SOMERSET CIDER VINEGAR COMPANY LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
05117307 · ltd · incorporated 2004-05-04
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
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 10840
Sector: Manufacturing
Investor take
PursueActive trading company with a 69-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 69). 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, 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
4 officers (2 active, 4 linked, 1 with DOB)
75
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
52 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.
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 | 2025-04-30 | 2024-04-30 |
|---|
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
0
filings
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (22 events)Click to expand
- 2026-01-15📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2024-12-21📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2023-12-21📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2022-12-21📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2021-12-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2021-03-20📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2019-12-24📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2018-12-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2018-02-12📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2016-12-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2016-05-07📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2015-12-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2015-05-09📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2015-01-07📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2014-05-06📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2012-05-06➕DOBBS, Paul Victor appointedsecretary
- 2012-05-06➖CHAMPKEN, Sally Louise resignedsecretary
- 2004-05-04🏢Company incorporatedAs SOMERSET CIDER VINEGAR COMPANY LIMITED
- 2004-05-04➕CHAMPKEN, Neil Harry appointeddirector
- 2004-05-04➕CHAMPKEN, Sally Louise appointedsecretary
- 2004-05-04➕SWIFT INCORPORATIONS LIMITED appointedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 2004-05-04➖SWIFT INCORPORATIONS LIMITED resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary
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 69 — succession pressure is live.
Succession & seller-readiness
95/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 69. 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 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| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Neil Harry Champken Individual · English · DOB 08/1957 · age 69 | — | — | sig. influencesignificant influence | 04/05/2016 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Similar companies
Active · Food & drink · TA postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NEWDEAL LIMITED→ 03267057 · est 1996 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 29y | — | — |
| OLDE MILL LTD→ 08900056 · est 2014 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 12y | — | — |
| QUINCE HONEY PRODUCTION LIMITED→ 16283060 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| RICH’S CIDER HOLDINGS LIMITED→ 15456391 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| ROBERT HAWKER VENISON LIMITED→ 08155284 · est 2012 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 13y | — | — |
| ROY LEGG LIMITED→ 03736965 · est 1999 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 27y | — | — |
| SOMERSET CHOCOLATE CO LIMITED→ 14197368 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| SOMERSET COFFEE & VENDING LTD→ 15597106 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| SOMERSET CRAFT DISTILLERY LTD→ 11612883 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| SOMERSET CRAFT SPIRIT COMPANY LTD→ 11611852 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| SOMERSET CUISINE LIMITED→ 01357376 · est 1978 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 48y | — | — |
| SOMERSET MEMBRILLO LIMITED→ 10613742 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2004-05-04
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC10840 — SIC 10840
Registered office
5 Centre Road
Edington
Bridgwater
Somerset
TA7 9JR
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-01-31
Last made up to: 2025-04-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-01-05
Last: 2025-12-22
Officers (2 active · 2 resigned)
DOBBS, Paul Victor→
Activesecretary · appointed 2012-05-06
View their other companies + combined net worth →
CHAMPKEN, Neil Harry→
Activedirector · ~69y · appointed 2004-05-04
View their other companies + combined net worth →
CHAMPKEN, Sally Louise→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 2004-05-04 · resigned 2012-05-06
SWIFT INCORPORATIONS LIMITED→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2004-05-04 · resigned 2004-05-04
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (52 total)
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2026-01-15
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-12-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-12-22
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2024-12-21
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-12-22
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2023-12-21
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-12-22
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2022-12-21
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-12-22
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2021-12-22
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2021-03-20
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-12-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-01-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2019-12-24
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2018-12-22