HIGHFIELD FARMING LIMITED
🌳Matureactive
03525485 · ltd · incorporated 1998-03-11
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 Mar 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
75/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 01450
Sector: Agriculture, forestry & fishing
ALSO REGISTERED FOR
- 01500SIC 01500
Investor take
PursueStrong opportunity: active trading company with strong profile and bankable structure.
Opportunity 75/100 (strong), bankability 80/100. High owner-dependency — earn-out structure likely required for clean transition. Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: strategic trade sale (63/100).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
1 live charge · oldest 2.2y
50/100
clean up first
Refinance viable after a tidy-up — address the highlighted items first.
- · Newest facility, 2.2 years old — likely still in initial term.
- · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
- · Legal-friction score 15/100 — clean.
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, 2 SIC codes, incorporation date
100
Financials
2 years of iXBRL accounts extracted (YoY deltas available) + narrative notes parsed
75
Lenders & charges
1 charges (1/1 with lender, 1/1 with type)
90
Directors & officers
6 officers (3 active, 6 linked, 4 with DOB)
83
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
1 connected companies via shared directors
48
Filing history
83 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
75/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
55
Some acquirability indicators.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
100
Good data coverage for analysis.
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2025-03-31 | 2024-03-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Average employees | 0 | 100 |
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
- 2026-03-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-12-20📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-03-20📄mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-datemortgage · MR01
- 2024-03-12🔒Charge registered #1Lender: Bank of Scotland PLC
- 2023-11-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-09-13📄change-account-reference-date-company-current-extendedaccounts · AA01
- 2022-08-17📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2022-08-17📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2022-08-17📄change-person-secretary-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH03
- 2022-08-17📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2022-08-16📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2022-06-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-11-26📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2021-11-26📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2021-06-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2020-06-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2019-06-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2018-06-21📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2011-10-24➕NICOLSON, Johanna appointedsecretary
- 2011-10-24➕NICOLSON, Bryden Robert appointeddirector
- 2011-10-24➕NICOLSON, Johanna appointeddirector
- 2011-10-24➖HIGHFIELD, Edward resignedsecretary
- 2011-10-24➖HIGHFIELD, Edward resigneddirector
- 2011-10-24➖HIGHFIELD, Paula resigneddirector
- 1998-03-11🏢Company incorporatedAs HIGHFIELD FARMING LIMITED
- 1998-03-11➕HIGHFIELD, Edward appointedsecretary
- 1998-03-11➕HIGHFIELD, Edward appointeddirector
- 1998-03-11➕HIGHFIELD, Paula appointeddirector
Owner dependency
66/100
High — earn-out structure requiredMaterial founder dependency. Consider a 2-3 year earn-out and build in a handover plan before completion.
FACTORS
- +Two-director setup: Only two active directors — typical of owner-managed SMEs but limits succession.
- +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.
Succession & seller-readiness
59/100
Strong succession signalMultiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.
SIGNALS
- secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
- secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 15 years.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 28 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
cleanNo 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%| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Bryden Robert Nicolson Individual · British · DOB 07/1972 · age 54 | 75–100% | 75–100% | board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control | 06/04/2016 |
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 · TD postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JSW ACCESS & TREE SERVICES LIMITED→ 12223460 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| L.C. SMALES & SON LIMITED→ 06788163 · est 2009 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 17y | — | — |
| LINDISFARNE LUING LIMITED→ 07449519 · est 2010 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 15y | — | — |
| LOWICK HALL ESTATES LIMITED(THE)→ 00368118 · est 1941 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 84y | — | — |
| MINDRUM FARMING COMPANY LIMITED→ 01021807 · est 1971 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 54y | — | — |
| PENMAR FARMING LIMITED→ 03053098 · est 1995 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 30y | — | — |
| REDPATH FISHERIES LTD→ 11712649 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| RESTON & BERWICK FARMING COMPANY LIMITED→ 00060938 · est 1899 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 127y | — | — |
| ROBSON URWIN & CO. LIMITED→ 01106530 · est 1973 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 53y | — | — |
| RUTHERFORD FARMING LIMITED→ 03351752 · est 1997 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 29y | — | — |
| SHIDLAW FARMING LIMITED→ 08157575 · est 2012 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 13y | — | — |
| SIMON AINSCOUGH FARMS LIMITED→ 03497652 · est 1998 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 28y | — | — |
Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions
6 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
Incorporated1998-03-11
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC01450 — SIC 01450
Registered office
17 Walkergate
Berwick Upon Tweed
Northumberland
TD15 1DJ
United Kingdom
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-03-25
Last: 2026-03-11
Officers (3 active · 3 resigned)
Active
NICOLSON, Bryden Robert→
Activedirector · ~54y · appointed 2011-10-24
View their other companies + combined net worth →
NICOLSON, Johanna→
Activedirector · ~48y · appointed 2011-10-24
View their other companies + combined net worth →
HIGHFIELD, Edward→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 1998-03-11 · resigned 2011-10-24
HIGHFIELD, Edward→
Resigneddirector · ~83y · appointed 1998-03-11 · resigned 2011-10-24
HIGHFIELD, Paula→
Resigneddirector · ~82y · appointed 1998-03-11 · resigned 2011-10-24
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
1
Total charges
1
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:1 of 1 shown
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| outstanding | Lloyds Banking Group Bank of Scotland PLC | A registered charge | — | 12/03/2024 | — |
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.
Recent filings (83 total)
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2026-03-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-03-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-03-25
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-12-20
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-03-24
mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
mortgage · MR01
2024-03-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-11-27
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-03-27
change-account-reference-date-company-current-extended
accounts · AA01
2022-09-13
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2022-08-17
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2022-08-17
change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
officers · CH03
2022-08-17
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2022-08-17
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2022-08-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-06-28