C G HARPER LTD
🌳Matureactive
09946341 · ltd · incorporated 2016-01-12
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 Dec 2024
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
78/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 01130
Sector: Agriculture, forestry & fishing
Investor take
PursueActive trading company. Family succession underway — not a classic acquisition target.
Opportunity 78/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. Same-surname younger director in place — likely family handover, not open to sale. Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).
Data confidence
Overall: medium (77/100)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
4 officers (3 active, 4 linked, 3 with DOB)
85
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
33 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 | 2024-12-31 | 2023-12-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Average employees | 400 | 400 |
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
1
filing
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (21 events)Click to expand
- 2025-11-27➕HARPER, Benjamin David Garnett appointeddirector
- 2025-11-27📄appoint-person-director-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP01
- 2025-09-22📄change-person-secretary-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH03
- 2025-09-22📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2025-09-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-09-04📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-06-07📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-09-28📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2022-09-28📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2022-09-05📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-08-16📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2020-06-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2019-03-11📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2018-07-09📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2017-12-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-09-01📄change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortenedaccounts · AA01
- 2017-02-24➕HARPER, Christopher Garnet appointedsecretary
- 2016-06-14➕HARPER, Christopher Garnet appointeddirector
- 2016-06-14➖SHAW, Martin Matthew resigneddirector
- 2016-01-12🏢Company incorporatedAs C G HARPER LTD
- 2016-01-12➕SHAW, Martin Matthew appointeddirector
Owner dependency
89/100
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 "HARPER" — strong identity link between founder and business.
- +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 63 — approaching natural succession window.
- +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.
Succession & seller-readiness
16/100
No succession signalNo meaningful acquirability indicators from public data.
SIGNALS
- primaryFamily succession underway: Not a takeover target — HARPER, Benjamin David Garnett (same surname) appointed 2025-11-27. Pattern consistent with intra-family handover.
- primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 63. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
- secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
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
1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Christopher Garnet Harper Individual · English · DOB 06/1963 · age 63 | 75–100% | — | 75-100% shares | 06/04/2016 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BESTAR CO., LTD→ 16008466 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
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| BRITTONS FARMING→ 06066082 · est 2007 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 19y | — | — |
| BURDEN LEE EQUINE LTD→ 15835618 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| BURLING BROTHERS LIMITED→ 00803616 · est 1964 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 61y | — | — |
| C39 LIMITED→ 12400311 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| CAM PARK ARENA LIMITED→ 14484058 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| CAM PARK LIMITED→ 13910725 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| CAMBRIDGE ASPARAGUS LTD→ 10496278 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| CAMBRIDGE CANINE CUTS LTD→ 16747163 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| CAMBRIDGE HYDROTHERAPY CENTRE LTD→ 16210561 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions
6 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
Incorporated2016-01-12
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC01130 — SIC 01130
Registered office
Cart House 2, Copley Hill Business Park Cambridge Road
Babraham
Cambridge
CB22 3GN
England
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last made up to: 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-03-16
Last: 2026-03-02
Officers (3 active · 1 resigned)
HARPER, Christopher Garnet→
Activesecretary · appointed 2017-02-24
View their other companies + combined net worth →
HARPER, Benjamin David Garnett→
Activedirector · ~22y · appointed 2025-11-27
View their other companies + combined net worth →
HARPER, Christopher Garnet→
Activedirector · ~63y · appointed 2016-06-14
View their other companies + combined net worth →
SHAW, Martin Matthew→
Resigneddirector · ~71y · appointed 2016-01-12 · resigned 2016-06-14
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (33 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-03-04
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2025-11-27
change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
officers · CH03
2025-09-22
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2025-09-22
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-09-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-03-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-09-04
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-03-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-06-07
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-03-02
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2022-09-28
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2022-09-28
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-09-05
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-03-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-08-16