MAINES FARM CONTRACTING LIMITED
🌳Matureactive
08318981 · ltd · incorporated 2012-12-05
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: Support activities for crop production
Sector: Agriculture, forestry & fishing
Investor take
PursueActive trading company with a 72-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 78/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (68/100, director aged 72). 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
31 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 | 2 | 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
- 2025-12-02📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-11-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-11-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-12-12📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-01-18📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-01-12📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2019-12-24📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2018-12-20📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2017-12-06📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2017-04-13📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2017-04-13📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2017-04-13📄change-person-secretary-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH03
- 2017-02-13📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2016-12-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2015-12-16📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2012-12-05🏢Company incorporatedAs MAINES FARM CONTRACTING LIMITED
- 2012-12-05➕GARDNER, Alexander Hamish appointedsecretary
- 2012-12-05➕GARDNER, Alexander Hamish appointeddirector
- 2012-12-05➕GARDNER, Anne-Marie Jude appointeddirector
Owner dependency
81/100
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 age: Director aged approximately 72 — succession pressure is live.
- +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.
Succession & seller-readiness
79/100
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 72 years old. Natural succession window is now.
- secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
- secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 13 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mrs Anne-Marie Jude Gardner Individual · British · DOB 12/1954 · age 72 | 25–50% | 25–50% | 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting | 06/04/2016 |
Mr Alexander Hamish Gardner Individual · British · DOB 11/1954 · age 72 | 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.
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JSW ACCESS & TREE SERVICES LIMITED→ 12223460 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| L & S E NIELSEN LIMITED→ 04617024 · est 2002 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 23y | — | — |
| L.C. SMALES & SON LIMITED→ 06788163 · est 2009 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 17y | — | — |
| LINDISFARNE LUING LIMITED→ 07449519 · est 2010 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 15y | — | — |
| LOWICK HALL ESTATES LIMITED(THE)→ 00368118 · est 1941 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 84y | — | — |
| MINDRUM FARMING COMPANY LIMITED→ 01021807 · est 1971 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 54y | — | — |
| PENMAR FARMING LIMITED→ 03053098 · est 1995 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 30y | — | — |
| PHILIPSON PARTNERS LIMITED→ 08106374 · est 2012 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 13y | — | — |
| PLAYFAIR FARMING LIMITED→ SC836828 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| PRENDERGUEST FARM LIMITED→ SC404626 · est 2011 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 14y | — | — |
| PRIDEPATH COMPUTING LIMITED→ 03131647 · est 1995 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 30y | — | — |
| R & A CROCKETT LIMITED→ SC688866 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2012-12-05
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC01610 — Support activities for crop production
Registered office
17 Walkergate
Berwick-Upon-Tweed
Northumberland
TD15 1DJ
United Kingdom
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-11-27
Last: 2025-11-13
Officers (3 active · 0 resigned)
GARDNER, Alexander Hamish→
Activesecretary · appointed 2012-12-05
View their other companies + combined net worth →
GARDNER, Alexander Hamish→
Activedirector · ~72y · appointed 2012-12-05
View their other companies + combined net worth →
GARDNER, Anne-Marie Jude→
Activedirector · ~72y · appointed 2012-12-05
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (31 total)
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-12-02
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-11-13
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-12-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-11-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-12-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-11-22
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-12-12
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-12-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-01-18
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-12-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-01-12
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-12-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2019-12-24
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-12-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2018-12-20