A.H. CORNISH (APPLETON) LIMITED

🌳Matureactive
00548327 · ltd · incorporated 1955-04-28
Investment thesis
Looks cheap but ownership + security both unclear — probable value trap.
Why interesting: Headline metrics may be attractive.
Why risky: No PSC visibility combined with multiple live charges; transacting likely slow and expensive.
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Sept 2024
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
79/100
Strong
🔔
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What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 01500
Sector: Agriculture, forestry & fishing
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company with a 64-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 79/100 (strong), bankability 57/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 64). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Consolidate lender relationships. 3 distinct lenders creates friction — refinance into single-lender structure for cleaner diligence. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

5 live charges · 3 lenders · oldest 48.5y

35/100
too messy

Refinance path is blocked by complexity. Rethink structure or expect bespoke, expensive terms.

  • · Oldest live charge is 48.5 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · 3 lenders named — inter-creditor friction likely.
  • · Legal-friction score 35/100 — workable, but lender will want more DD.

Data confidence

Overall: medium (71/100)

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
5 charges (5/5 with lender, 5/5 with type)
90
Directors & officers
5 officers (2 active, 5 linked, 4 with DOB)
86
Ownership & PSC
No PSCs filed (unusual — worth investigating)
35
Director network
1 connected companies via shared directors
48
Filing history
104 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
79/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

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

Business quality
60
Adequate — check latest filings for context.
Acquirability
85
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
82
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£0Sept 2023Sept 2024

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2024-09-302023-09-30
Average employees1100

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
2
filings
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
  • • 1 officers
Last 180 days
2
filings
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
  • • 1 officers
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (26 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-02-06
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  2. 2025-09-27
    📄
    gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
    gazette · DISS40
  3. 2025-09-25
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2025-09-12
    📄
    dissolved-compulsory-strike-off-suspended
    dissolution · DISS16(SOAS)
  5. 2025-08-26
    📄
    gazette-notice-compulsory
    gazette · GAZ1
  6. 2024-06-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  7. 2023-06-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2022-06-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2021-06-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2020-06-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  11. 2019-06-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  12. 2018-07-04
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  13. 2017-07-06
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  14. 2016-06-09
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  15. 2016-02-10
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  16. 2011-07-17
    ➕
    LITTLE, Catherine Mary appointed
    director
  17. 2011-07-17
    ➖
    GOW, Janet Mary resigned
    secretary
  18. 2011-07-17
    ➖
    GOW, Janet Mary resigned
    director
  19. 2005-07-04
    ➕
    GOW, David John appointed
    director
  20. 2004-12-19
    ➖
    GOW, Abraham William resigned
    director
  21. 1997-11-27
    🔒
    Charge registered #5
    Lender: Lombard North Central PLC
  22. 1988-02-02
    🔒
    Charge registered #4
    Lender: Midland Bank PLC
  23. 1988-02-02
    🔒
    Charge registered #3
    Lender: Midland Bank PLC
  24. 1981-03-13
    🔒
    Charge registered #2
    Lender: National Westminster Bank PLC
  25. 1977-10-12
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: National Westminster Bank PLC
  26. 1955-04-28
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As A.H. CORNISH (APPLETON) LIMITED

Owner dependency

76/100
High — earn-out structure required

Material founder dependency. Consider a 2-3 year earn-out and build in a handover plan before completion.

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 21 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 64 — approaching natural succession window.

Succession & seller-readiness

86/100
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 64. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
  • secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
  • primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 21 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 71 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

1 low
5 live charges
low

Heavily leveraged with multiple live security positions — understand the capital structure before proceeding.

🔒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
Incorporated1955-04-28
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC01500 — SIC 01500

Registered office

West Farm
Eaton
Appleton, Nr.Abingdon
Oxon.
OX13 5PR

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-06-30
Last made up to: 2024-09-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-01-26
Last: 2026-01-12

Officers (2 active · 3 resigned)

GOW, David John→
director · ~60y · appointed 2005-07-04
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
LITTLE, Catherine Mary→
director · ~64y · appointed 2011-07-17
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
GOW, Janet Mary→
secretary · resigned 2011-07-17
Resigned
GOW, Abraham William→
director · ~99y · resigned 2004-12-19
Resigned
GOW, Janet Mary→
director · ~94y · resigned 2011-07-17
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

5
Total charges
5
Outstanding
3
Active lenders
Status:Lender:5 of 5 shown
TypeProperties
outstanding
Lombard North Central
Lombard North Central PLC
Legal charge1 property27/11/1997—
outstanding
Midland Bank
Midland Bank PLC
Legal charge1 property02/02/1988—
outstanding
Midland Bank
Midland Bank PLC
Fixed and floating charge1 property02/02/1988—
outstanding
National Westminster Bank
National Westminster Bank PLC
Legal mortgage1 property13/03/1981—
outstanding
National Westminster Bank
National Westminster Bank PLC
Mortgage2 properties12/10/1977—
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (104 total)

confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-03-04
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2026-02-06
gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
gazette · DISS40
2025-09-27
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-09-25
dissolved-compulsory-strike-off-suspended
dissolution · DISS16(SOAS)
2025-09-12
gazette-notice-compulsory
gazette · GAZ1
2025-08-26
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-01-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-06-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-02-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-06-30
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-02-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-06-30
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-02-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-06-30
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-04-09