BOWDEN FARM SERVICES LIMITED

💤Zombieactive

04542767 · ltd · incorporated 2002-09-23

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 Apr 2025

Net worth

—

book net assets

Opportunity

80/100

Exceptional

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What this business does

Primary activity: SIC 01500

Sector: Agriculture, forestry & fishing

ALSO REGISTERED FOR

01629SIC 01629

Investor take

Pursue

Active trading company 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. 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).

Data confidence

Overall: medium (75/100)

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

Lenders & charges

Confirmed no charges registered

Directors & officers

4 officers (2 active, 4 linked, 1 with DOB)

Ownership & PSC

1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared

Director network

Network not yet resolved

Filing history

64 filings on record

Gazette notices

No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)

Opportunity Score

80/100Exceptional

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

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts

Cash

—

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	2025-04-30	2024-04-30
Average employees	100	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

filings

Last 90 days

filings

Last 180 days

filings

• 1 confirmation-statement
• 1 accounts

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (22 events)Click to expand

2026-01-20
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-09-18
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-01-30
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-01-30
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-12-16
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2021-02-01
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2019-11-25
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2019-04-12
📍
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2019-01-30
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2018-02-14
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2016-12-13
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2016-11-21
📍
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2016-11-18
📄
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2016-11-18
📄
change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
officers · CH03
2016-05-03
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2002-09-23
🏢
Company incorporated
As BOWDEN FARM SERVICES LIMITED
2002-09-23
➕
BOWDEN, Lisa appointed
secretary
2002-09-23
➕
BOWDEN, Timothy James appointed
director
2002-09-23
➕
TEMPLE SECRETARIES LIMITED appointed
corporate-nominee-secretary
2002-09-23
➖
TEMPLE SECRETARIES LIMITED resigned
corporate-nominee-secretary
2002-09-23
➕
COMPANY DIRECTORS LIMITED appointed
corporate-nominee-director
2002-09-23
➖
COMPANY DIRECTORS 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

+Sole director: Only one active director — all governance concentrated on one person.
+Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "BOWDEN" — strong identity link between founder and business.
+Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 24 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
+Founder age: Director aged approximately 66 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

95/100

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.
primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 24 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 24 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%

Name	Shares	Voting rights	Nature of control	Notified
Mr Timothy James Bowden Individual · British · DOB 09/1960 · age 66	75–100%	—	75-100% shares	01/03/2017

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

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Active · Agriculture · DT postcode area

Company	Est. value	Turnover	Net worth	Staff	Age	Opp	Director
A & R FRASER CONTRACTS LTD→ 13512127 · est 2021 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	4y	—	—
AGVANCED GRAIN SYSTEMS LIMITED→ 13608840 · est 2021 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	4y	—	—
AK & AD PARKER LIMITED→ 05490360 · est 2005 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	20y	—	—
ARBOREX LTD→ 12181339 · est 2019 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	6y	—	—
BATH ORCHARD LTD→ 16893621 · est 2025 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
BERNARD COX LIMITED→ 04702238 · est 2003 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	23y	—	—
BLADEN VALLEY NURSERY LTD→ 11430225 · est 2018 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	7y	—	—
BLOODSTOCK LTD→ 10285813 · est 2016 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	9y	—	—
BMT SERVICES SW LTD→ 13684413 · est 2021 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	4y	—	—
BOWDITCH COUNTRYSIDE MANAGEMENT LIMITED→ 12152060 · est 2019 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	6y	—	—
BRIDE VALLEY VINEYARD LIMITED→ 05699828 · est 2006 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	20y	—	—
BROADOAK LAND CO-OP LIMITED→ 05292777 · est 2004 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	21y	—	—

Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →

🔒Tailored diligence questions

8 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

Incorporated2002-09-23

Jurisdictionengland-wales

Primary SIC01500 — SIC 01500

Registered office

Spirare Limited, Mey House Bridport Road

Poundbury

Dorchester

Dorset

DT1 3QY

England

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: 2027-01-31

Last made up to: 2025-04-30

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2027-04-01

Last: 2026-03-18

Officers (2 active · 2 resigned)

BOWDEN, Lisa→

secretary · appointed 2002-09-23

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

BOWDEN, Timothy James→

director · ~66y · appointed 2002-09-23

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

TEMPLE SECRETARIES LIMITED→

corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2002-09-23 · resigned 2002-09-23

Resigned

COMPANY DIRECTORS LIMITED→

corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2002-09-23 · resigned 2002-09-23

Resigned

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