A.J. AND J. LAKE LIMITED
🌳Matureactive
06931671 · ltd · incorporated 2009-06-11
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 Mar 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 01470
Sector: Agriculture, forestry & fishing
Investor take
PursueActive trading company. Family succession underway — not a classic acquisition target.
Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Same-surname younger director in place — likely family handover, not open to sale. 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
4 officers (4 active, 4 linked, 3 with DOB)
85
Ownership & PSC
3 active PSC(s) of 3 total, 3 with control declared
90
Director network
1 connected companies via shared directors
48
Filing history
50 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
80/100Exceptional
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
90
Good data coverage for analysis.
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2025-03-31 | 2024-03-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Average employees | 200 | 200 |
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
2
filings
- • 1 confirmation-statement
- • 1 officers
Last 90 days
2
filings
- • 1 confirmation-statement
- • 1 officers
Last 180 days
3
filings
- • 1 confirmation-statement
- • 1 officers
- • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (24 events)Click to expand
- 2026-04-01📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2025-12-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2025-03-20📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2025-03-20📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2025-03-20📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2025-03-20📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2025-03-19📄change-person-secretary-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH03
- 2025-03-19📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2025-03-19📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2025-03-19📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2024-08-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-03-06📄capital-allotment-sharescapital · SH01
- 2024-03-05📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2024-03-05📄appoint-person-director-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP01
- 2024-01-03➕LAKE, Robert Samuel appointeddirector
- 2023-12-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-11-06📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2022-10-05📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-12-08📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2020-07-15📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2009-06-11🏢Company incorporatedAs A.J. AND J. LAKE LIMITED
- 2009-06-11➕LAKE, Janet appointedsecretary
- 2009-06-11➕LAKE, Adrian John appointeddirector
- 2009-06-11➕LAKE, Janet appointeddirector
Owner dependency
98/100
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
- +Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "LAKE" — strong identity link between founder and business.
- +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 17 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 65 — succession pressure is live.
- +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.
Succession & seller-readiness
23/100
No succession signalNo meaningful acquirability indicators from public data.
SIGNALS
- primaryFamily succession underway: Not a takeover target — LAKE, Robert Samuel (same surname) appointed 2024-01-03. Pattern consistent with intra-family handover.
- primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 65. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
- secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 17 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
3 active beneficial owners| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Robert Lake Individual · British · DOB 08/1996 · age 30 | 25–50% | — | 25-50% shares | 03/01/2024 |
Mr Adrian John Lake Individual · English · DOB 01/1961 · age 65 | 25–50% | — | 25-50% shares | 06/04/2016 |
Mrs Janet Lake Individual · British · DOB 10/1966 · age 60 | 25–50% | — | 25-50% shares | 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
Active · Agriculture · EX postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4D FARM SERVICES LIMITED→ 09070505 · est 2014 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 11y | — | — |
| A & K FARMING LIMITED→ 08893094 · est 2014 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 12y | — | — |
| A J PICKARD LIMITED→ 10986106 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| A J SING & SON LIMITED→ 05415669 · est 2005 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 21y | — | — |
| A J WOOLLACOTT LTD→ 08108414 · est 2012 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 13y | — | — |
| AARON NICHOLL FARRIER SERVICES LTD→ 07518741 · est 2011 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 15y | — | — |
| AB SYSTEMS (UK) LIMITED→ 07731835 · est 2011 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 14y | — | — |
| ABELL PERENNIAL PLANTS LIMITED→ 05821735 · est 2006 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 19y | — | — |
| AC AND ER HAMMETT LIMITED→ 04630997 · est 2003 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 23y | — | — |
| ADM (DEVON) LIMITED→ 04682090 · est 2003 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 23y | — | — |
| ADS AGRICULTURAL CONTRACTORS LIMITED→ 16603216 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ADVANCED ARBORICULTURE LIMITED→ 11048651 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2009-06-11
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC01470 — SIC 01470
Registered office
2 Lime Court
Pathfields Business Park
South Molton
EX36 3LH
England
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-03-21
Last: 2026-03-07
Officers (4 active · 0 resigned)
Active
LAKE, Adrian John→
Activedirector · ~65y · appointed 2009-06-11
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
LAKE, Robert Samuel→
Activedirector · ~30y · appointed 2024-01-03
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (50 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-04-01
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2026-04-01
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-12-26
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2025-03-20
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2025-03-20
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2025-03-20
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2025-03-20
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-03-20
change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
officers · CH03
2025-03-19
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2025-03-19
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2025-03-19
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2025-03-19
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-08-28
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-03-07
capital-allotment-shares
capital · SH01
2024-03-06