22
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-07-31
termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM02
2024-05-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-10-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-07-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-10-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-07-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-10-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-07-30
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2021-07-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-10-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-07-23