JAMES FARREN LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
SC480080 · ltd · incorporated 2014-06-16
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 Jun 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
78/100
Strong
🔔
Follow this company (free)
Email alerts on filings, charges, director changes, gazette notices. No account needed.

Unsubscribe any time from any email. GDPR-respectful.

🔒Generate AI memo →🔒Outreach pack →🔒Corporate story →📑 Reports →Sign in to watch
What this business does
Primary activity: Development of building projects
Sector: Construction
Investor take
Pursue
Strong opportunity: active trading company with strong profile and bankable structure.

Opportunity 78/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. High owner-dependency — earn-out structure likely required for clean transition. 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).

Data confidence

Overall: medium (78/100)

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
2 officers (2 active, 2 linked, 1 with DOB)
80
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
2 connected companies via shared directors
51
Filing history
33 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.

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
£0£0£0£0£0£0Jun 2024Jun 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2025-06-302024-06-30

Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.

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 (19 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-09-30
    📄
    gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
    gazette · DISS40
  2. 2025-09-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  3. 2025-09-09
    📄
    gazette-notice-compulsory
    gazette · GAZ1
  4. 2025-02-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  5. 2023-07-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  6. 2022-07-25
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  7. 2022-03-03
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  8. 2020-07-14
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  9. 2020-01-05
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  10. 2019-07-30
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  11. 2019-07-30
    📄
    change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH03
  12. 2019-06-18
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  13. 2019-06-04
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  14. 2018-07-18
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  15. 2017-08-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  16. 2017-04-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  17. 2014-06-16
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As JAMES FARREN LIMITED
  18. 2014-06-16
    ➕
    FARREN, James Kevin appointed
    secretary
  19. 2014-06-16
    ➕
    FARREN, James Kevin appointed
    director

Owner dependency

100/100
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
  • +Sole director: Only one active director — all governance concentrated on one person.
  • +Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "FARREN" — strong identity link between founder and business.
  • +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 62 — approaching natural succession window.
  • +No director turnover: Company is 12 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.

Succession & seller-readiness

60/100
Strong succession signal

Multiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.

SIGNALS
  • secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 62. Early succession window.
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
  • 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

1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr James Kevin Farren
Individual · Scottish · DOB 08/1964 · age 62
75–100%
—75-100% shares16/06/2017

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 · Construction · KA postcode area
CompanyEst. valueTurnoverNet worthStaffAgeOppDirector
JOHN LYNCH (BUILDERS) LIMITED→
SC060799 · est 1976 · no financials extracted
————49y——
JOHN MCAULAY (FAIRLIE) LIMITED→
SC058005 · est 1975 · no financials extracted
————50y——
K TODD KITCHENS LTD→
SC781784 · est 2023 · no financials extracted
————2y——
K-MAC HOMES LTD→
SC597676 · est 2018 · no financials extracted
————7y——
K.T. MONTGOMERY PLANT HIRE LIMITED→
SC420204 · est 2012 · no financials extracted
————14y——
KERESLEY PROPERTIES LTD→
SC655534 · est 2020 · no financials extracted
————6y——
KIRKWOOD BROTHERS LTD→
SC644801 · est 2019 · no financials extracted
————6y——
KJK RAIL LIMITED→
SC525666 · est 2016 · no financials extracted
————10y——
KLEROS DEV LTD→
SC809513 · est 2024 · no financials extracted
————1y——
KM JOINERY AYRSHIRE LTD→
SC828306 · est 2024 · no financials extracted
————1y——
KNM SCOTLAND LTD→
SC841688 · est 2025 · no financials extracted
————1y——
KNOCKOUT ELECTRICAL LIMITED→
SC864841 · est 2025 · no financials extracted
———————
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
Incorporated2014-06-16
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC41100 — Development of building projects

Registered office

5 Kirkton Place
Fenwick
Kilmarnock
Ayrshire
KA3 6DW
Scotland

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-03-31
Last made up to: 2025-06-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-06-30
Last: 2025-06-16

Officers (2 active · 0 resigned)

FARREN, James Kevin→
secretary · appointed 2014-06-16
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
FARREN, James Kevin→
director · ~62y · appointed 2014-06-16
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active

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

Recent filings (33 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-10-03
gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
gazette · DISS40
2025-09-30
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2025-09-29
gazette-notice-compulsory
gazette · GAZ1
2025-09-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2025-02-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-06-30
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-07-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-07-22
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2022-07-25
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-06-22
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2022-03-03
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-06-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2020-07-14
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-06-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2020-01-05