ALSTON FARM LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
04625125 · ltd · incorporated 2002-12-24
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
£1.41M
book net assets
Opportunity
74/100
Strong
🔔
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What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 55300
Sector: Accommodation & food service
Investor take
Pursue
Strong opportunity: asset-holding vehicle with strong profile and bankable structure.

Opportunity 74/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. High owner-dependency — earn-out structure likely required for clean transition. 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 (58/100).

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, 1 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
8 officers (2 active, 8 linked, 3 with DOB)
78
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
85 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
74/100Strong
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
90
Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declared
Positive net assets
Net assets £1,413,972

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
£1.4m
↑ 8.3% YoY
Current Assets
£263k
↑ 15% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£283k£566k£848k£1.1m£1.4mApr 2024Apr 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2025-04-302024-04-30
Total assets£1.41M£1.31M
Current assets£262.6k£228.7k
Net assets£1.41M£1.31M

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
0
filings
Last 180 days
1
filing
  • • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (34 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-01-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-10-30
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  3. 2025-01-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  4. 2024-10-06
    📄
    accounts-amended-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AAMD
  5. 2024-04-17
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  6. 2024-04-17
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  7. 2024-01-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  8. 2023-08-29
    📄
    second-filing-of-director-termination-with-name
    officers · RP04TM01
  9. 2023-08-01
    📄
    accounts-amended-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AAMD
  10. 2023-01-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  11. 2022-10-10
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  12. 2022-10-07
    📄
    change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH03
  13. 2022-10-07
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  14. 2022-10-05
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  15. 2022-09-19
    ➕
    SHEPHERD, Penelope Joyce appointed
    director
  16. 2022-09-18
    ➖
    SHEPHERD, Philip William Edwin resigned
    director
  17. 2022-04-04
    📄
    accounts-amended-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AAMD
  18. 2022-01-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  19. 2021-02-02
    📄
    change-account-reference-date-company-current-extended
    accounts · AA01
  20. 2020-12-18
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  21. 2019-12-20
    📍
    change-sail-address-company-with-old-address-new-address
    address · AD02
  22. 2018-12-20
    ➕
    SHEPHERD, Penelope Joyce appointed
    secretary
  23. 2018-12-20
    ➖
    NARRAMORE, Stephen John resigned
    secretary
  24. 2006-03-09
    ➕
    NARRAMORE, Stephen John appointed
    secretary
  25. 2006-03-09
    ➖
    SHEPHERD, Diana Louise resigned
    secretary
  26. 2006-03-09
    ➖
    SHEPHERD, Diana Louise resigned
    director
  27. 2002-12-24
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As ALSTON FARM LIMITED
  28. 2002-12-24
    ➕
    SHEPHERD, Diana Louise appointed
    secretary
  29. 2002-12-24
    ➕
    THEYDON SECRETARIES LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  30. 2002-12-24
    ➖
    THEYDON SECRETARIES LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  31. 2002-12-24
    ➕
    SHEPHERD, Diana Louise appointed
    director
  32. 2002-12-24
    ➕
    SHEPHERD, Philip William Edwin appointed
    director
  33. 2002-12-24
    ➕
    THEYDON NOMINEES LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-director
  34. 2002-12-24
    ➖
    THEYDON NOMINEES LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-director

Owner dependency

75/100
High — earn-out structure required

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

FACTORS
  • +Sole director: Only one active director — all governance concentrated on one person.

Succession & seller-readiness

55/100
Strong succession signal

Multiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.

SIGNALS
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 23 years old and no new directors in the last 3 years — succession not yet being planned internally.

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%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Penelope Joyce Shepherd
Individual · British · DOB 11/1988 · age 38
75–100%
75–100%board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control20/12/2018
1 historic (ceased) PSC
  • Mr Philip William Edwin Shepherdceased 17/04/2024· 50-75% shares · 50-75% voting

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

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ABOVE TOWN TRADING LIMITED→
08879925 · est 2014 · no financials extracted
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07447021 · est 2010 · no financials extracted
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14692512 · est 2023 · no financials extracted
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16596653 · est 2025 · no financials extracted
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10432851 · est 2016 · no financials extracted
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14229358 · est 2022 · no financials extracted
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————23y——
ALSOP'S KINGSBRIDGE LTD→
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AMARLIE FOODS LTD→
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————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
Incorporated2002-12-24
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC55300 — SIC 55300

Registered office

Alston Farm
Malborough
Kingsbridge
Devon
TQ7 3BJ

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-01-31
Last made up to: 2025-04-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-10-29
Last: 2025-10-15

Officers (2 active · 6 resigned)

SHEPHERD, Penelope Joyce→
secretary · appointed 2018-12-20
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
SHEPHERD, Penelope Joyce→
director · ~38y · appointed 2022-09-19
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
NARRAMORE, Stephen John→
secretary · appointed 2006-03-09 · resigned 2018-12-20
Resigned
SHEPHERD, Diana Louise→
secretary · appointed 2002-12-24 · resigned 2006-03-09
Resigned
THEYDON SECRETARIES LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2002-12-24 · resigned 2002-12-24
Resigned
SHEPHERD, Diana Louise→
director · ~62y · appointed 2002-12-24 · resigned 2006-03-09
Resigned
SHEPHERD, Philip William Edwin→
director · ~77y · appointed 2002-12-24 · resigned 2022-09-18
Resigned
THEYDON NOMINEES LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2002-12-24 · resigned 2002-12-24
Resigned

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

Recent filings (85 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2026-01-29
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2025-10-30
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-10-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-01-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-11-05
accounts-amended-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AAMD
2024-10-06
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2024-04-17
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2024-04-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-01-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-11-21
second-filing-of-director-termination-with-name
officers · RP04TM01
2023-08-29
accounts-amended-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AAMD
2023-08-01
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-01-31
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-10-18
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2022-10-10