ESK FARM LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
SC167113 · ltd · incorporated 1996-07-12
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 Mar 2025
Net worth
£606.3k
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 01500
Sector: Agriculture, forestry & fishing
Investor take
PursueAsset-holding vehicle with a 73-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 73). 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 (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, 1 with DOB)
74
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
7 connected companies via shared directors
66
Filing history
77 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.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declaredPositive net assets
Net assets £606,282
Net assets shrinking
Down £807 YoY
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
£606k
~ YoY
Current Assets
£34k
↓ 9.5% YoY
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £606.3k | £607.1k |
| Current assets | £33.7k | £37.3k |
| Net assets | £606.3k | £607.1k |
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 (23 events)Click to expand
- 2025-05-21📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-12-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-07-11📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-12-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-12-04📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-03-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2019-07-24📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2018-08-03📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2017-12-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2017-01-19📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2015-08-03📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2015-07-23📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2015-01-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2014-09-22📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2014-01-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2009-05-20➕DOUGLAS, Morag Fiona Katherine appointedsecretary
- 2009-03-13➕DOUGLAS, Craig John Ramsay appointedsecretary
- 2009-03-12➖REID, Gillian Susan resignedsecretary
- 2006-08-17➖FALCONER, Lynne Dorothy resignedsecretary
- 2006-08-17➕REID, Gillian Susan appointedsecretary
- 1996-07-12🏢Company incorporatedAs ESK FARM LIMITED
- 1996-07-12➕DOUGLAS, Derek Jack appointeddirector
- 1996-07-12➕FALCONER, Lynne Dorothy appointedsecretary
Owner dependency
100/100
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
- +Sole director: Only one active director — all governance concentrated on one person.
- +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 30 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 73 — succession pressure is live.
Succession & seller-readiness
100/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 73 years old. Natural succession window is now.
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
- primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 30 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 30 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
cleanNo 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%| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Derek Jack Douglas Individual · British · DOB 10/1953 · age 73 | 75–100% | — | 75-100% 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 · EH postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BRIDGECASTLE POLICIES LIMITED→ SC421114 · est 2012 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 14y | — | — |
| C M MACFARLANE LTD→ SC654406 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| CARBON ZERO ORGANIC SEAWEED LTD→ SC661990 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| CG ARB LTD→ SC783951 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| DOUGLAS ORR & COMPANY LIMITED→ SC185757 · est 1998 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 27y | — | — |
| ECOHUMAN LTD→ SC599259 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| EPHIGHLAND LIMITED→ SC850005 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| FALLHILLS FENCING LTD→ SC438323 · est 2012 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 13y | — | — |
| FISHKEEPER SCOTLAND LIMITED→ SC519990 · est 2015 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 10y | — | — |
| FM AGRI LIMITED→ SC496226 · est 2015 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 11y | — | — |
| FORDELL FARMS LIMITED→ SC044667 · est 1967 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 58y | — | — |
| FORDIE ESTATES LIMITED→ SC274753 · est 2004 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 21y | — | — |
Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions
8 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
Incorporated1996-07-12
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC01500 — SIC 01500
Registered office
Adam Smith House, Esk Farm
Melville Castle Estate, Lasswade
Midlothian
EH18 1AW
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-08-06
Last: 2025-07-23
Officers (3 active · 2 resigned)
DOUGLAS, Craig John Ramsay→
Activesecretary · appointed 2009-03-13
View their other companies + combined net worth →
DOUGLAS, Morag Fiona Katherine→
Activesecretary · appointed 2009-05-20
View their other companies + combined net worth →
DOUGLAS, Derek Jack→
Activedirector · ~73y · appointed 1996-07-12
View their other companies + combined net worth →
FALCONER, Lynne Dorothy→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 1996-07-12 · resigned 2006-08-17
REID, Gillian Susan→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 2006-08-17 · resigned 2009-03-12
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (77 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-07-28
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-05-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-12-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-08-05
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-11-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-07-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-12-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-07-25
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-12-04
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-07-30
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-03-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-10-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2019-07-24
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-07-24
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2018-08-03