J J PAYNE & SON LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
11076717 · ltd · incorporated 2017-11-22
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 Nov 2024
Net worth
book net assets
Opportunity
76/100
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.

What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 01500
Sector: Agriculture, forestry & fishing
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company with a 81-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 76/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (60/100, director aged 81). 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 (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
1 officers (1 active, 1 linked, 1 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
20 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
76/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

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

Business quality
65
Adequate — check latest filings for context.
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 accounts
Cash
Net Worth
Current Assets
Current Liabilities
£0£0£0£0£0£0Nov 2023Nov 2024

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2024-11-302023-11-30
Average employees1100

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
0
filings
Last 180 days
0
filings
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (14 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-08-12
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-10-25
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  3. 2024-10-25
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  4. 2024-06-03
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  5. 2023-08-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  6. 2022-08-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  7. 2021-11-08
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  8. 2021-11-08
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  9. 2021-07-12
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  10. 2020-11-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  11. 2019-08-16
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  12. 2017-11-22
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As J J PAYNE & SON LIMITED
  13. 2017-11-22
    PAYNE, Robert James appointed
    director
  14. 2017-11-22
    📄
    incorporation-company
    incorporation · NEWINC

Owner dependency

100/100
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 "PAYNE" — strong identity link between founder and business.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 81 — succession pressure is live.
  • +No director turnover: Company is 9 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.

Succession & seller-readiness

75/100
Likely off-market candidate

Strong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.

SIGNALS
  • primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 81 years old. Natural succession window is now.
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.

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
Mr Robert James Payne
Individual · English · DOB 04/1945 · age 81
75100%
75–100%board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control22/11/2017

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

Similar companies

Active · Agriculture · SN postcode area
CompanyEst. valueTurnoverNet worthStaffAgeOppDirector
FOREST WILD TREES LTD
15018993 · est 2023 · no financials extracted
2y
GH, VM & RA PEARCE LTD
12489981 · est 2020 · no financials extracted
6y
H.L.SAINSBURY & SONS LIMITED
00689691 · est 1961 · no financials extracted
65y
HAINES HOLDING (SOUTHERN) LIMITED
10892681 · est 2017 · no financials extracted
8y
HAYES KNOLL FARM LTD
17125857 · est 2026 · no financials extracted
HILLWOOD BLOODSTOCK LIMITED
06909495 · est 2009 · no financials extracted
16y
I.S.O BAITS LTD
16163204 · est 2025 · no financials extracted
1y
J & A DEER MANAGEMENT LTD
16401680 · est 2025 · no financials extracted
J & R COLLINGBORN LTD
06240814 · est 2007 · no financials extracted
18y
J D WRIGHT & SON LTD
06875289 · est 2009 · no financials extracted
17y
J R ANGELL FARMING LTD
06992866 · est 2009 · no financials extracted
16y
J.H.P. FARMING LIMITED
02776446 · est 1992 · no financials extracted
33y
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
Incorporated2017-11-22
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC01500 — SIC 01500

Registered office

Unit 2 Greenways Business Park
Bellinger Close
Chippenham
SN15 1BN
England

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-08-31
Last made up to: 2024-11-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-11-08
Last: 2025-10-25

Officers (1 active · 0 resigned)

PAYNE, Robert James
director · ~81y · appointed 2017-11-22
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active

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

Recent filings (20 total)

confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-11-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-08-12
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-11-04
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2024-10-25
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2024-10-25
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-06-03
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-11-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-08-22
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-11-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-08-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-11-08
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2021-11-08
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2021-11-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-07-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-11-17