DUNSTAPLE FARM LTD
💤Zombieactive
08433474 · ltd · incorporated 2013-03-07
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
—
year to Mar 2025
Net worth
£314.1k
book net assets
Opportunity
78/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 10520
Sector: Manufacturing
Investor take
PursueStrong opportunity: active trading company with strong profile and bankable structure.
Opportunity 78/100 (strong), bankability 80/100. High owner-dependency — earn-out structure likely required for clean transition. Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Cash flow review and working-capital discipline. Cash down -61% YoY — forensic review of receivables, stock turns, and creditor days. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
1 live charge · oldest 13.1y
45/100
under pressure
Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.
- · Oldest live charge is 13.1 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
- · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.
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
2 officers (1 active, 2 linked, 2 with DOB)
90
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
38 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
82
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 £314,075
Cash draining
Cash down 61% YoY
Cash YoY
-61%
Year on year
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
£16k
↓ 61% YoY
Net Worth
£314k
↑ 21% YoY
Current Assets
£287k
↓ 7.6% 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 | £362.2k | £317.9k |
| Current assets | £287.4k | £311.2k |
| Cash | £15.8k | £40.7k |
| Debtors | £111.6k | £110.5k |
| Net assets | £314.1k | £259.8k |
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
🔒Filing-note intelligence
2 signals 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
5
filings
- • 2 address
- • 1 confirmation-statement
- • 1 persons-with-significant-control
Last 180 days
6
filings
- • 2 address
- • 1 confirmation-statement
- • 1 persons-with-significant-control
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (21 events)Click to expand
- 2026-03-26📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2026-03-26📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2026-03-26📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2026-03-26📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2025-12-18📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2024-12-04📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2023-12-06📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2023-12-06📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2023-09-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2022-10-03📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2021-12-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2020-12-24📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2019-12-18📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2018-12-19📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2017-12-18📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2017-12-18📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2016-03-31➖JAMES, Joanne Marie resigneddirector
- 2013-05-13🔒Charge registered #1Lender: Lloyds Tsb Bank PLC
- 2013-03-07🏢Company incorporatedAs DUNSTAPLE FARM LTD
- 2013-03-07➕JAMES, Thomas George Bernard appointeddirector
- 2013-03-07➕JAMES, Joanne Marie 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
- +Sole director: Only one active director — all governance concentrated on one person.
- +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 62 — approaching natural succession window.
Succession & seller-readiness
68/100
Strong succession signalMultiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.
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 13 years.
- supportingClean filings + long tenure: Disciplined long-tenure operator — classic lifestyle-business pattern that often sells quietly.
Red flags
1 lowMultiple registered office changes
lowMultiple address changes in a short period can indicate operational instability or admin disorder.
Shareholders & ownership
1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Thomas George Bernard James Individual · British · DOB 03/1964 · age 62 | 75–100% | 75–100% | board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control | 06/04/2016 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
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| CORONA SOFT DRINKS LTD→ 16205825 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
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| DEVON DELICIOUS LIMITED→ 11977491 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| DEVON RUSK COMPANY LIMITED→ 14251315 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| DEVONVALE LIMITED→ 04399540 · est 2002 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 24y | — | — |
| DOLLYMAL'S KITCHEN LTD→ 16831362 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| DRAGONFLY FOODS HOLDINGS LIMITED→ 16574026 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| DUNBIA (UK)→ 03382084 · est 1997 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 28y | — | — |
| DUNN BROTHERS LIMITED→ 05207910 · est 2004 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 21y | — | — |
| ELECTRIC BAKERY BUDE LTD→ 12149864 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
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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
Incorporated2013-03-07
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC10520 — SIC 10520
Registered office
Dunstaple Farm
Holsworthy Beacon
Holsworthy
Devon
EX22 7BP
England
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-04-15
Last: 2026-04-01
Officers (1 active · 1 resigned)
JAMES, Thomas George Bernard→
Activedirector · ~62y · appointed 2013-03-07
View their other companies + combined net worth →
JAMES, Joanne Marie→
Resigneddirector · ~56y · appointed 2013-03-07 · resigned 2016-03-31
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 | Lloyds Banking Group Lloyds Tsb Bank PLC | A registered charge | 1 property | 13/05/2013 | — |
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.
Recent filings (38 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-04-04
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2026-03-26
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2026-03-26
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2026-03-26
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2026-03-26
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2025-12-18
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-04-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2024-12-04
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-04-03
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2023-12-06
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2023-12-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2023-09-26
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-04-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2022-10-03
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-04-20