FARNBECK LIMITED

🌳Matureactive
SC230635 · ltd · incorporated 2002-04-22
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
hardening · 12-months
Already tight — no obvious softening catalysts on the horizon.
  • · Thesis: well-run, low negotiation leverage
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Sept 2025
Net worth
£50.3k
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: Other manufacturing n.e.c.
Sector: Manufacturing
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company with a 74-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 67/100. Strong seller-intent signal (63/100, director aged 74). 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 24.0y

35/100
too messy

Refinance path is blocked by complexity. Rethink structure or expect bespoke, expensive terms.

  • · Oldest live charge is 24.0 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 (79/100)

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
8 officers (4 active, 8 linked, 4 with DOB)
80
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
2 connected companies via shared directors
51
Filing history
80 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.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declared
Positive net assets
Net assets £50,279
Net assets shrinking
Down £55,920 YoY
Cash YoY
+173%
Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£163k
↑ 173% YoY
Net Worth
£50k
↓ 53% YoY
Current Assets
£697k
↓ 3.0% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£144k£287k£431k£574k£718kSept 2024Sept 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2025-09-302024-09-30
Total assets£51.7k£108.2k
Current assets£696.6k£717.8k
Cash£163.1k£59.7k
Debtors£346.2k£415.8k
Net assets£50.3k£106.2k

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 (31 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-12-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-02-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-03-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2023-06-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  5. 2022-03-29
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC02
  6. 2022-03-29
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  7. 2022-01-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2021-03-12
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2020-01-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2019-01-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  11. 2018-10-17
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  12. 2018-10-04
    ➕
    MAIN, James Douglas appointed
    director
  13. 2017-12-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  14. 2017-06-30
    ➕
    MAIN, Pamela appointed
    director
  15. 2017-06-30
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  16. 2016-12-13
    📄
    memorandum-articles
    incorporation · MA
  17. 2016-11-30
    📄
    capital-cancellation-shares
    capital · SH06
  18. 2016-11-02
    ➖
    DISHINGTON, William Richard resigned
    director
  19. 2016-10-04
    🔒
    Charge registered #3
    Lender: Clydesdale Bank PLC (Trading as Both Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank) (Company Number SC001111)
  20. 2002-05-13
    🔒
    Charge registered #2
    Lender: Georgina Sclater
  21. 2002-05-13
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: Clydesdale Bank Public Limited Company
  22. 2002-04-26
    ➕
    MAIN, Douglas James appointed
    secretary
  23. 2002-04-26
    ➕
    MAIN, Douglas James appointed
    director
  24. 2002-04-26
    ➖
    BLP SECRETARIES LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  25. 2002-04-26
    ➕
    DISHINGTON, William Richard appointed
    director
  26. 2002-04-26
    ➖
    BLP CREATIONS LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-director
  27. 2002-04-26
    ➖
    BLP FORMATIONS LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-director
  28. 2002-04-22
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As FARNBECK LIMITED
  29. 2002-04-22
    ➕
    BLP SECRETARIES LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  30. 2002-04-22
    ➕
    BLP CREATIONS LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-director
  31. 2002-04-22
    ➕
    BLP FORMATIONS LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-director

Owner dependency

83/100
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
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 24 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 74 — succession pressure is live.
  • +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.

Succession & seller-readiness

90/100
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 74 years old. Natural succession window is now.
  • primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 24 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 24 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.)

Group structure

Farnbeck Holdings Limited is the ultimate parent — holding 75%+ shares. This company sits inside their group.

🏛️
Farnbeck Holdings Limited
Corporate parent · holds 75-100% shares · board control
ultimate parent
⬇
FARNBECK LIMITED
This company · SC230635

Parent relationships inferred from Persons with Significant Control filings. Full subsidiary tree requires reverse-lookup (coming).

Shareholders & ownership

1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Farnbeck Holdings Limited
Corporate entity
75–100%
75–100%board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control22/03/2022
1 historic (ceased) PSC
  • Mr Douglas James Mainceased 22/03/2022· significant influence

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 →

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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
Incorporated2002-04-22
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC32990 — Other manufacturing n.e.c.

Registered office

32 Swanfield
Off Bonnington Road
Edinburgh
Midlothian
EH6 5RX

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-06-30
Last made up to: 2025-09-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-04-21
Last: 2026-04-07

Officers (4 active · 4 resigned)

MAIN, Douglas James→
secretary · appointed 2002-04-26
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
MAIN, Douglas James→
director · ~74y · appointed 2002-04-26
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
MAIN, James Douglas→
director · ~37y · appointed 2018-10-04
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
MAIN, Pamela→
director · ~63y · appointed 2017-06-30
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
BLP SECRETARIES LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2002-04-22 · resigned 2002-04-26
Resigned
DISHINGTON, William Richard→
director · ~73y · appointed 2002-04-26 · resigned 2016-11-02
Resigned
BLP CREATIONS LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2002-04-22 · resigned 2002-04-26
Resigned
BLP FORMATIONS LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2002-04-22 · resigned 2002-04-26
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

3
Total charges
3
Outstanding
2
Active lenders
Status:Lender:3 of 3 shown
TypeProperties
outstanding
Virgin Money
Clydesdale Bank PLC (Trading as Both Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank) (Company Number SC001111)
A registered charge—04/10/2016—
outstanding
Georgina Sclater
Floating charge1 property13/05/2002—
outstanding
Virgin Money
Clydesdale Bank Public Limited Company
Floating charge1 property13/05/2002—
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (80 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-04-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-12-17
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-04-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-02-21
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-04-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-03-26
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-06-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-04-11
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-04-20
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC02
2022-03-29
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2022-03-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-01-24
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-04-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-03-12
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-04-07