SMALLBURN FARMS LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
SC099667 · ltd · incorporated 1986-06-18
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
£458.2k
book net assets
Opportunity
77/100
Strong
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What this business does
Primary activity: Growing of cereals (except rice), leguminous crops and oil seeds
Sector: Agriculture, forestry & fishing
ALSO REGISTERED FOR
  • 01420SIC 01420
Investor take
Pursue
Strong opportunity: active trading company with strong profile and bankable structure.

Opportunity 77/100 (strong), bankability 80/100. 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).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

1 live charge · oldest 8.1y

45/100
under pressure

Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.

  • · Oldest live charge is 8.1 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
  • · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.

Data confidence

Overall: medium (79/100)

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
2 years of iXBRL accounts extracted (YoY deltas available) + narrative notes parsed
75
Lenders & charges
1 charges (1/1 with lender, 1/1 with type)
90
Directors & officers
5 officers (2 active, 5 linked, 3 with DOB)
82
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
3 connected companies via shared directors
54
Filing history
97 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
77/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

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

Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
60
Some acquirability indicators.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
100
Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declared
Positive net assets
Net assets £458,237

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
£458k
↑ 8.5% YoY
Current Assets
£133k
↑ 1422% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£92k£183k£275k£367k£458kMar 2024Mar 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2025-03-312024-03-31
Total assets£604.5k£462.8k
Current assets£132.9k£8.7k
Net assets£458.2k£422.4k

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
0
filings
Last 180 days
2
filings
  • • 1 accounts
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (22 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-12-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-03-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-08-23
    📄
    change-account-reference-date-company-previous-extended
    accounts · AA01
  4. 2023-11-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  5. 2022-11-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  6. 2021-11-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  7. 2020-11-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  8. 2019-08-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  9. 2018-08-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  10. 2018-04-10
    📄
    mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
    mortgage · MR01
  11. 2018-04-05
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: Gordonstoun Schools, Limited
  12. 2017-08-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  13. 2016-08-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  14. 2015-11-20
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  15. 2015-09-03
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  16. 2014-10-28
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  17. 2000-06-08
    ➕
    ANDERSON, Hilary Marguerite appointed
    secretary
  18. 2000-06-08
    ➖
    ANDERSON, Andrew Dean resigned
    secretary
  19. 2000-06-08
    ➖
    ANDERSON, Andrew Dean resigned
    director
  20. 1997-01-20
    ➖
    GASCOIGNE, Michael Neil Clifton resigned
    director
  21. 1989-10-26
    ➕
    ANDERSON, Andrew Dean appointed
    director
  22. 1986-06-18
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As SMALLBURN FARMS LIMITED

Owner dependency

85/100
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.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 37 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.

Succession & seller-readiness

75/100
Likely off-market candidate

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

SIGNALS
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
  • primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 37 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 40 years old and no new directors in the last 3 years — succession not yet being planned internally.
  • 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
Mr Andrew Dean Anderson
Individual · British · DOB 04/1970 · age 56
75–100%
75–100%board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control06/04/2016

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

Active · Agriculture · IV postcode area
CompanyEst. valueTurnoverNet worthStaffAgeOppDirector
ASSYNT CROFTERS TRUST LIMITED→
SC140205 · est 1992
———333y8388y
BLUE MOTION FISHING CO. LIMITED→
SC357414 · est 2009
——£762.9k—17y8362y
BURGIE LODGE FARMS LIMITED→
SC031556 · est 1956
——£1.67M—69y8373y
CAWDOR FORESTRY LIMITED→
SC218848 · est 2001
——£468.9k—24y8364y
SMIR SCOTLAND LIMITED→
SC553111 · est 2016 · no financials extracted
————9y——
SMM FISHING LTD→
SC609929 · est 2018 · no financials extracted
————7y——
SPYNIE FARMERS LIMITED→
SC113051 · est 1988 · no financials extracted
————37y——
STRATHNAIRN COMMUNITY WOODLANDS→
SC228026 · est 2002 · no financials extracted
————24y——
SUTHERLAND COMMUNITY SEAWEED CIC→
SC870173 · est 2025 · no financials extracted
———————
TARTAN TIMBER HARVESTING LTD→
SC849444 · est 2025 · no financials extracted
———————
THE KYLESKU CROFTERS TRUST LIMITED→
SC212413 · est 2000 · no financials extracted
————25y——
TONY WEIR CONTRACTOR LIMITED→
SC528808 · est 2016 · no financials extracted
————10y——
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
Incorporated1986-06-18
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC01110 — Growing of cereals (except rice), leguminous crops and oil seeds

Registered office

Mardean
Mayne Farm
Elgin
Morayshire
IV30 8RS

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-11-09
Last: 2025-10-26

Officers (2 active · 3 resigned)

ANDERSON, Hilary Marguerite→
secretary · appointed 2000-06-08
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
ANDERSON, Andrew Dean→
director · ~56y · appointed 1989-10-26
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
ANDERSON, Andrew Dean→
secretary · resigned 2000-06-08
Resigned
ANDERSON, Andrew Dean→
director · ~56y · resigned 2000-06-08
Resigned
GASCOIGNE, Michael Neil Clifton→
director · ~77y · resigned 1997-01-20
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

1
Total charges
1
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:1 of 1 shown
TypeProperties
outstanding
Gordonstoun Schools,
Gordonstoun Schools, Limited
A registered charge1 property05/04/2018—
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (97 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-12-24
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-11-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-03-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-11-09
change-account-reference-date-company-previous-extended
accounts · AA01
2024-08-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-11-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-11-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-11-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-11-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-11-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-11-10
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-12-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-11-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-11-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2019-08-30