BRACKEN HILL FARMS LIMITED
🌳Matureactive
06875448 · ltd · incorporated 2009-04-13
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 14.4y old — refinance window within 12 months
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Mar 2026
Net worth
£215.5k
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: Activities of head offices
Sector: Professional, scientific & technical
Investor take
PursueActive trading company with a 70-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 80/100. Strong seller-intent signal (63/100, director aged 70). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
1 live charge · oldest 14.4y
85/100
ready
Refinance conversation should be productive — structure clean and timing right.
- · Oldest live charge is 14.4 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
- · Legal-friction score 15/100 — clean.
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
1 charges (1/1 with lender, 1/1 with type)
90
Directors & officers
5 officers (3 active, 5 linked, 5 with DOB)
90
Ownership & PSC
3 active PSC(s) of 3 total, 3 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
57 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 £215,484
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
£215k
↑ 13% YoY
Current Assets
£185
↓ 81% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2026-03-31 | 2025-03-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £226.8k | £215.7k |
| Current assets | £185 | £985 |
| Net assets | £215.5k | £190.8k |
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 accounts
Last 180 days
2
filings
- • 1 accounts
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (26 events)Click to expand
- 2026-06-04📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2025-05-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-07-11📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-04-04📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2024-03-14📄change-account-reference-date-company-current-extendedaccounts · AA01
- 2024-02-29📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2024-02-29📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2024-02-28📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2023-08-15📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-12-02📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-04-12📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2022-04-12📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2021-05-24📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2020-07-09📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2020-06-03📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2020-06-03📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2019-11-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2012-02-29➕ASHTON, Lydia Jillian appointeddirector
- 2012-02-29➕ASHTON, Neil appointeddirector
- 2012-02-29➖ASHTON, David resigneddirector
- 2012-02-29➖ASHTON, Muriel Rosetta resigneddirector
- 2012-02-29🔒Charge registered #1Lender: Clydesdale Bank PLC (Trading as Yorkshire Bank)
- 2009-04-13🏢Company incorporatedAs BRACKEN HILL FARMS LIMITED
- 2009-04-13➕ASHTON, James appointeddirector
- 2009-04-13➕ASHTON, David appointeddirector
- 2009-04-13➕ASHTON, Muriel Rosetta appointeddirector
Owner dependency
83/100
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
- +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 17 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 70 — succession pressure is live.
- +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.
Succession & seller-readiness
83/100
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 70 years old. Natural succession window is now.
- secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 17 years.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 17 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
3 active beneficial owners| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr James Ashton Individual · British · DOB 10/1956 · age 70 | 25–50% | 25–50% | 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting | 07/04/2017 |
Mrs Lydia Jillian Ashton Individual · British · DOB 04/1959 · age 67 | 25–50% | 25–50% | 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting | 07/04/2017 |
Mr Neil Ashton Individual · British · DOB 06/1985 · age 41 | 25–50% | 25–50% | 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting | 07/04/2017 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
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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
Incorporated2009-04-13
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC70100 — Activities of head offices
Registered office
First Floor East Bridge Mills
Stramongate
Kendal
Cumbria
LA9 4UB
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-12-31
Last made up to: 2026-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-04-15
Last: 2026-04-01
Officers (3 active · 2 resigned)
ASHTON, James→
Activedirector · ~70y · appointed 2009-04-13
View their other companies + combined net worth →
ASHTON, Lydia Jillian→
Activedirector · ~67y · appointed 2012-02-29
View their other companies + combined net worth →
ASHTON, Neil→
Activedirector · ~41y · appointed 2012-02-29
View their other companies + combined net worth →
ASHTON, David→
Resigneddirector · ~67y · appointed 2009-04-13 · resigned 2012-02-29
ASHTON, Muriel Rosetta→
Resigneddirector · ~90y · appointed 2009-04-13 · resigned 2012-02-29
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
1
Total charges
1
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:1 of 1 shown
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| outstanding | Virgin Money Clydesdale Bank PLC (Trading as Yorkshire Bank) | Legal mortgage | 1 property | 29/02/2012 | — |
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.
Recent filings (57 total)
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2026-06-04
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-04-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-05-28
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-04-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-07-11
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-04-04
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2024-04-04
change-account-reference-date-company-current-extended
accounts · AA01
2024-03-14
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2024-02-29
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2024-02-29
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2024-02-28
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-08-15
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-04-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-12-02
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-04-12