ARBORETUM ESTATES LIMITED

🌳Matureactive
SC350956 · ltd · incorporated 2008-11-06
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 16.9y 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
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What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 02200
Sector: Agriculture, forestry & fishing
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company with a 67-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 85/100. Strong seller-intent signal (93/100, director aged 67). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

2 live charges · oldest 16.9y

85/100
ready

Refinance conversation should be productive — structure clean and timing right.

  • · Oldest live charge is 16.9 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
  • · Legal-friction score 15/100 — clean.

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
2 charges (2/2 with lender, 2/2 with type)
90
Directors & officers
3 officers (3 active, 3 linked, 2 with DOB)
83
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
2 connected companies via shared directors
51
Filing history
56 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 employees00

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 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (25 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-12-16
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-12-06
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  3. 2023-12-18
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  4. 2022-12-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  5. 2022-09-16
    📄
    change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH03
  6. 2022-09-16
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  7. 2022-09-15
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  8. 2022-09-15
    📄
    change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH03
  9. 2022-09-15
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  10. 2022-09-15
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  11. 2021-12-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  12. 2020-12-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  13. 2019-12-20
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  14. 2018-12-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  15. 2018-10-17
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  16. 2018-10-17
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  17. 2018-10-17
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  18. 2017-08-26
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #2
  19. 2017-08-26
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #1
  20. 2009-06-19
    🔒
    Charge registered #2
    Lender: Clydesdale Bank PLC
  21. 2009-06-04
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: Clydesdale Bank PLC
  22. 2008-11-06
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As ARBORETUM ESTATES LIMITED
  23. 2008-11-06
    ➕
    SHADBOLT, Clemency, Dr appointed
    secretary
  24. 2008-11-06
    ➕
    SHADBOLT, Clemency, Dr appointed
    director
  25. 2008-11-06
    ➕
    WEBB, Lennox appointed
    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
  • +Two-director setup: Only two active directors — typical of owner-managed SMEs but limits succession.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 17 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 67 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

79/100
Likely off-market candidate

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

SIGNALS
  • primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 67. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
  • secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
  • secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 17 years.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 17 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
Dr Lennox Webb
Individual · British · DOB 06/1959 · age 67
25–50%
—25-50% shares06/04/2016
Dr Clemency Shadbolt
Individual · British · DOB 12/1962 · age 64
25–50%
—25-50% shares06/04/2016

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 · EH postcode area
CompanyEst. valueTurnoverNet worthStaffAgeOppDirector
CRAIGENGILLAN ESTATES (NO 1) COMPANY LIMITED→
SC124520 · est 1990
£3.87M
£2.98M–£4.77M
——036y8363y
APF INTERNATIONAL FOREST MACHINERY EXHIBITION LTD.→
SC228249 · est 2002
£278.2k
£214.0k–£342.4k
——50024y9579y
ALDERSTON DAIRIES LIMITED→
SC241138 · est 2002
——£114.4k—23y8374y
CAITHNESS POTATO BREEDERS LIMITED→
SC082730 · est 1983
——£1.36M—43y8368y
CARCANT ESTATES LIMITED→
SC030457 · est 1954
——£269.0k—71y8369y
DENHOLM POTATO GROWERS LIMITED→
SC089295 · est 1984
——£453.8k—41y8361y
DODS OF HADDINGTON LIMITED→
SC056452 · est 1974
——£2.26M—51y8372y
DOUGLAS ORR & COMPANY LIMITED→
SC185757 · est 1998
———127y8370y
EAST COAST ORGANICS LTD→
SC297585 · est 2006
——£1.21M—20y8363y
EAST LOTHIAN PRODUCE LIMITED→
SC185473 · est 1998
——£8.19M—28y8373y
GREENSHIELDS AGRI LIMITED→
SC381819 · est 2010
———1415y8370y
B & B BAIRD LIMITED→
SC166746 · est 1996
——£407.7k—29y8265y
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
Incorporated2008-11-06
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC02200 — SIC 02200

Registered office

Keepers Cottage And Kennels Spott Home Farm
Spott
Dunbar
EH42 1RL
Scotland

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-11-17
Last: 2025-11-03

Officers (3 active · 0 resigned)

SHADBOLT, Clemency, Dr→
secretary · appointed 2008-11-06
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
SHADBOLT, Clemency, Dr→
director · ~64y · appointed 2008-11-06
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
WEBB, Lennox→
director · ~67y · appointed 2008-11-06
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active

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

Mortgages & charges

2
Total charges
0
Outstanding
0
Active lenders
Status:Lender:2 of 2 shown
TypeProperties
satisfied
Virgin Money
Clydesdale Bank PLC
Floating charge1 property19/06/200926/08/2017
satisfied
Virgin Money
Clydesdale Bank PLC
Standard security1 property04/06/200926/08/2017

Recent filings (56 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-12-16
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-11-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-12-06
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-11-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-12-18
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-11-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-12-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-12-09
change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
officers · CH03
2022-09-16
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2022-09-16
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2022-09-15
change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
officers · CH03
2022-09-15
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2022-09-15
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2022-09-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-12-24