DURHAM ANIMAL FEEDS NORTH LTD
🌿Early-stageactive
14034979 · ltd · incorporated 2022-04-08
Investment thesis
Growth-phase business — story-led; valuation sensitive to momentum.
Why interesting: Trading is scaling; acquirers paying for trajectory get disproportionate leverage.
Why risky: Price often leads fundamentals; dependency on founder often high.
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
not disclosed
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
75/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 10920
Sector: Manufacturing
Investor take
PursueActive trading company. Family succession underway — not a classic acquisition target.
Opportunity 75/100 (strong), bankability 70/100. 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 (73/100).
Data confidence
Overall: medium (58/100)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
No iXBRL financials extracted
0
Lenders & charges
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
2 officers (2 active, 2 linked, 2 with DOB)
90
Ownership & PSC
3 active PSC(s) of 4 total, 4 with control declared
90
Director network
4 connected companies via shared directors
57
Filing history
17 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
75/100Strong
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
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.
Recent activity
Last 30 days
5
filings
- • 2 miscellaneous
- • 1 confirmation-statement
- • 1 capital
Last 90 days
10
filings
- • 4 persons-with-significant-control
- • 2 capital
- • 2 miscellaneous
Last 180 days
11
filings
- • 4 persons-with-significant-control
- • 2 capital
- • 2 miscellaneous
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (16 events)Click to expand
- 2026-06-04📄capital-alter-shares-subdivisioncapital · SH02
- 2026-05-27📄legacymiscellaneous · RPCH01
- 2026-05-27📄legacymiscellaneous · RPCH01
- 2026-05-15📄resolutionresolution · RESOLUTIONS
- 2026-05-06📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2026-05-06📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2026-04-27📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2026-04-27📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2026-04-27📄capital-allotment-sharescapital · SH01
- 2026-02-10📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2025-01-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2023-10-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2022-04-08🏢Company incorporatedAs DURHAM ANIMAL FEEDS NORTH LTD
- 2022-04-08➕HORNSBY, Lee appointeddirector
- 2022-04-08➕HORNSBY, Peter appointeddirector
- 2022-04-08📄incorporation-companyincorporation · NEWINC
Owner dependency
81/100
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 age: Director aged approximately 73 — succession pressure is live.
- +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.
Succession & seller-readiness
26/100
Weak signalLimited succession signal. Not a near-term off-market candidate.
SIGNALS
- primaryFamily succession underway: Not a takeover target — HORNSBY, Lee (same surname) appointed 2022-04-08. Pattern consistent with intra-family handover.
- primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 73 years old. Natural succession window is now.
- 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
3 active beneficial owners| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Lee Hornsby Individual · British · DOB 07/1976 · age 50 | 50–75% | 50–75% | 50-75% shares · 50-75% voting | 08/04/2022 |
Mr Peter Hornsby Individual · British · DOB 08/1953 · age 73 | 25–50% | 25–50% | 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting · trust interest | 03/04/2026 |
Mr Lee Peter Hornsby Individual · British · DOB 07/1976 · age 50 | 25–50% | 25–50% | 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting · trust interest | 03/04/2026 |
1 historic (ceased) PSC
- Mr Peter Hornsbyceased 03/04/2026· 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
🔒Co-director network graph
Radial SVG graph showing every company connected via shared directors, colour-coded by status.
Available from the Pro tier upwards.
See pricing →Similar companies
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| COFFEE UNITED (BINGLEY) LTD→ 14846766 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| COFFEE UNITED (SKELMERSDALE) LIMITED→ 12021131 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| COTHERSTONE CHEESE CO. LIMITED→ 01884085 · est 1985 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 41y | — | — |
| CURLEW DAIRY COMPANY LTD→ 13793647 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| D & R CHAPPELL LTD→ 13165385 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| DARK SKY BREWERY LTD→ 13620421 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| DEMONIC SPIRITS LIMITED→ 14227162 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| DRII LIMITED→ 10810848 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| DRY BEVERAGES LIMITED→ 10810949 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| DURHAM ANIMAL FEEDS LIMITED→ 09834812 · est 2015 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 10y | — | — |
| DURHAM ANIMAL FEEDS SOUTH LIMITED→ 09834684 · est 2015 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 10y | — | — |
| ECHO 3 COFFEE LTD→ 11204158 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2022-04-08
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC10920 — SIC 10920
Registered office
Unit 1 Windlestone Park
Rushyford
Ferryhill
County Durham
DL17 0NF
United Kingdom
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-01-31
Last made up to: 2025-04-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-04-21
Last: 2026-04-07
Officers (2 active · 0 resigned)
HORNSBY, Lee→
Activedirector · ~50y · appointed 2022-04-08
View their other companies + combined net worth →
HORNSBY, Peter→
Activedirector · ~73y · appointed 2022-04-08
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (17 total)
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-06-10
capital-alter-shares-subdivision
capital · SH02
2026-06-04
legacy
miscellaneous · RPCH01
2026-05-27
legacy
miscellaneous · RPCH01
2026-05-27
resolution
resolution · RESOLUTIONS
2026-05-15
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2026-05-06
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2026-05-06
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2026-04-27
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2026-04-27
capital-allotment-shares
capital · SH01
2026-04-27
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2026-02-10
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-04-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2025-01-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-04-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2023-10-30