BATES CONTRACTORS LIMITED
🌳Matureactive
07769482 · ltd · incorporated 2011-09-12
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
hardening · 12-months
Already tight — no obvious softening catalysts on the horizon.
- · Thesis: well-run, low negotiation leverage
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Mar 2025
Net worth
£889.5k
book net assets
Opportunity
78/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Support activities for crop production
Sector: Agriculture, forestry & fishing
Investor take
PursueStrong opportunity: asset-holding vehicle with strong profile and bankable structure.
Opportunity 78/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. High owner-dependency — earn-out structure likely required for clean transition. Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).
Data confidence
Overall: medium (76/100)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
3 officers (3 active, 3 linked, 2 with DOB)
83
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
30 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
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
70
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declaredPositive net assets
Net assets £889,537
Cash YoY
+93%
Year on year
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
£338k
↑ 93% YoY
Net Worth
£890k
↑ 4.8% YoY
Current Assets
£414k
↑ 34% 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 | £1.15M | £1.04M |
| Current assets | £414.0k | £309.8k |
| Cash | £338.3k | £175.4k |
| Debtors | £73.6k | £132.9k |
| Net assets | £889.5k | £848.7k |
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
0
filings
Last 180 days
0
filings
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (19 events)Click to expand
- 2025-09-04📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-07-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-09-06📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-08-18📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-07-09📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-08-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-08-21📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-07-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-06-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2016-07-04📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2015-09-29📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2015-08-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2014-09-25📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2014-09-01📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2013-09-18📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2011-09-12🏢Company incorporatedAs BATES CONTRACTORS LIMITED
- 2011-09-12➕BATES, Brian Geoffrey appointedsecretary
- 2011-09-12➕BATES, Arthur David appointeddirector
- 2011-09-12➕BATES, Brian Geoffrey appointeddirector
Owner dependency
89/100
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
- +Two-director setup: Only two active directors — typical of owner-managed SMEs but limits succession.
- +Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "BATES" — strong identity link between founder and business.
- +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 61 — approaching natural succession window.
- +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.
Succession & seller-readiness
59/100
Strong succession signalMultiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.
SIGNALS
- secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 61. Early succession window.
- secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
- secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 15 years.
- 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Arthur David Bates Individual · British · DOB 01/1965 · age 61 | 25–50% | 25–50% | 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting | 06/04/2016 |
Mr Brian Geoffrey Bates Individual · British · DOB 02/1967 · age 59 | 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.
Similar companies
Active · Agriculture · SK postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AGNEW EQUESTRIAN LIMITED→ 14287233 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| AGRICULTURE FARMING 365 LTD→ 16803246 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ALDERLEY WOOD FARM LTD→ 14692118 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| ANTHONY AGRICULTURAL SERVICES LIMITED→ 10074279 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 10y | — | — |
| ARABIANS UNLIMITED LIMITED→ 11652234 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| ARBORICULTURAL SERVICES TREEWORK LIMITED→ 05617718 · est 2005 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 20y | — | — |
| ARICELESTIAL BREEDING LIMITED→ 16984835 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| BB RENEWABLE ENERGY LTD→ 14444944 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| BEN THE BEEKEEPER LIMITED→ 16919543 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| BIG TREES LIMITED→ 08850395 · est 2014 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 12y | — | — |
| BILLINGTON FARMING LIMITED→ 08348811 · est 2013 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 13y | — | — |
| BLACKFORD ASH DOGS LIMITED→ 10656665 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions
6 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
Incorporated2011-09-12
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC01610 — Support activities for crop production
Registered office
Cocksmoss Farm
Marton
Macclesfield
Cheshire
SK11 9HG
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-09-26
Last: 2025-09-12
Officers (3 active · 0 resigned)
BATES, Brian Geoffrey→
Activesecretary · appointed 2011-09-12
View their other companies + combined net worth →
BATES, Arthur David→
Activedirector · ~61y · appointed 2011-09-12
View their other companies + combined net worth →
BATES, Brian Geoffrey→
Activedirector · ~59y · appointed 2011-09-12
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (30 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-09-26
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-09-04
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-09-26
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-07-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-09-26
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-09-06
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-09-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-08-18
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-10-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-07-09
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-10-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-08-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-09-26
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-08-21
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2018-09-24