DRAPER FARMS LIMITED
🌳Matureactive
07775316 · ltd · incorporated 2011-09-15
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
—
book net assets
Opportunity
78/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 01621
Sector: Agriculture, forestry & fishing
Investor take
PursueActive trading company with a 66-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 78/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (68/100, director aged 66). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).
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
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
2 officers (2 active, 2 linked, 2 with DOB)
90
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
36 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.
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Average employees | 200 | -200 |
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
- 2025-12-19📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-12-16📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-10-01📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2024-10-01📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2023-12-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-09-22📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2023-09-22📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2023-09-22📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2023-09-22📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2022-12-21📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-12-21📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-11-09📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-12-18📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-01-02📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-12-13📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2016-12-05📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2011-09-15🏢Company incorporatedAs DRAPER FARMS LIMITED
- 2011-09-15➕DRAPER, Nigel appointeddirector
- 2011-09-15➕DRAPER, Philip Nicholas 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
- +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 "DRAPER" — strong identity link between founder and business.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 66 — succession pressure is live.
- +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.
- +No director turnover: Company is 15 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.
Succession & seller-readiness
69/100
Strong succession signalMultiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.
SIGNALS
- primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 66. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
- 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 Philip Nicholas Draper Individual · British · DOB 02/1963 · age 63 | 25–50% | 25–50% | 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting | 06/04/2016 |
Mr Nigel Draper Individual · British · DOB 02/1960 · age 66 | 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 · HG postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BAILEY LIVESTOCK LIMITED→ 13983939 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| BOVIAID LIMITED→ 08052938 · est 2012 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 13y | — | — |
| BROWN BANK (FARMERS) LIMITED→ 01380799 · est 1978 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 47y | — | — |
| C.R. CHAPMAN (BLOIS HALL) LIMITED→ 01331987 · est 1977 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 48y | — | — |
| CHELWOOD FARMS LIMITED→ 01193756 · est 1974 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 51y | — | — |
| CLIFFORD MOOR FARM PET HOTEL LTD→ 09002970 · est 2014 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 12y | — | — |
| D & A LIVESTOCK LIMITED→ 08287819 · est 2012 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 13y | — | — |
| ECCL 2020 LIMITED→ 12584118 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| EVOLUTION TREE CARE (YORKSHIRE) LTD→ 16268531 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| F A BROADWITH & SONS LIMITED→ 06185172 · est 2007 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 19y | — | — |
| F TATE AND SONS LIMITED→ 04585389 · est 2002 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 23y | — | — |
| FARM & LAND SERVICES LIMITED→ 02583804 · est 1991 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 35y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2011-09-15
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC01621 — SIC 01621
Registered office
Sawley Parks Farm
Sawley
Ripon
HG4 3ED
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-09-29
Last: 2025-09-15
Officers (2 active · 0 resigned)
DRAPER, Nigel→
Activedirector · ~66y · appointed 2011-09-15
View their other companies + combined net worth →
DRAPER, Philip Nicholas→
Activedirector · ~63y · appointed 2011-09-15
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (36 total)
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-12-19
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-10-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-12-16
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-10-01
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2024-10-01
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2024-10-01
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-12-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-09-22
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2023-09-22
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2023-09-22
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2023-09-22
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2023-09-22
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-12-21
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-09-27
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-12-21