BROOKBANK FARMS LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
03602159 · ltd · incorporated 1998-07-22
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 Jul 2025
Net worth
£281.1k
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 01500
Sector: Agriculture, forestry & fishing
Investor take
PursueActive trading company with a 62-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 80/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 62). 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).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
1 live charge · oldest 11.3y
45/100
under pressure
Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.
- · Oldest live charge is 11.3 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
- · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.
Data confidence
Overall: high (81/100)Strong data coverage across all sections. AI outputs should be trusted with minimal caveats.
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
1 charges (1/1 with lender, 1/1 with type)
90
Directors & officers
9 officers (1 active, 9 linked, 4 with DOB)
79
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
10 connected companies via shared directors
75
Filing history
78 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 declaredPositive net assets
Net assets £281,056
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
£281k
↑ 12% YoY
Current Assets
£446k
↑ 45% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2025-07-31 | 2024-07-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £605.6k | £508.1k |
| Current assets | £445.9k | £307.2k |
| Net assets | £281.1k | £251.8k |
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
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 (34 events)Click to expand
- 2026-04-17📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2025-04-08📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-04-12📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-04-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-07-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-06-24📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-06-24📄change-account-reference-date-company-previous-extendedaccounts · AA01
- 2021-06-15📄change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortenedaccounts · AA01
- 2020-09-02📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-06-25📄change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortenedaccounts · AA01
- 2020-03-28📄change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortenedaccounts · AA01
- 2019-04-11📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-03-29📄change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortenedaccounts · AA01
- 2018-04-09📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-04-04📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2015-05-08➖NICHOLSON, John Dixon Brearey resignedsecretary
- 2015-04-01🔒Charge registered #1Lender: Barclays Bank PLC
- 2007-04-16➖BARBER, Dorothy Anne resigneddirector
- 2007-04-06➕BARBER, James Donald appointeddirector
- 1999-07-17➕BARBER, Alison Jayne appointedsecretary
- 1999-07-17➖BARBER, Alison Jayne resignedsecretary
- 1999-07-17➖BARBER, James Donald resignedsecretary
- 1999-07-17➕NICHOLSON, John Dixon Brearey appointedsecretary
- 1999-07-01➕BARBER, Dorothy Anne appointeddirector
- 1999-07-01➖BARBER, James Donald resigneddirector
- 1999-02-15➖BARBER, Alison Jayne resigneddirector
- 1999-02-15➕BARBER, James Donald appointeddirector
- 1998-07-22🏢Company incorporatedAs BROOKBANK FARMS LIMITED
- 1998-07-22➕BARBER, James Donald appointedsecretary
- 1998-07-22➕L & A SECRETARIAL LIMITED appointedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 1998-07-22➖L & A SECRETARIAL LIMITED resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 1998-07-22➕BARBER, Alison Jayne appointeddirector
- 1998-07-22➕L & A REGISTRARS LIMITED appointedcorporate-nominee-director
- 1998-07-22➖L & A REGISTRARS LIMITED resignedcorporate-nominee-director
Owner dependency
93/100
Critical — business is the founderThe 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 19 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 62 — approaching natural succession window.
Succession & seller-readiness
78/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 62. Early succession window.
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
- secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 19 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr James Donald Barber Individual · British · DOB 05/1964 · age 62 | 75–100% | — | 75-100% shares | 22/07/2016 |
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 · CW postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A & R DODD LIMITED→ 06704886 · est 2008 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 17y | — | — |
| B & C DODD FARM LTD→ 10342922 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| BAGMERE FARM LIMITED→ 16431838 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| BOUNDARY FOX KENNELS LIMITED→ 15969945 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| BROCKLEY FARMING LIMITED→ 11161611 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| BROOMLEA FARMS LIMITED→ 10387647 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| BROSTER BROS LIMITED→ 13133005 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| BUCKLAND ARBORICULTURE LIMITED→ 08367038 · est 2013 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 13y | — | — |
| BUCKLAND TREE CARE LIMITED→ 04748241 · est 2003 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 22y | — | — |
| BUCKLEYS BEES LTD→ 11452973 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| BURLAND FARM LIMITED→ 07406127 · est 2010 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 15y | — | — |
| C B AGRICULTURAL & GROUNDWORK CONTRACTORS LIMITED→ 13182640 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
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
Incorporated1998-07-22
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC01500 — SIC 01500
Registered office
Blackden
Holmes Chapel
Crewe
Cheshire
CW4 8BX
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-04-30
Last made up to: 2025-07-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-08-08
Last: 2025-07-25
Officers (1 active · 8 resigned)
BARBER, James Donald→
Activedirector · ~62y · appointed 2007-04-06
View their other companies + combined net worth →
BARBER, Alison Jayne→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 1999-07-17 · resigned 1999-07-17
BARBER, James Donald→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 1998-07-22 · resigned 1999-07-17
NICHOLSON, John Dixon Brearey→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 1999-07-17 · resigned 2015-05-08
L & A SECRETARIAL LIMITED→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 1998-07-22 · resigned 1998-07-22
BARBER, Alison Jayne→
Resigneddirector · ~63y · appointed 1998-07-22 · resigned 1999-02-15
BARBER, Dorothy Anne→
Resigneddirector · ~85y · appointed 1999-07-01 · resigned 2007-04-16
BARBER, James Donald→
Resigneddirector · ~62y · appointed 1999-02-15 · resigned 1999-07-01
L & A REGISTRARS LIMITED→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-director · appointed 1998-07-22 · resigned 1998-07-22
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 | Barclays Barclays Bank PLC | A registered charge | — | 01/04/2015 | — |
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.
Recent filings (78 total)
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2026-04-17
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-08-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-04-08
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-08-28
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-04-12
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-08-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-04-26
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-07-28
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-07-25
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-07-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-06-24
change-account-reference-date-company-previous-extended
accounts · AA01
2021-06-24
change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortened
accounts · AA01
2021-06-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-09-02
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-09-01