CYGNET POTATO BREEDERS LTD.

🌳Matureactive

SC176353 · ltd · incorporated 1997-06-12

Investment thesis

Established operating company — standard diligence applies, no dominant angle.

Why interesting: Live, filing, normal profile.

Why risky: No standout signals in either direction.

Opportunity decay

approaching window · 12-months

Approaching a transaction window — refinance or sale event plausible in the next 12 months.

· Oldest live charge 26.3y old — refinance window within 12 months

🔒Estimated value

—

Upgrade to see

Turnover

—

year to Jun 2025

Net worth

—

book net assets

Opportunity

83/100

Exceptional

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What this business does

Primary activity: Support activities for crop production

Sector: Agriculture, forestry & fishing

Investor take

Pursue

Active trading company with a 66-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 83/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (63/100, director aged 66). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Discharge stale live charges. 1 live charge(s) created 15+ years ago — likely paid but undischarged. Clean register. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

2 live charges · 2 lenders · oldest 26.3y

50/100

clean up first

Refinance viable after a tidy-up — address the highlighted items first.

· Oldest live charge is 26.3 years old — likely at or near maturity.
· Two lenders — manageable, but coordination required.
· Legal-friction score 25/100 — workable, but lender will want more DD.

Data confidence

Overall: high (82/100)

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

Lenders & charges

2 charges (2/2 with lender, 2/2 with type)

Directors & officers

14 officers (4 active, 14 linked, 8 with DOB)

Ownership & PSC

1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared

Director network

11 connected companies via shared directors

Filing history

96 filings on record

Gazette notices

No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)

Opportunity Score

83/100Exceptional

PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional

Strong composite across quality, acquirability, and risk. High-priority target — progress to serious diligence.

Business quality

Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.

Acquirability

Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.

Risk profile

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

—

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102

Metric	2025-06-30	2024-06-30
Average employees	8	700

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

🔒Filing-note intelligence

4 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

filing

• 1 accounts

Last 90 days

filing

• 1 accounts

Last 180 days

filings

• 1 accounts
• 1 confirmation-statement

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (43 events)Click to expand

2026-03-30
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-small
accounts · AA
2025-09-30
📄
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2025-09-19
➕
COULTER, Graeme Alexander appointed
director
2025-03-22
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-small
accounts · AA
2024-03-28
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-small
accounts · AA
2023-03-02
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-small
accounts · AA
2022-02-28
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-small
accounts · AA
2022-02-21
📄
appoint-person-secretary-company-with-name-date
officers · AP03
2022-02-21
📄
termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM02
2022-02-01
➕
COULTER, Graeme appointed
secretary
2022-01-31
➖
THOMSON, Catherine Anne Macleod resigned
secretary
2021-03-23
📄
change-account-reference-date-company-current-extended
accounts · AA01
2021-02-21
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-small
accounts · AA
2019-12-31
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-small
accounts · AA
2019-04-24
📄
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2019-04-12
➖
HARLEY, James Millar resigned
director
2019-02-11
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-small
accounts · AA
2018-02-28
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-small
accounts · AA
2017-11-16
📄
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2017-11-15
➕
REDPATH, Alistair James Brown appointed
director
2017-04-28
📄
appoint-person-secretary-company-with-name-date
officers · AP03
2017-04-25
➕
THOMSON, Catherine Anne Macleod appointed
secretary
2017-02-24
➖
CHALMERS, Alan David Hutchison resigned
secretary
2014-10-27
➕
CHALMERS, Alan David Hutchison appointed
secretary
2014-10-27
➖
HARLEY, Douglas James resigned
secretary
2014-02-17
🔒
Charge registered #2
Lender: Clydesdale Bank PLC
2000-01-13
🔒
Charge registered #1
Lender: Clydesdale Bank Public Limited Company
1999-07-28
➕
HARLEY, Douglas James appointed
director
1999-07-28
➕
HARLEY, Douglas James appointed
secretary
1999-07-20
➖
D.W. COMPANY SERVICES LIMITED resigned
corporate-nominee-secretary
1999-07-20
➖
ASHTON, Ross Ernest resigned
director
1999-07-20
➖
HUNT, Michael William resigned
director
1999-07-20
➖
MEIKLEJOHN, Thomas Cochrane resigned
director
1997-08-26
➕
HUNT, Michael William appointed
director
1997-08-26
➕
MEIKLEJOHN, Thomas Cochrane appointed
director
1997-07-04
➕
ASHTON, Ross Ernest appointed
director
1997-07-04
➖
COUTTS, Maureen Sheila resigned
nominee-director
1997-07-04
➕
HARLEY, James Millar appointed
director
1997-07-04
➖
POLSON, Michael Buchanan resigned
nominee-director
1997-06-12
🏢
Company incorporated
As CYGNET POTATO BREEDERS LTD.
1997-06-12
➕
D.W. COMPANY SERVICES LIMITED appointed
corporate-nominee-secretary
1997-06-12
➕
COUTTS, Maureen Sheila appointed
nominee-director
1997-06-12
➕
POLSON, Michael Buchanan appointed
nominee-director

