RUTHERFORD FARMING LIMITED

🌳Matureactive
03351752 · ltd · incorporated 1997-04-14
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
—
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Turnover
—
year to May 2025
Net worth
£1.46M
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 01500
Sector: Agriculture, forestry & fishing
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company with a 88-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 88). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Cash flow review and working-capital discipline. Cash down -73% YoY — forensic review of receivables, stock turns, and creditor days. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

2 live charges · 2 lenders · oldest 29.0y

30/100
under pressure

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

  • · Oldest live charge is 29.0 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · Two lenders — manageable, but coordination required.
  • · Cashflow trend is negative — lender view likely cautious.

Data confidence

Overall: medium (79/100)

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
2 charges (2/2 with lender, 2/2 with type)
90
Directors & officers
4 officers (3 active, 4 linked, 2 with DOB)
80
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 3 total, 3 with control declared
90
Director network
1 connected companies via shared directors
48
Filing history
76 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
82/100Exceptional
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
100
Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declared
Positive net assets
Net assets £1,460,722
Net assets shrinking
Down £19,309 YoY
Cash draining
Cash down 73% YoY
Cash YoY
-73%
Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£9k
↓ 73% YoY
Net Worth
£1.5m
↓ 1.3% YoY
Current Assets
£252k
↓ 10% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£296k£592k£888k£1.2m£1.5mMay 2024May 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2025-05-282024-05-28
Total assets£1.69M£1.72M
Current assets£251.7k£280.4k
Cash£9.3k£34.8k
Debtors£99.7k£109.0k
Net assets£1.46M£1.48M

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
2
filings
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
  • • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (25 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-02-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-02-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-02-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2023-02-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  5. 2022-11-11
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
  6. 2022-11-11
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  7. 2022-11-11
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  8. 2022-02-25
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2021-08-10
    📄
    mortgage-satisfy-charge-part
    mortgage · MR04
  10. 2021-04-19
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  11. 2020-02-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  12. 2019-11-14
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  13. 2019-10-08
    📄
    mortgage-charge-part-release-with-charge-number
    mortgage · MR05
  14. 2018-11-01
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  15. 2018-04-19
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
  16. 2018-04-19
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  17. 2014-06-05
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #1
  18. 2014-05-07
    🔒
    Charge registered #2
    Lender: Barclays Bank PLC
  19. 1997-07-04
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland
  20. 1997-04-14
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As RUTHERFORD FARMING LIMITED
  21. 1997-04-14
    ➕
    RUTHERFORD, Jean Gavin appointed
    secretary
  22. 1997-04-14
    ➕
    RUTHERFORD, John Malcolm Chalmers appointed
    director
  23. 1997-04-14
    ➕
    RUTHERFORD, John Chalmers appointed
    director
  24. 1997-04-14
    ➕
    SWIFT INCORPORATIONS LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  25. 1997-04-14
    ➖
    SWIFT INCORPORATIONS LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary

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
  • +Two-director setup: Only two active directors — typical of owner-managed SMEs but limits succession.
  • +Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "RUTHERFORD" — strong identity link between founder and business.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 29 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 88 — succession pressure is live.
  • +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.

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 88 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 29 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 29 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 John Chalmers Rutherford
Individual · British · DOB 09/1963 · age 63
75–100%
75–100%board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control09/11/2022
2 historic (ceased) PSCs
  • Mrs Jean Gavin Rutherfordceased 09/11/2022· 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting
  • Mr John Malcolm Chalmers Rutherfordceased 09/11/2022· 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting

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 · TD postcode area
CompanyEst. valueTurnoverNet worthStaffAgeOppDirector
ANDREW ROBINSON (FARMS) LIMITED→
01074395 · est 1972
———053y8374y
FORD & ETAL FARMS 1994 LIMITED→
02968719 · est 1994
———031y8373y
R.P.B. PRESSEN HILL LTD.→
03312014 · est 1997
——£1.41M—29y8386y
SANDYSTONES LTD→
SC276553 · est 2004
——£1.59M—21y8374y
TWEED FORUM LIMITED→
SC191466 · est 1998 · no financials extracted
————27y8373y
ALEX DALE LTD→
06486668 · est 2008
———218y8270y
ANDREW A PATTERSON & COMPANY LIMITED→
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——£1.68M—19y8272y
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——£718.9k—18y8262y
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———021y8274y
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——£2.36M—15y8269y
CRAILING TOFTS POTATOES LIMITED→
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————71y8282y
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
Incorporated1997-04-14
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC01500 — SIC 01500

Registered office

Halidon House 17d Windmill Way West
Ramparts Business Park
Berwick Upon Tweed
Northumberland
TD15 1TB
England

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-02-28
Last made up to: 2025-05-28
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-04-16
Last: 2026-04-02

Officers (3 active · 1 resigned)

RUTHERFORD, Jean Gavin→
secretary · appointed 1997-04-14
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
RUTHERFORD, John Malcolm Chalmers→
director · ~88y · appointed 1997-04-14
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
RUTHERFORD, John Chalmers→
director · ~63y · appointed 1997-04-14
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
SWIFT INCORPORATIONS LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 1997-04-14 · resigned 1997-04-14
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

2
Total charges
1
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:2 of 2 shown
TypeProperties
part-satisfied
Barclays
Barclays Bank PLC
A registered charge12 properties07/05/2014—
satisfied
Lloyds Banking Group
The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland
Standard security presented for registration in scotland1 property04/07/199705/06/2014
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (76 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-04-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2026-02-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-04-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-02-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-04-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-02-22
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-04-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-02-23
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2022-11-11
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2022-11-11
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2022-11-11
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-04-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-02-25
mortgage-satisfy-charge-part
mortgage · MR04
2021-08-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-04-19