ESK DAIRY LIMITED

🌳Matureactive

03671326 · ltd · incorporated 1998-11-20

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 Mar 2025

Net worth

—

book net assets

Opportunity

81/100

Exceptional

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What this business does

Primary activity: SIC 46330

Sector: Wholesale & retail

Investor take

Pursue

Active trading company. Family succession underway — not a classic acquisition target.

Opportunity 81/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Same-surname younger director in place — likely family handover, not open to sale. Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).

Data confidence

Overall: medium (69/100)

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

1 year of iXBRL accounts extracted (no YoY comparison) + narrative notes parsed

Lenders & charges

Confirmed no charges registered

Directors & officers

10 officers (6 active, 10 linked, 6 with DOB)

Ownership & PSC

2 active PSC(s) of 3 total, 3 with control declared

Director network

Network not yet resolved

Filing history

78 filings on record

Gazette notices

No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)

Opportunity Score

81/100Exceptional

PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional

Strong composite across quality, acquirability, and risk. High-priority target — progress to serious diligence.

Business quality

Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.

Acquirability

Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.

Risk profile

Few red flags.

Signal strength

Good data coverage for analysis.

Key financials

1 year extracted from filed iXBRL accounts

Cash

—

Net Worth

—

Current Assets

—

Current Liabilities

—

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102

Metric	2025-03-31
Average employees	700

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

filings

• 1 accounts
• 1 officers

Last 90 days

filings

• 2 accounts
• 1 officers

Last 180 days

filings

• 2 accounts
• 2 officers
• 1 confirmation-statement

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (31 events)Click to expand

2026-06-03
📄
accounts-amended-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AAMD
2026-05-25
➕
BENSON, Martin Robert appointed
director
2026-05-25
📄
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2026-03-27
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2026-01-14
➖
BENSON, Martin resigned
director
2026-01-14
📄
capital-allotment-shares
capital · SH01
2026-01-14
📄
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2026-01-14
📄
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2025-03-27
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-01-29
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-01-26
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-12-23
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-02-08
📄
capital-name-of-class-of-shares
capital · SH08
2021-01-25
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2019-12-23
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2018-12-20
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2017-12-22
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2017-01-09
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2016-09-28
➕
BENSON, Frances Mary appointed
director
2016-09-28
➕
BENSON, Thomas Frederick appointed
director
2003-03-30
➕
BENSON, David Andrew appointed
secretary
2003-03-30
➖
BENSON, Stephen John resigned
secretary
2001-10-31
➕
BENSON, Stephen John appointed
director
2000-03-20
➕
BENSON, Martin appointed
director
1998-11-20
🏢
Company incorporated
As ESK DAIRY LIMITED
1998-11-20
➕
BENSON, David Andrew appointed
director
1998-11-20
➕
BENSON, Stephen John appointed
secretary
1998-11-20
➕
SAME-DAY COMPANY SERVICES LIMITED appointed
corporate-nominee-secretary
1998-11-20
➖
SAME-DAY COMPANY SERVICES LIMITED resigned
corporate-nominee-secretary
1998-11-20
➕
WILDMAN & BATTELL LIMITED appointed
corporate-nominee-director
1998-11-20
➖
WILDMAN & BATTELL LIMITED resigned
corporate-nominee-director

Owner dependency

73/100

High — earn-out structure required

Material founder dependency. Consider a 2-3 year earn-out and build in a handover plan before completion.

FACTORS

-5 active directors: Broader management team in place — suggests transferable governance.
+Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 28 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
+Founder age: Director aged approximately 79 — succession pressure is live.
+Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.

Succession & seller-readiness

40/100

Moderate signal

Some succession indicators present. Worth watching; approach if sector/strategy fits.

SIGNALS

primaryFamily succession underway: Not a takeover target — BENSON, Martin Robert (same surname) appointed 2026-05-25. Pattern consistent with intra-family handover.
primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 79 years old. Natural succession window is now.
primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 28 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
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

2 active beneficial owners

Name	Shares	Voting rights	Nature of control	Notified
Mr David Andrew Benson Individual · British · DOB 10/1972 · age 54	25–50%	25–50%	board control25-50% shares · 25-50% voting · board control	20/11/2016
Mr Stephen John Benson Individual · British · DOB 11/1974 · age 52	25–50%	25–50%	board control25-50% shares · 25-50% voting · board control	20/11/2016

1 historic (ceased) PSC

Mr Martin Robert Bensonceased 14/01/2026· 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting · board control

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

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CUMBRIA COAL LIMITED→ 11250172 · est 2018 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	8y	—	—
CUMBRIA COMPOSITE DECKING AND TIMBER LTD→ 12641560 · est 2020 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	5y	—	—
CUMBRIAN MARKETING LIMITED→ 02610805 · est 1991 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	34y	—	—
CW AGRITECH LTD→ 13165885 · est 2021 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	5y	—	—
D W TOPPIN LIMITED→ 06650955 · est 2008 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	17y	—	—
DRAINWISE (CIVILS) LTD→ 11359849 · est 2018 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	7y	—	—
EASY FUELS NE LTD→ 10875556 · est 2017 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	8y	—	—
ECHOWEARVORTEX LTD→ 16320010 · est 2025 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	1y	—	—
ECO CROPS LTD→ 15361787 · est 2023 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	2y	—	—
ECO WOOD BRIQUETTES LTD→ 15313711 · est 2023 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	2y	—	—
EURO SEAFOODS LTD→ 13625805 · est 2021 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	4y	—	—
EVA BOTANICALS LIMITED→ 03628623 · est 1998 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	27y	—	—

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.

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Company details

Statusactive

Typeltd

Incorporated1998-11-20

Jurisdictionengland-wales

Primary SIC46330 — SIC 46330

Registered office

Unit 3a Longtown Industrial

Estate Longtown

Carlisle

Cumbria

CA6 5TJ

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: 2026-12-31

Last made up to: 2025-03-31

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2026-12-04

Last: 2025-11-20