COWLING BROS LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
09578135 · ltd · incorporated 2015-05-06
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
—
book net assets
Opportunity
73/100
Strong
🔔
Follow this company (free)
Email alerts on filings, charges, director changes, gazette notices. No account needed.

Unsubscribe any time from any email. GDPR-respectful.

🔒Generate AI memo →🔒Outreach pack →🔒Corporate story →📑 Reports →Sign in to watch
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 01410
Sector: Agriculture, forestry & fishing
ALSO REGISTERED FOR
  • 01500SIC 01500
Investor take
Pursue
Strong opportunity: active trading company with strong profile and bankable structure.

Opportunity 73/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. High owner-dependency — earn-out structure likely required for clean transition. Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Broaden director team. Sole director creates succession risk and reduces buyer comfort. Appoint a second director or strong #2. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (58/100).

Data confidence

Overall: medium (70/100)

Adequate coverage. AI outputs are reliable for the sections scored high; verify the rest in diligence.

Company profile
address, 2 SIC codes, incorporation date
100
Financials
1 year of iXBRL accounts extracted (no YoY comparison) + narrative notes parsed
50
Lenders & charges
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
2 officers (1 active, 2 linked, 2 with DOB)
90
Ownership & PSC
1 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
73/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.

Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
50
Some acquirability indicators.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.

Key financials

1 year extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2025-03-31
Average employees300

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
1
filing
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
1
filing
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (19 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-12-16
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-06-20
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  3. 2025-06-19
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  4. 2025-06-19
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  5. 2025-06-13
    ➖
    COWLING, Stephanie Ruth resigned
    director
  6. 2025-05-15
    📄
    change-account-reference-date-company-previous-extended
    accounts · AA01
  7. 2024-07-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2023-07-14
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2022-09-07
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2021-09-08
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  11. 2020-09-03
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  12. 2019-12-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  13. 2019-03-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  14. 2018-12-31
    📄
    change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortened
    accounts · AA01
  15. 2017-09-13
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  16. 2017-04-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  17. 2015-10-01
    ➕
    COWLING, Sean Matthew appointed
    director
  18. 2015-05-06
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As COWLING BROS LIMITED
  19. 2015-05-06
    ➕
    COWLING, Stephanie Ruth appointed
    director

Owner dependency

90/100
Critical — business is the founder

The 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.
  • +Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "COWLING" — strong identity link between founder and business.

Succession & seller-readiness

50/100
Moderate signal

Some succession indicators present. Worth watching; approach if sector/strategy fits.

SIGNALS
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
  • supportingClean filings + long tenure: Disciplined long-tenure operator — classic lifestyle-business pattern that often sells quietly.

Red flags

clean
No red flags detected from available public data. (This is not a clean bill of health — detailed accounts review still recommended.)

Shareholders & ownership

1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Sean Matthew Cowling
Individual · British · DOB 08/1978 · age 48
75–100%
75–100%75-100% shares · 75-100% voting01/07/2016
1 historic (ceased) PSC
  • Stephanie Ruth Cowlingceased 13/06/2025· 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting

From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.

Similar companies

Active · Agriculture · BA postcode area
CompanyEst. valueTurnoverNet worthStaffAgeOppDirector
ACREMAN FORESTRY LTD→
08692688 · est 2013 · no financials extracted
————12y——
BOYDSIDE LTD→
10545647 · est 2017 · no financials extracted
————9y——
BUCKS FARRIERS OF SOMERSET LIMITED→
14889535 · est 2023 · no financials extracted
————2y——
CARTLEDGE AGRI LIMITED→
14606415 · est 2023 · no financials extracted
————3y——
CASSELS FARM LIMITED→
00715521 · est 1962 · no financials extracted
————64y——
CAVY KRAZY [DORSET] LTD→
14148896 · est 2022 · no financials extracted
————3y——
CHERRY GARDENS EQUESTRIAN LTD→
16771033 · est 2025 · no financials extracted
———————
CHURCH VIEW STUD LTD→
15171694 · est 2023 · no financials extracted
————2y——
COOMBE LAKE FARMS LIMITED→
03187203 · est 1996 · no financials extracted
————30y——
COURT FARM REHABILITATION LTD→
15186204 · est 2023 · no financials extracted
————2y——
COWSTRUCTION LTD→
14773334 · est 2023 · no financials extracted
————3y——
CRANLEIGH FARM LTD→
10616937 · est 2017 · no financials extracted
————9y——
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
Incorporated2015-05-06
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC01410 — SIC 01410

Registered office

Little Crapnell Farm Crapnell Lane
Crapnell
Wells
Somerset
BA5 3HQ
United Kingdom

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-05-20
Last: 2026-05-06

Officers (1 active · 1 resigned)

COWLING, Sean Matthew→
director · ~48y · appointed 2015-10-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
COWLING, Stephanie Ruth→
director · ~70y · appointed 2015-05-06 · resigned 2025-06-13
Resigned

Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.

Recent filings (31 total)

confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-05-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-12-16
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2025-06-20
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2025-06-19
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2025-06-19
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-06-10
change-account-reference-date-company-previous-extended
accounts · AA01
2025-05-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-07-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-05-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-07-14
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-05-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-09-07
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-05-24
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-09-08
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-05-07