C & M SYMONS LTD
💤Zombieactive
SC273115 · ltd · incorporated 2004-09-09
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
—
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 01500
Sector: Agriculture, forestry & fishing
Investor take
PursueActive trading company with a 74-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 85/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 74). 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 (73/100).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
1 live charge · oldest 17.2y
45/100
under pressure
Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.
- · Oldest live charge is 17.2 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
- · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.
Data confidence
Overall: medium (76/100)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
4 officers (2 active, 4 linked, 1 with DOB)
75
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
55 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 | 2025-03-31 | 2024-03-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Average employees | 0 | 0 |
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
0
filings
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (24 events)Click to expand
- 2025-08-13📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-07-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-06-14📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-06-05📄mortgage-satisfy-charge-fullmortgage · MR04
- 2023-06-05🔓Charge satisfied #1
- 2022-07-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-09-06📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2020-09-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2019-08-13📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-06-10📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2019-06-10📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2019-06-10📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2018-05-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-05-22📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2017-07-21📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2016-07-18📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2009-02-25🔒Charge registered #1Lender: Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
- 2004-09-14➕SYMONS, Jacqueline Mary appointedsecretary
- 2004-09-14➕SYMONS, Charles Jackson appointeddirector
- 2004-09-13➖FORM 10 SECRETARIES FD LTD resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 2004-09-13➖FORM 10 DIRECTORS FD LTD resignedcorporate-nominee-director
- 2004-09-09🏢Company incorporatedAs C & M SYMONS LTD
- 2004-09-09➕FORM 10 SECRETARIES FD LTD appointedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 2004-09-09➕FORM 10 DIRECTORS FD LTD appointedcorporate-nominee-director
Owner dependency
100/100
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
- +Sole director: Only one active director — all governance concentrated on one person.
- +Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "SYMONS" — strong identity link between founder and business.
- +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 22 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 74 — succession pressure is live.
Succession & seller-readiness
100/100
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 74 years old. Natural succession window is now.
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
- primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 22 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 22 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
2 active beneficial owners| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Charles Jackson Symons Individual · British · DOB 09/1952 · age 74 | 25–50% | — | 25-50% shares | 06/04/2016 |
Mrs Jacqueline Mary Symons Individual · British · DOB 09/1947 · age 79 | 25–50% | — | 25-50% shares | 06/04/2016 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Similar companies
Active · Agriculture · TD postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A & J WEBSTER EGGS LIMITED→ 10579912 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| A G BROWNLIE TRADING LTD→ 12044163 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| A.O.BARBER LIMITED→ 01013398 · est 1971 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 54y | — | — |
| AFS SEED PROCESSING LTD→ 09624629 · est 2015 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 10y | — | — |
| ALEX DALE LTD→ 06486668 · est 2008 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 18y | — | — |
| ANDREW ROBINSON (FARMS) LIMITED→ 01074395 · est 1972 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 53y | — | — |
| BEAL FARM LIMITED→ 08136569 · est 2012 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 13y | — | — |
| BOY ENZO FISHING LTD→ 13430378 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| BURRELL PROPERTY LIMITED→ 16994935 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| BURTON HALL FARM LTD→ 02212545 · est 1988 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 38y | — | — |
| C W FARMING LIMITED→ 12450684 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| CHEVIOT COUNTRYSIDE CONTRACTING LIMITED→ 17100891 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
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
Incorporated2004-09-09
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC01500 — SIC 01500
Registered office
The Priory
Linton
Kelso
Roxburghshire
TD5 8AG
Scotland
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-09-23
Last: 2025-09-09
Officers (2 active · 2 resigned)
SYMONS, Jacqueline Mary→
Activesecretary · appointed 2004-09-14
View their other companies + combined net worth →
SYMONS, Charles Jackson→
Activedirector · ~74y · appointed 2004-09-14
View their other companies + combined net worth →
FORM 10 SECRETARIES FD LTD→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2004-09-09 · resigned 2004-09-13
FORM 10 DIRECTORS FD LTD→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-director · appointed 2004-09-09 · resigned 2004-09-13
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
1
Total charges
0
Outstanding
0
Active lenders
Status:Lender:1 of 1 shown
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| satisfied | Lloyds Banking Group Royal Bank of Scotland PLC | Floating charge | 1 property | 25/02/2009 | 05/06/2023 |
Recent filings (55 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-09-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-08-13
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-09-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-07-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-09-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-06-14
mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
mortgage · MR04
2023-06-05
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-09-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-07-25
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-09-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-09-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-09-25
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-09-14
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-09-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-08-13