JAMES FAIRNIE & SONS LIMITED

🌳Matureactive
SC401415 · ltd · incorporated 2011-06-09
Investment thesis
Established operating company — standard diligence applies, no dominant angle.
Why interesting: Live, filing, normal profile.
Why risky: No standout signals in either direction.
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Mar 2025
Net worth
£-14.3k
book net assets
Opportunity
78/100
Strong
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What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 03120
Sector: Agriculture, forestry & fishing
Investor take
Pass (distressed without resilience)
Distressed active trading company — structural issues outweigh the discount.

Opportunity 78/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (68/100, director aged 74). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).

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
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
5 officers (3 active, 5 linked, 4 with DOB)
86
Ownership & PSC
4 active PSC(s) of 4 total, 4 with control declared
90
Director network
2 connected companies via shared directors
51
Filing history
40 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
78/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.

Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
70
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declared
Negative net assets
Liabilities exceed assets by £14,319
Cash YoY
+22%
Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£5k
↑ 22% YoY
Net Worth
-£14k
↑ 2.0% YoY
Current Assets
£6k
↓ 1.1% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
-£15k-£11k-£6k-£2k£2k£6kMar 2024Mar 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2025-03-312024-03-31
Total assets£-14.3k£-14.6k
Current assets£5.6k£5.7k
Cash£5.4k£4.4k
Debtors£260£1.3k
Net assets£-14.3k£-14.6k

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
  1. 2025-05-20
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-11-14
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2023-09-19
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2023-01-19
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  5. 2021-08-03
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  6. 2021-02-04
    ➖
    FAIRNIE, David Downi resigned
    director
  7. 2021-02-04
    ➖
    FAIRNIE, Jonathan James resigned
    director
  8. 2021-02-04
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  9. 2021-02-04
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  10. 2020-11-25
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  11. 2019-09-13
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  12. 2019-02-20
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  13. 2018-09-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  14. 2017-12-07
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  15. 2017-03-20
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  16. 2016-08-08
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  17. 2016-06-22
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  18. 2015-12-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  19. 2011-06-09
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As JAMES FAIRNIE & SONS LIMITED
  20. 2011-06-09
    ➕
    FAIRNIE, Jennifer Bruce Fairnie appointed
    secretary
  21. 2011-06-09
    ➕
    FAIRNIE, James appointed
    director
  22. 2011-06-09
    ➕
    FAIRNIE, Jennifer Bruce appointed
    director
  23. 2011-06-09
    ➕
    FAIRNIE, David Downi appointed
    director
  24. 2011-06-09
    ➕
    FAIRNIE, Jonathan James appointed
    director

Owner dependency

96/100
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 "FAIRNIE" — strong identity link between founder and business.
  • +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

79/100
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.
  • secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
  • secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 15 years.
  • 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

4 active beneficial owners · fragmented
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr David Downi Fairnie
Individual · British · DOB 05/1987 · age 39
25–50%
—25-50% shares06/04/2016
Mr James Fairnie
Individual · British · DOB 05/1964 · age 62
25–50%
—25-50% shares06/04/2016
Mrs Jennifer Bruce Fairnie
Individual · British · DOB 10/1952 · age 74
25–50%
—25-50% shares06/04/2016
Mr Jonathan James Fairnie
Individual · British · DOB 03/1989 · age 37
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 →

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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
Incorporated2011-06-09
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC03120 — SIC 03120

Registered office

3 Abbeylands High Street
Dunbar
East Lothian
EH42 1EH
Scotland

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-06-23
Last: 2025-06-09

Officers (3 active · 2 resigned)

FAIRNIE, Jennifer Bruce Fairnie→
secretary · appointed 2011-06-09
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
FAIRNIE, James→
director · ~62y · appointed 2011-06-09
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
FAIRNIE, Jennifer Bruce→
director · ~74y · appointed 2011-06-09
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
FAIRNIE, David Downi→
director · ~39y · appointed 2011-06-09 · resigned 2021-02-04
Resigned
FAIRNIE, Jonathan James→
director · ~37y · appointed 2011-06-09 · resigned 2021-02-04
Resigned

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

Recent filings (40 total)

confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-06-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-05-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-11-14
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-07-01
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-09-19
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-07-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-01-19
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-07-14
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-08-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-08-03
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2021-02-04
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2021-02-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-11-25
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-07-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-09-13