E M SPRATT UNLIMITED

💤Zombieactive

07226694 · private-unlimited · incorporated 2010-04-19

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

—

not disclosed

Net worth

—

book net assets

Opportunity

80/100

Exceptional

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What this business does

Primary activity: SIC 01500

Sector: Agriculture, forestry & fishing

Investor take

Pursue

Active trading company with a 62-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 62). 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: low (54/100)

Sparse data coverage. Treat AI-generated outputs as preliminary. Manual diligence essential.

Company profile

address, 1 SIC codes, incorporation date

100

Financials

No iXBRL financials extracted

Lenders & charges

Confirmed no charges registered

Directors & officers

2 officers (2 active, 2 linked, 1 with DOB)

Ownership & PSC

1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared

Director network

Network not yet resolved

Filing history

18 filings on record

Gazette notices

No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)

Opportunity Score

80/100Exceptional

PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional

Strong composite across quality, acquirability, and risk. High-priority target — progress to serious diligence.

Business quality

Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.

Acquirability

Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.

Risk profile

Few red flags.

Signal strength

Good data coverage for analysis.

Recent activity

Last 30 days

filings

Last 90 days

filing

• 1 confirmation-statement

Last 180 days

filing

• 1 confirmation-statement

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (11 events)Click to expand

2016-04-21
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2015-04-23
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2014-04-23
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2013-04-24
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2012-04-30
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2011-04-26
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2010-06-16
📄
change-account-reference-date-company-current-shortened
accounts · AA01
2010-04-19
🏢
Company incorporated
As E M SPRATT UNLIMITED
2010-04-19
➕
SPRATT, Emma Sophie appointed
secretary
2010-04-19
➕
SPRATT, Edward Michael appointed
director
2010-04-19
📄
incorporation-company
incorporation · NEWINC

Owner dependency

100/100

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

+Sole director: Only one active director — all governance concentrated on one person.
+Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "SPRATT" — strong identity link between founder and business.
+Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 16 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
+Senior director age: Director aged approximately 62 — approaching natural succession window.
+No director turnover: Company is 16 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.

Succession & seller-readiness

78/100

Likely off-market candidate

Strong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.

SIGNALS

secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 62. 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 16 years.
secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 16 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

clean

No 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 Edward Michael Spratt Individual · British · DOB 12/1964 · age 62	—	—	sig. influencesignificant influence	06/04/2016

From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.

Similar companies

Active · Agriculture · CB postcode area

Company	Est. value	Turnover	Net worth	Staff	Age	Opp	Director
DAVID BRITNELL EVENTING LTD→ 15583494 · est 2024 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	2y	—	—
DB CONTRACTING (CAMBS) LIMITED→ 12529105 · est 2020 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	6y	—	—
DRA FARMING LIMITED→ 11817054 · est 2019 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	7y	—	—
DRAKELEY STABLES LIMITED→ 10930521 · est 2017 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	8y	—	—
ENGELMANN FARMS LIMITED→ 00704229 · est 1961 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	64y	—	—
EQUINE ADVISORY LIMITED→ 12330525 · est 2019 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	6y	—	—
EXTRA POTASH LTD→ 13564588 · est 2021 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	4y	—	—
F.C. BUTLER & SONS LIMITED→ 00678679 · est 1960 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	65y	—	—
FAIRLAWNS RACING LIMITED→ 11586698 · est 2018 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	7y	—	—
FARCET FEN LIMITED→ 10489942 · est 2016 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	9y	—	—
FARM SUPPLY COMPANY (THIRSK) LIMITED→ 00920474 · est 1967 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	58y	—	—
FBRE CONSULTING LTD.→ 10651626 · est 2017 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	9y	—	—

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.

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🔒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.

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Company details

Statusactive

Typeprivate-unlimited

Incorporated2010-04-19

Jurisdictionengland-wales

Primary SIC01500 — SIC 01500

Registered office

1 Penn Farm Studios Harston Road

Haslingfield

Cambridge

Cambridgeshire

CB23 1JZ

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: —

Last made up to: —

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2027-05-02

Last: 2026-04-18

Officers (2 active · 0 resigned)

SPRATT, Emma Sophie→

secretary · appointed 2010-04-19

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

SPRATT, Edward Michael→

director · ~62y · appointed 2010-04-19

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

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