ARNOT FARMS LIMITED

🌳Matureactive
SC164887 · ltd · incorporated 1996-04-15
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
approaching window · 12-months
Approaching a transaction window — refinance or sale event plausible in the next 12 months.
  • · Oldest live charge 29.5y old — refinance window within 12 months
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Mar 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
🔔
Follow this company (free)
Email alerts on filings, charges, director changes, gazette notices. No account needed.

Unsubscribe any time from any email. GDPR-respectful.

🔒Generate AI memo →🔒Outreach pack →🔒Corporate story →📑 Reports →Sign in to watch
What this business does
Primary activity: Growing of cereals (except rice), leguminous crops and oil seeds
Sector: Agriculture, forestry & fishing
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company with a 71-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 80/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 71). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Discharge stale live charges. 1 live charge(s) created 15+ years ago — likely paid but undischarged. Clean register. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

1 live charge · oldest 29.5y

65/100
clean up first

Refinance viable after a tidy-up — address the highlighted items first.

  • · Oldest live charge is 29.5 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
  • · Legal-friction score 25/100 — 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
1 charges (1/1 with lender, 1/1 with type)
90
Directors & officers
5 officers (3 active, 5 linked, 3 with DOB)
82
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 4 total, 4 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
74 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 accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
£0£0£0£0£0£0Mar 2024Mar 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2025-03-312024-03-31
Average employees200200

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
1
filing
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 90 days
1
filing
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
2
filings
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
  • • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (24 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-12-08
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-09-12
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-06-05
    📄
    change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortened
    accounts · AA01
  4. 2024-03-04
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  5. 2023-04-18
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  6. 2023-03-07
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
  7. 2023-03-06
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  8. 2023-02-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2022-04-19
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  10. 2022-03-25
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  11. 2021-04-20
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  12. 2020-03-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  13. 2019-03-11
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  14. 2018-03-19
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  15. 2017-03-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  16. 1996-10-22
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
  17. 1996-04-15
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As ARNOT FARMS LIMITED
  18. 1996-04-15
    ➕
    ARNOT, Alan David appointed
    secretary
  19. 1996-04-15
    ➕
    ARNOT, Alan David appointed
    director
  20. 1996-04-15
    ➕
    ARNOT, Patrick Sim appointed
    director
  21. 1996-04-15
    ➕
    REID, Brian appointed
    nominee-secretary
  22. 1996-04-15
    ➖
    REID, Brian resigned
    nominee-secretary
  23. 1996-04-15
    ➕
    MABBOTT, Stephen appointed
    nominee-director
  24. 1996-04-15
    ➖
    MABBOTT, Stephen resigned
    nominee-director

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
  • +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 "ARNOT" — strong identity link between founder and business.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 30 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 71 — 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 candidate

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

SIGNALS
  • primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 71 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 30 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 30 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

2 active beneficial owners
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Patrick Sim Arnot
Individual · British · DOB 08/1962 · age 64
25–50%
25–50%25-50% shares · 25-50% voting15/04/2017
Mr Alan David Arnot
Individual · British · DOB 08/1955 · age 71
——sig. influencesignificant influence06/03/2023
2 historic (ceased) PSCs
  • Mr Alan David Arnotceased 06/03/2023· 25-50% shares
  • Mrs Joyce Ena Arnotceased 13/03/2022· 25-50% shares

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

Similar companies

Active · Agriculture · DD postcode area
CompanyEst. valueTurnoverNet worthStaffAgeOppDirector
PEACEHILL FARMING LIMITED→
SC144826 · est 1993
£3.65M
£2.81M–£4.50M
£13.06M—570032y8476y
ANGUS GROWERS LIMITED→
SC234071 · est 2002
———150023y8380y
COOKSTON FARMS→
SC036246 · est 1961 · no financials extracted
————65y8373y
CRAIGOWL FARMS LTD.→
SC327648 · est 2007
———250018y8362y
CRUIVIE AND BRIGHOUSE LIMITED→
SC055296 · est 1974
———40052y8389y
ETHIEBARNS FARMING COMPANY→
SC052695 · est 1973
———110053y8371y
R. & W. WHITTON LIMITED→
SC027167 · est 1949
———20076y8371y
SOILESSENTIALS LIMITED→
SC203822 · est 2000
——£1.16M—26y8365y
A. C. BROWN (FARMS) LIMITED→
SC030970 · est 1955
———070y8281y
ANGUS GAME PLUS LIMITED→
SC255156 · est 2003
———222y8264y
ARBUCKLE SOFT FRUIT LIMITED→
SC223757 · est 2001
———20024y8273y
ARNHALL FARMS LIMITED→
SC279661 · est 2005
———80021y8264y
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
Incorporated1996-04-15
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC01110 — Growing of cereals (except rice), leguminous crops and oil seeds

Registered office

Hatton Mill Farm
Friockheim
By Arbroath
DD11 4UL

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-04-29
Last: 2026-04-15

Officers (3 active · 2 resigned)

ARNOT, Alan David→
secretary · appointed 1996-04-15
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
ARNOT, Alan David→
director · ~71y · appointed 1996-04-15
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
ARNOT, Patrick Sim→
director · ~64y · appointed 1996-04-15
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
REID, Brian→
nominee-secretary · appointed 1996-04-15 · resigned 1996-04-15
Resigned
MABBOTT, Stephen→
nominee-director · ~76y · appointed 1996-04-15 · resigned 1996-04-15
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
Lloyds Banking Group
The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
Standard security1 property22/10/1996—
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (74 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-04-22
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-12-08
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-04-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-09-12
change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortened
accounts · AA01
2024-06-05
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-04-26
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-03-04
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-04-28
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2023-04-18
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2023-03-07
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2023-03-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-02-24
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-04-21
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2022-04-19
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-03-25