METCALFE FARMING LIMITED

🌳Matureactive
06859306 · ltd · incorporated 2009-03-26
Investment thesis
Well-run mature business — low negotiation leverage; premium likely.
Why interesting: Textbook target; clean filings, stable trading.
Why risky: No pressure on seller; any deal likely at full price.
Opportunity decay
approaching window · 12-months
Approaching a transaction window — refinance or sale event plausible in the next 12 months.
  • · Oldest live charge 17.0y old — refinance window within 12 months
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to May 2025
Net worth
£844.9k
book net assets
Opportunity
78/100
Strong
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What this business does
Primary activity: Growing of cereals (except rice), leguminous crops and oil seeds
Sector: Agriculture, forestry & fishing
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company. Family succession underway — not a classic acquisition target.

Opportunity 78/100 (strong), bankability 70/100. Same-surname younger director in place — likely family handover, not open to sale. Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Discharge stale live charges. 1 live charge(s) created 15+ years ago — likely paid but undischarged. Clean register. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

5 live charges · oldest 17.0y

65/100
clean up first

Refinance viable after a tidy-up — address the highlighted items first.

  • · Oldest live charge is 17.0 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
  • · Legal-friction score 25/100 — workable, but lender will want more DD.

Data confidence

Overall: medium (79/100)

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
5 charges (5/5 with lender, 5/5 with type)
90
Directors & officers
6 officers (4 active, 6 linked, 4 with DOB)
83
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 3 total, 3 with control declared
90
Director network
1 connected companies via shared directors
48
Filing history
54 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
78/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.

Business quality
60
Adequate — check latest filings for context.
Acquirability
80
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
82
Few red flags.
Signal strength
100
Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 102
Positive net assets
Net assets £844,897
Net assets shrinking
Down £3,883 YoY

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
£845k
~ YoY
Current Assets
£390k
↑ 63% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£170k£340k£509k£679k£849kMay 2024May 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2025-05-312024-05-31
Total assets£2.98M£2.53M
Current assets£390.4k£239.8k
Debtors£189.0k£97.2k
Net assets£844.9k£848.8k

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
1
filing
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
2
filings
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
  • • 1 officers
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (28 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-03-06
    ➕
    METCALFE, Melanie appointed
    director
  2. 2026-03-06
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  3. 2025-12-12
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2024-12-20
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  5. 2024-02-06
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  6. 2024-02-06
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  7. 2023-11-10
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2022-11-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2022-11-17
    📄
    appoint-person-secretary-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP03
  10. 2022-11-17
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  11. 2022-11-17
    📄
    termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM02
  12. 2022-11-15
    ➕
    METCALFE, Richard David appointed
    secretary
  13. 2022-11-15
    ➖
    METCALFE, Jonathan Frederick resigned
    secretary
  14. 2022-11-15
    ➖
    METCALFE, Jonathan Frederick resigned
    director
  15. 2021-11-19
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  16. 2020-12-11
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  17. 2019-11-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  18. 2018-09-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  19. 2013-10-15
    🔒
    Charge registered #5
    Lender: Barclays Bank PLC
  20. 2011-06-17
    🔒
    Charge registered #4
    Lender: Barclays Bank PLC
  21. 2011-06-17
    🔒
    Charge registered #3
    Lender: Barclays Bank PLC
  22. 2011-06-17
    🔒
    Charge registered #2
    Lender: Barclays Bank PLC
  23. 2009-06-05
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: Barclays Bank PLC
  24. 2009-03-26
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As METCALFE FARMING LIMITED
  25. 2009-03-26
    ➕
    METCALFE, Frederick David appointed
    director
  26. 2009-03-26
    ➕
    METCALFE, Richard David appointed
    director
  27. 2009-03-26
    ➕
    METCALFE, Jonathan Frederick appointed
    secretary
  28. 2009-03-26
    ➕
    METCALFE, Jonathan Frederick appointed
    director

Owner dependency

98/100
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
  • +Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "METCALFE" — strong identity link between founder and business.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 17 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 88 — succession pressure is live.
  • +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.

Succession & seller-readiness

33/100
Weak signal

Limited succession signal. Not a near-term off-market candidate.

SIGNALS
  • primaryFamily succession underway: Not a takeover target — METCALFE, Melanie (same surname) appointed 2026-03-06. Pattern consistent with intra-family handover.
  • primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 88 years old. Natural succession window is now.
  • secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 17 years.
  • supportingClean filings + long tenure: Disciplined long-tenure operator — classic lifestyle-business pattern that often sells quietly.

Red flags

1 low
5 live charges
low

Heavily leveraged with multiple live security positions — understand the capital structure before proceeding.

Shareholders & ownership

2 active beneficial owners
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Richard David Metcalfe
Individual · British · DOB 02/1973 · age 53
50–75%
—50-75% shares06/04/2016
Mr Frederick David Metcalfe
Individual · British · DOB 02/1938 · age 88
25–50%
—25-50% shares06/04/2016
1 historic (ceased) PSC
  • Mr Jonathan Frederick Metcalfeceased 27/01/2024· 25-50% shares

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 →

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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
Incorporated2009-03-26
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC01110 — Growing of cereals (except rice), leguminous crops and oil seeds

Registered office

Horncastle Farm
Nostell
Wakefield
WF4 1QR

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-02-28
Last made up to: 2025-05-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-04-30
Last: 2026-04-16

Officers (4 active · 2 resigned)

METCALFE, Richard David→
secretary · appointed 2022-11-15
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
METCALFE, Frederick David→
director · ~88y · appointed 2009-03-26
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
METCALFE, Melanie→
director · ~48y · appointed 2026-03-06
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
METCALFE, Richard David→
director · ~53y · appointed 2009-03-26
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
METCALFE, Jonathan Frederick→
secretary · appointed 2009-03-26 · resigned 2022-11-15
Resigned
METCALFE, Jonathan Frederick→
director · ~51y · appointed 2009-03-26 · resigned 2022-11-15
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

5
Total charges
5
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:5 of 5 shown
TypeProperties
outstanding
Barclays
Barclays Bank PLC
A registered charge1 property15/10/2013—
outstanding
Barclays
Barclays Bank PLC
Legal charge1 property17/06/2011—
outstanding
Barclays
Barclays Bank PLC
Legal charge1 property17/06/2011—
outstanding
Barclays
Barclays Bank PLC
Legal charge1 property17/06/2011—
outstanding
Barclays
Barclays Bank PLC
Debenture1 property05/06/2009—
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (54 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-04-28
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2026-03-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-12-12
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-04-16
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-04-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-12-20
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-04-08
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2024-02-06
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2024-02-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-11-10
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-04-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-11-24
appoint-person-secretary-company-with-name-date
officers · AP03
2022-11-17
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2022-11-17
termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM02
2022-11-17