CHRIS STEPHENS CONTRACTING LIMITED
🌳Matureactive
09496650 · ltd · incorporated 2015-03-18
Investment thesis
Established operating company — standard diligence applies, no dominant angle.
Why interesting: Live, filing, normal profile.
Why risky: No standout signals in either direction.
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Mar 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
69/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Support activities for crop production
Sector: Agriculture, forestry & fishing
Investor take
Pass (distressed without resilience)Distressed active trading company — structural issues outweigh the discount.
Opportunity 69/100 (strong), bankability 65/100. Strong seller-intent signal (63/100, director aged 69). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Resolve: Confirmation statement overdue. Annual confirmation statement not filed on time. Required statutory filing — overdue is a strong discipline signal. 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
31 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
69/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Business quality
60
Adequate — check latest filings for context.
Acquirability
70
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
67
Some moderate concerns — review 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 · FRS 102| Metric | 2025-03-31 | 2024-03-31 |
|---|
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
Recent activity
Last 30 days
0
filings
Last 90 days
2
filings
- • 1 gazette
- • 1 dissolution
Last 180 days
2
filings
- • 1 gazette
- • 1 dissolution
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (20 events)Click to expand
- 2026-05-19📄gazette-notice-voluntarygazette · GAZ1(A)
- 2026-05-09📄dissolution-application-strike-off-companydissolution · DS01
- 2025-11-21📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2025-03-20📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2025-03-19📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2024-12-11📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2023-12-13📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2022-11-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2021-10-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2020-08-18📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2020-03-25📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2020-03-25📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2020-03-25📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2020-03-25📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2020-03-25📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2019-09-24📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2018-05-24📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2015-03-18🏢Company incorporatedAs CHRIS STEPHENS CONTRACTING LIMITED
- 2015-03-18➕STEPHENS, Christopher appointeddirector
- 2015-03-18➕STEPHENS, Vanessa 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 "STEPHENS" — strong identity link between founder and business.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 69 — succession pressure is live.
- +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.
- +No director turnover: Company is 11 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.
Succession & seller-readiness
56/100
Strong succession signalMultiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.
SIGNALS
- primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 69. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
- secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
Red flags
1 high ·Confirmation statement overdue
highAnnual confirmation statement not filed on time. Required statutory filing — overdue is a strong discipline signal.
Evidence: Next due: 2026-04-01
Shareholders & ownership
2 active beneficial owners| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mrs Vanessa Stephens Individual · British · DOB 10/1958 · age 68 | 25–50% | 25–50% | 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting | 06/04/2016 |
Mr Christopher Stephens Individual · British · DOB 06/1957 · age 69 | 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 · CT postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AGRI-STARR LIMITED→ 09990948 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 10y | — | — |
| BAXTER FARMS LIMITED→ 02508542 · est 1990 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 35y | — | — |
| BEECOLOGY LTD→ 15630310 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| BIDDENDEN ARBORICULTURE LIMITED→ 13955125 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| BIODEMETER LIMITED→ 13324842 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| COURT FARM ANIMALS LIMITED→ 07129950 · est 2010 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 16y | — | — |
| CREET LAKES LTD→ 16130736 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| CROPS LIASE LTD LIMITED→ 16858915 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| D.W.FERGUSON LIMITED→ 00386193 · est 1944 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 82y | — | — |
| DAILY CONTRACTING LTD→ 17080838 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| DAW FARMS LIMITED→ 07316709 · est 2010 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 15y | — | — |
| DEBDEN COURT LIMITED→ 06982331 · est 2009 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 16y | — | — |
Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions
8 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
Incorporated2015-03-18
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC01610 — Support activities for crop production
Registered office
Rushbourne Manor Hoath Road
Hoath
Canterbury
Kent
CT3 4JP
England
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-04-01OVERDUE
Last: 2025-03-18
Officers (2 active · 0 resigned)
STEPHENS, Christopher→
Activedirector · ~69y · appointed 2015-03-18
View their other companies + combined net worth →
STEPHENS, Vanessa→
Activedirector · ~68y · appointed 2015-03-18
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (31 total)
gazette-notice-voluntary
gazette · GAZ1(A)
2026-05-19
dissolution-application-strike-off-company
dissolution · DS01
2026-05-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2025-11-21
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-03-31
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2025-03-20
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2025-03-19
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2024-12-11
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-03-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2023-12-13
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-03-24
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2022-11-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-03-25
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2021-10-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-03-19
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2020-08-18