GROVE FEEDS LTD
💤Zombieactive
05007803 · ltd · incorporated 2004-01-06
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
—
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 10910
Sector: Manufacturing
Investor take
PursueActive trading company with a 74-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 74). 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
2 live charges · 2 lenders · oldest 13.4y
30/100
under pressure
Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.
- · Oldest live charge is 13.4 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Two lenders — manageable, but coordination required.
- · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.
Data confidence
Overall: medium (78/100)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
2 charges (2/2 with lender, 2/2 with type)
90
Directors & officers
4 officers (1 active, 4 linked, 1 with DOB)
75
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
1 connected companies via shared directors
48
Filing history
61 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.
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102| Metric | 2025-07-31 | 2024-07-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Average employees | 500 | 400 |
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
2
filings
- • 1 accounts
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (26 events)Click to expand
- 2026-03-03📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2025-03-24📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2025-02-07📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2023-12-20📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-05-12📄mortgage-satisfy-charge-fullmortgage · MR04
- 2023-05-12🔓Charge satisfied #1
- 2023-02-20📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-11-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-12-18📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-02-20📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-07-04📄mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-datemortgage · MR01
- 2019-07-02🔒Charge registered #2Lender: Santander UK PLC as Security Trustee
- 2018-11-12📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-02-14📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2017-01-13📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2016-02-09📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2015-11-21📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2013-01-14🔒Charge registered #1Lender: The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
- 2012-09-26➖MORGAN, Timothy James resignedsecretary
- 2004-01-06🏢Company incorporatedAs GROVE FEEDS LTD
- 2004-01-06➕MORGAN, John Edward appointeddirector
- 2004-01-06➕MORGAN, Timothy James appointedsecretary
- 2004-01-06➕TEMPLE SECRETARIES LIMITED appointedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 2004-01-06➖TEMPLE SECRETARIES LIMITED resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 2004-01-06➕COMPANY DIRECTORS LIMITED appointedcorporate-nominee-director
- 2004-01-06➖COMPANY DIRECTORS LIMITED resignedcorporate-nominee-director
Owner dependency
100/100
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 22 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 74 — succession pressure is live.
Succession & seller-readiness
100/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 74 years old. Natural succession window is now.
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
- primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 22 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 22 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 John Edward Morgan Individual · British · DOB 02/1952 · age 74 | 75–100% | 75–100% | board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control | 06/04/2016 |
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 · Food & drink · TF postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BOO CONTRACTING LTD→ 11284256 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| BULLYADE LIMITED→ 10708707 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| DIBER LTD→ 12465161 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| DIFFERENT DOG LIMITED→ 10589054 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| EVOLUTION FOODS LTD→ 05848642 · est 2006 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 19y | — | — |
| FF1 LTD→ 11383312 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| FUDJIT CO LIMITED→ 07868782 · est 2011 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 14y | — | — |
| GARF SOLUTION LTD→ 11283667 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| GOSTAM LTD→ 11284813 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| HANAD LTD→ 11285150 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| HAROMATIC LTD→ 11531684 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| HAVENHILLS FIELD & KITCHEN C.I.C.→ 13601387 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2004-01-06
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC10910 — SIC 10910
Registered office
Grove Feeds Chester Road
Tern Hill
Market Drayton
Shropshire
TF9 2JQ
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-04-30
Last made up to: 2025-07-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-01-20
Last: 2026-01-06
Officers (1 active · 3 resigned)
MORGAN, John Edward→
Activedirector · ~74y · appointed 2004-01-06
View their other companies + combined net worth →
MORGAN, Timothy James→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 2004-01-06 · resigned 2012-09-26
TEMPLE SECRETARIES LIMITED→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2004-01-06 · resigned 2004-01-06
COMPANY DIRECTORS LIMITED→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-director · appointed 2004-01-06 · resigned 2004-01-06
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
2
Total charges
1
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:2 of 2 shown
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| outstanding | Santander Santander UK PLC as Security Trustee | A registered charge | — | 02/07/2019 | — | |
| satisfied | Lloyds Banking Group The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC | Debenture | 1 property | 14/01/2013 | 12/05/2023 |
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.
Recent filings (61 total)
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2026-03-03
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-03-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-03-24
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2025-02-07
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-02-07
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-02-26
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-12-20
mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
mortgage · MR04
2023-05-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-02-20
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-02-17
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-03-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-11-25
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-03-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-12-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-02-20