B.L. FARMS LIMITED
🌳Matureactive
SC100424 · ltd · incorporated 1986-08-07
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.
Why now
Window steady · low confidence
Steady and tidy — no seller pressure yet. Approach only if an angle opens.
Opportunity decay
hardening · 12-months
Already tight — no obvious softening catalysts on the horizon.
- · Thesis: well-run, low negotiation leverage
What changed my view
Last 30 days
No material changes in the last 30 days.
Last 90 days
No snapshot from 90 days ago — start tracking from today.
Last 180 days
No snapshot from 180 days ago — start tracking from today.
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Nov 2024
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: Growing of cereals (except rice), leguminous crops and oil seeds
Sector: Agriculture, forestry & fishing
Investor take
PursueActive trading company with a 82-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 67/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 82). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Consolidate lender relationships. 3 distinct lenders creates friction — refinance into single-lender structure for cleaner diligence. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
3 live charges · 3 lenders · oldest 31.7y
35/100
too messy
Refinance path is blocked by complexity. Rethink structure or expect bespoke, expensive terms.
- · Oldest live charge is 31.7 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · 3 lenders named — inter-creditor friction likely.
- · Legal-friction score 35/100 — workable, but lender will want more DD.
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
3 charges (3/3 with lender, 3/3 with type)
90
Directors & officers
5 officers (3 active, 5 linked, 3 with DOB)
82
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
98 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
82/100Exceptional
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Strong composite across quality, acquirability, and risk. High-priority target — progress to serious diligence.
Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
80
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
100
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 · FRS 102| Metric | 2024-11-28 | 2023-11-28 |
|---|---|---|
| Average employees | 400 | 500 |
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 (24 events)Click to expand
- 2025-08-13📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-10-01📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2024-08-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-08-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-03-08📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2023-03-08📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2022-07-19📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-08-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-11-20📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2020-10-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-08-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-08-09📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-08-21📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2017-05-12📄mortgage-satisfy-charge-fullmortgage · MR04
- 2017-05-12🔓Charge satisfied #2
- 2016-08-02📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2013-11-06🔒Charge registered #3Lender: Bank of Scotland PLC
- 2009-11-10🔒Charge registered #2Lender: David Purves Reed and Others
- 2004-04-08➖REED, Carole resigneddirector
- 2003-04-05➕REED, Richard appointedsecretary
- 2003-04-05➖REED, Carole resignedsecretary
- 1998-04-05➕REED, Richard William appointeddirector
- 1994-11-11🔒Charge registered #1Lender: The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland
- 1986-08-07🏢Company incorporatedAs B.L. FARMS LIMITED
Owner dependency
91/100
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.
- +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 28 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 82 — succession pressure is live.
- +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.
Succession & seller-readiness
96/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 82 years old. Natural succession window is now.
- secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
- primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 28 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
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 Richard William Reed Individual · British · DOB 06/1974 · age 52 | 75–100% | — | 75-100% shares | 06/04/2016 |
1 historic (ceased) PSC
- Mr David Purvis Reedceased 16/02/2023· 75-100% shares
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Similar companies
Active · Agriculture · EH postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CRAIGENGILLAN ESTATES (NO 1) COMPANY LIMITED→ SC124520 · est 1990 | £3.87M £2.98M–£4.77M | — | — | 0 | 36y | 83 | 63y |
| ALDERSTON DAIRIES LIMITED→ SC241138 · est 2002 | — | — | £114.4k | — | 23y | 83 | 74y |
| CAITHNESS POTATO BREEDERS LIMITED→ SC082730 · est 1983 | — | — | £1.36M | — | 43y | 83 | 68y |
| CARCANT ESTATES LIMITED→ SC030457 · est 1954 | — | — | £269.0k | — | 71y | 83 | 69y |
| DENHOLM POTATO GROWERS LIMITED→ SC089295 · est 1984 | — | — | £453.8k | — | 41y | 83 | 61y |
| DODS OF HADDINGTON LIMITED→ SC056452 · est 1974 | — | — | £2.26M | — | 51y | 83 | 72y |
| EAST COAST ORGANICS LTD→ SC297585 · est 2006 | — | — | £1.21M | — | 20y | 83 | 63y |
| EAST LOTHIAN PRODUCE LIMITED→ SC185473 · est 1998 | — | — | £8.19M | — | 28y | 83 | 73y |
| ROSLIN NUTRITION LIMITED→ SC173850 · est 1997 | — | — | — | 1000 | 29y | 83 | 78y |
| ARBORETUM ESTATES LIMITED→ SC350956 · est 2008 | — | — | — | 0 | 17y | 82 | 67y |
| B & B BAIRD LIMITED→ SC166746 · est 1996 | — | — | £407.7k | — | 30y | 82 | 65y |
| BLAIR TRUST COMPANY→ SC013503 · est 1925 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 101y | 82 | 79y |
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
Incorporated1986-08-07
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC01110 — Growing of cereals (except rice), leguminous crops and oil seeds
Registered office
B.L. Farms Limited C/O Azets
Quay 2
139 Fountainbridge
Edinburgh
EH3 9QG
United Kingdom
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-08-28
Last made up to: 2024-11-28
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-02-14
Last: 2026-01-31
Officers (3 active · 2 resigned)
Active
Active
REED, Richard William→
Activedirector · ~52y · appointed 1998-04-05
View their other companies + combined net worth →
REED, Carole→
Resignedsecretary · resigned 2003-04-05
REED, Carole→
Resigneddirector · ~79y · resigned 2004-04-08
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
3
Total charges
2
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:3 of 3 shown
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| outstanding | Lloyds Banking Group Bank of Scotland PLC | A registered charge | 1 property | 06/11/2013 | — | |
| satisfied | David Purves Reed and Others | Legal charge | 1 property | 10/11/2009 | 12/05/2017 | |
| outstanding | Lloyds Banking Group The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland | Legal charge | 1 property | 11/11/1994 | — |
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.
Recent filings (98 total)
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-02-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-08-13
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-02-11
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2024-10-01
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-08-27
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-02-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-08-28
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2023-03-08
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2023-03-08
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-03-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-07-19
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-01-31
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-08-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-02-09
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2020-11-20