COLLINS FARMING AND FORESTRY SERVICES LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
06536216 · ltd · incorporated 2008-03-17
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 Mar 2025
Net worth
£590.6k
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 02400
Sector: Agriculture, forestry & fishing
Investor take
PursueActive trading company with a 61-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 61). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Cash flow review and working-capital discipline. Cash down -88% YoY — forensic review of receivables, stock turns, and creditor days. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
2 live charges · 2 lenders · oldest 18.2y
30/100
under pressure
Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.
- · Oldest live charge is 18.2 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Two lenders — manageable, but coordination required.
- · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.
Data confidence
Overall: medium (77/100)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
2 officers (2 active, 2 linked, 1 with DOB)
80
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
47 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.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declaredPositive net assets
Net assets £590,646
Cash draining
Cash down 88% YoY
Cash YoY
-88%
Year on year
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
£5k
↓ 88% YoY
Net Worth
£591k
↑ 18% YoY
Current Assets
£260k
↓ 23% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2025-03-31 | 2024-03-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £1.17M | £1.02M |
| Current assets | £260.5k | £338.7k |
| Cash | £4.7k | £39.3k |
| Debtors | £200.3k | £275.8k |
| Net assets | £590.6k | £501.0k |
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
🔒Filing-note intelligence
3 signals 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 (22 events)Click to expand
- 2025-10-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-10-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2024-10-15📄mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-datemortgage · MR01
- 2024-10-15🔒Charge registered #2Lender: Oxbury Bank PLC
- 2023-10-13📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2022-12-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2022-04-06📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2022-04-05📄second-filing-of-confirmation-statement-with-made-up-dateconfirmation-statement · RP04CS01
- 2022-03-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2022-03-15📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2021-11-15📄change-person-secretary-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH03
- 2021-11-15📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2021-11-15📄mortgage-satisfy-charge-fullmortgage · MR04
- 2021-11-15🔓Charge satisfied #1
- 2020-12-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2019-11-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2019-01-08📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-11-02📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2008-05-01🔒Charge registered #1Lender: Barclays Bank PLC
- 2008-03-17🏢Company incorporatedAs COLLINS FARMING AND FORESTRY SERVICES LIMITED
- 2008-03-17➕COLLINS, Jane appointedsecretary
- 2008-03-17➕COLLINS, Mark appointeddirector
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.
- +Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "COLLINS" — strong identity link between founder and business.
- +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 18 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 61 — approaching natural succession window.
- +No director turnover: Company is 18 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.
Succession & seller-readiness
78/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 61. Early succession window.
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
- secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 18 years.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 18 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
2 active beneficial owners| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mrs Jane Elizabeth Collins Individual · British · DOB 01/1962 · age 64 | 25–50% | 25–50% | 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting | 06/04/2016 |
Mark Collins Individual · British · DOB 03/1965 · age 61 | 25–50% | 25–50% | 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting | 06/04/2016 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
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Active · Agriculture · SG postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BLACK GROVE GREENS CIC→ 11366242 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| BLOOMING NATURAL LTD→ 17002220 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| BRIERS FARMS (STEEPLE MORDEN) LIMITED→ 00729404 · est 1962 | — | — | £1.10M | — | 63y | — | — |
| BROOK FARM CONSTRUCTION LTD→ 12826602 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| BUTLERS TREES LTD→ 12650525 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| BUTT SNIFFERS BOUTIQUE DOG HOTEL LTD→ 15222899 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| CFPW LIMITED→ 04685633 · est 2003 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 23y | — | — |
| COPELANDS FARM HOLDINGS LIMITED→ 13785559 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| CORNHILL ALPACAS LIMITED→ 16315160 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| CREATIVE CULTIVATORS COMMUNITY INTEREST COMPANY→ 15516521 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| CRIPSEY BROOK LIMITED→ 06228336 · est 2007 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 18y | — | — |
| CUILDOCHART FORESTRY LIMITED→ 11798539 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2008-03-17
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC02400 — SIC 02400
Registered office
Lake House
Market Hill
Royston
Hertfordshire
SG8 9JN
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 (2 active · 0 resigned)
Active
COLLINS, Mark→
Activedirector · ~61y · appointed 2008-03-17
View their other companies + combined net worth →
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 | Oxbury Bank Oxbury Bank PLC | A registered charge | — | 15/10/2024 | — | |
| satisfied | Barclays Barclays Bank PLC | Debenture | 1 property | 01/05/2008 | 15/11/2021 |
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.
Recent filings (47 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-03-19
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-10-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-03-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2024-10-28
mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
mortgage · MR01
2024-10-15
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-03-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2023-10-13
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-03-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2022-12-31
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2022-04-06
second-filing-of-confirmation-statement-with-made-up-date
confirmation-statement · RP04CS01
2022-04-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2022-03-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-03-22
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2022-03-15
change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
officers · CH03
2021-11-15