COTTOWN FARM LTD
🌳Matureactive
SC446544 · ltd · incorporated 2013-04-02
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 Apr 2025
Net worth
£319.0k
book net assets
Opportunity
78/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Other business support service activities n.e.c.
Sector: Administrative & support services
Investor take
PursueAsset-holding vehicle with a 69-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 78/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (68/100, director aged 69). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).
Data confidence
Overall: high (80/100)Strong data coverage across all sections. AI outputs should be trusted with minimal caveats.
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
2 officers (2 active, 2 linked, 2 with DOB)
90
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
30 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 · FRS 102Positive net assets
Net assets £319,029
Cash YoY
-7%
Year on year
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
£108k
↓ 7.3% YoY
Net Worth
£319k
↑ 3.0% YoY
Current Assets
£135k
↑ 1.3% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102| Metric | 2025-04-30 | 2024-04-30 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £321.0k | £312.8k |
| Current assets | £134.6k | £132.9k |
| Cash | £107.6k | £116.1k |
| Debtors | £13.9k | £13.6k |
| Net assets | £319.0k | £309.8k |
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
🔒Filing-note intelligence
2 signals 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
1
filing
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (18 events)Click to expand
- 2025-10-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-12-10📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-12-06📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-03-14📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-03-31📍change-sail-address-company-with-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD02
- 2022-01-04📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2022-01-04📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2021-12-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-04-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-11-11📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-01-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-02-02📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-02-01📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2016-04-04📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2016-02-05📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2013-04-02🏢Company incorporatedAs COTTOWN FARM LTD
- 2013-04-02➕JOHNSTON, Jane Margaret appointeddirector
- 2013-04-02➕JOHNSTON, Thomas Charles appointeddirector
Owner dependency
86/100
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
- +Two-director setup: Only two active directors — typical of owner-managed SMEs but limits succession.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 69 — succession pressure is live.
- +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.
- +No director turnover: Company is 13 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.
Succession & seller-readiness
69/100
Strong succession signalMultiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.
SIGNALS
- primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 69. 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 13 years.
- 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Ms Jane Margaret Johnston Individual · British · DOB 12/1960 · age 66 | 25–50% | 25–50% | 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting | 03/12/2021 |
Mr Thomas Charles Johnston Individual · British · DOB 06/1957 · age 69 | 25–50% | 25–50% | 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting | 06/04/2016 |
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
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CROMDALE MANAGEMENT LTD→ SC368438 · est 2009 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 16y | — | — |
| CROWNING GLORY (SCOTLAND) LTD→ SC459393 · est 2013 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 12y | — | — |
| DARREN CLARK ENERGY SERVICES LTD→ SC787950 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| DASHSTREAM LIMITED→ SC122631 · est 1990 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 36y | — | — |
| DAVID H ROSS CONSTRUCTION LIMITED→ SC500442 · est 2015 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 11y | — | — |
| DEESIDE DANCE CENTRE LTD.→ SC369898 · est 2009 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 16y | — | — |
| DEESIDE LETTING & INVESTMENTS LIMITED→ SC448085 · est 2013 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 12y | — | — |
| DEESIDE LIFTING & INSPECTION LTD.→ SC306003 · est 2006 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 19y | — | — |
| DEMON BARBERS LTD→ SC772872 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| DENISE TINSLEY LIMITED→ SC517582 · est 2015 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 10y | — | — |
| DENMORE KITCHENS TRUSTEES LIMITED→ SC727404 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| DENNIS PAINTING LTD→ SC415349 · est 2012 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 14y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2013-04-02
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC82990 — Other business support service activities n.e.c.
Registered office
Cottown Drumdollo
Drumblade
Huntly
AB54 6BJ
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-01-31
Last made up to: 2025-04-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-04-16
Last: 2026-04-02
Officers (2 active · 0 resigned)
JOHNSTON, Jane Margaret→
Activedirector · ~66y · appointed 2013-04-02
View their other companies + combined net worth →
JOHNSTON, Thomas Charles→
Activedirector · ~69y · appointed 2013-04-02
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (30 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-04-28
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-10-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-04-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-12-10
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-04-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-12-06
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-04-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-03-14
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-04-19
change-sail-address-company-with-old-address-new-address
address · AD02
2022-03-31
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2022-01-04
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2022-01-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-12-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-04-28
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-04-13