DARLOW CONTRACT SERVICES LTD

🌳Matureactive
03734033 · ltd · incorporated 1999-03-17
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
£38.0k
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
ALSO REGISTERED FOR
  • 01130SIC 01130
Investor take
Pursue
Asset-holding vehicle with a 66-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 66). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).

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, 2 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
7 officers (3 active, 7 linked, 3 with DOB)
79
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
66 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 · accounting standard not declared
Positive net assets
Net assets £37,962
Net assets shrinking
Down £3,631 YoY
Cash YoY
-25%
Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£7k
↓ 25% YoY
Net Worth
£38k
↓ 8.7% YoY
Current Assets
£7k
↓ 23% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£8k£17k£25k£33k£42kMar 2024Mar 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2025-03-312024-03-31
Total assets£38.0k£41.6k
Current assets£7.1k£9.3k
Cash£6.8k£9.0k
Debtors£359£327
Net assets£38.0k£41.6k

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
1
filing
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (27 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-12-01
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-12-05
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2023-09-01
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2022-08-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  5. 2021-08-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  6. 2020-08-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  7. 2020-08-26
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  8. 2019-12-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2018-12-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2017-10-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  11. 2016-07-15
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  12. 2016-03-31
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  13. 2015-09-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  14. 2015-03-20
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  15. 2014-11-04
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  16. 2003-04-10
    ➖
    LEWIS, Royda resigned
    secretary
  17. 2003-04-10
    ➖
    LEWIS, Michael John resigned
    director
  18. 2003-04-01
    ➕
    DARLOW, Roz Joy appointed
    secretary
  19. 2003-04-01
    ➕
    DARLOW, Colin appointed
    director
  20. 2003-04-01
    ➕
    DARLOW, Roz Joy appointed
    director
  21. 1999-03-17
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As DARLOW CONTRACT SERVICES LTD
  22. 1999-03-17
    ➕
    LEWIS, Royda appointed
    secretary
  23. 1999-03-17
    ➕
    RM REGISTRARS LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  24. 1999-03-17
    ➖
    RM REGISTRARS LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  25. 1999-03-17
    ➕
    LEWIS, Michael John appointed
    director
  26. 1999-03-17
    ➕
    RM NOMINEES LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-director
  27. 1999-03-17
    ➖
    RM NOMINEES LIMITED resigned
    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
  • +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 "DARLOW" — strong identity link between founder and business.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 23 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 66 — succession pressure is live.
  • +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.

Succession & seller-readiness

86/100
Likely off-market candidate

Strong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.

SIGNALS
  • primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 66. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
  • secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
  • primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 23 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 27 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

2 active beneficial owners
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Colin Darlow
Individual · British · DOB 06/1960 · age 66
25–50%
—25-50% shares07/03/2017
Mrs Roz Joy Darlow
Individual · British · DOB 03/1964 · age 62
25–50%
—25-50% shares07/03/2017

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

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
Incorporated1999-03-17
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC01110 — Growing of cereals (except rice), leguminous crops and oil seeds

Registered office

80 The Butts
Soham
Ely
Cambridgeshire
CB7 5AW

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-03-31
Last: 2026-03-17

Officers (3 active · 4 resigned)

DARLOW, Roz Joy→
secretary · appointed 2003-04-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
DARLOW, Colin→
director · ~66y · appointed 2003-04-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
DARLOW, Roz Joy→
director · ~62y · appointed 2003-04-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
LEWIS, Royda→
secretary · appointed 1999-03-17 · resigned 2003-04-10
Resigned
RM REGISTRARS LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 1999-03-17 · resigned 1999-03-17
Resigned
LEWIS, Michael John→
director · ~87y · appointed 1999-03-17 · resigned 2003-04-10
Resigned
RM NOMINEES LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 1999-03-17 · resigned 1999-03-17
Resigned

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

Recent filings (66 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-03-24
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-12-01
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-03-19
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-12-05
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-03-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-09-01
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-03-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-08-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-03-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-08-17
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-03-22
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-08-26
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2020-08-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-03-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-12-17