Owner dependency

75/100

High — earn-out structure required

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

FACTORS

+Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 27 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
+Founder age: Director aged approximately 66 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

70/100

Strong succession signal

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

SIGNALS

primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 66. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 27 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
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.)

Group structure

Alexander Harley Seeds Ltd is the ultimate parent — holding 75%+ shares. This company sits inside their group.

🏛️

Alexander Harley Seeds Ltd

Corporate parent · holds 75-100% shares

ultimate parent

⬇

CYGNET POTATO BREEDERS LTD.

This company · SC176353

Parent relationships inferred from Persons with Significant Control filings. Full subsidiary tree requires reverse-lookup (coming).

Shareholders & ownership

1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%

Name	Shares	Voting rights	Nature of control	Notified
Alexander Harley Seeds Ltd Corporate entity	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 · KY postcode area

Company	Est. value	Turnover	Net worth	Staff	Age	Opp	Director
S.M. BAYNE & COMPANY LIMITED→ SC030423 · est 1954	£6.62M £5.10M–£8.15M	—	—	963	71y	84	86y
BANDIRRAN FARM LIMITED→ SC341982 · est 2008	—	—	—	900	17y	83	77y
CAVELSTONE FARM LIMITED→ SC165832 · est 1996	—	—	—	400	29y	83	81y
CROSSGATES COMMUNITY WOODLAND→ SC273799 · est 2004 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	21y	83	80y
CYGNET PEP LIMITED→ SC061872 · est 1977	—	—	£990.4k	—	49y	83	62y
EDENWOOD FARMS LIMITED→ SC191248 · est 1998	—	—	—	5	27y	83	62y
FIFE CROPS LIMITED→ SC158672 · est 1995	—	—	£606.9k	—	30y	83	74y
GENTECH PROPAGATION LTD.→ SC112851 · est 1988	—	—	—	0	37y	83	62y
A. & J. SHEDDEN LIMITED→ SC039579 · est 1963	—	—	—	600	62y	82	69y
BALMULE HUTS LTD→ SC198049 · est 1999	—	—	£26.0k	—	26y	82	80y
BONDE (CHARLETON) FARMS LIMITED→ SC045534 · est 1968	—	—	—	200	58y	82	80y
GEORGE STORRAR (FARMERS) LIMITED→ SC035905 · est 1960	—	—	—	600	65y	82	72y

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

Incorporated1997-06-12

Jurisdictionscotland

Primary SIC01610 — Support activities for crop production

Registered office

Thomanean

Milnathort

Kinross

KY13 0RF

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: 2027-03-31

Last made up to: 2025-06-30

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2026-11-14

Last: 2025-10-31

Officers (4 active · 10 resigned)

COULTER, Graeme→

secretary · appointed 2022-02-01

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

COULTER, Graeme Alexander→

director · ~51y · appointed 2025-09-19

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

HARLEY, Douglas James→

director · ~62y · appointed 1999-07-28

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

REDPATH, Alistair James Brown→

director · ~66y · appointed 2017-11-15

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

CHALMERS, Alan David Hutchison→

secretary · appointed 2014-10-27 · resigned 2017-02-24

Resigned

HARLEY, Douglas James→

secretary · appointed 1999-07-28 · resigned 2014-10-27

Resigned

THOMSON, Catherine Anne Macleod→

secretary · appointed 2017-04-25 · resigned 2022-01-31

Resigned

D.W. COMPANY SERVICES LIMITED→

corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 1997-06-12 · resigned 1999-07-20

Resigned

ASHTON, Ross Ernest→

director · ~75y · appointed 1997-07-04 · resigned 1999-07-20

Resigned

COUTTS, Maureen Sheila→

nominee-director · appointed 1997-06-12 · resigned 1997-07-04

Resigned

HARLEY, James Millar→

director · ~88y · appointed 1997-07-04 · resigned 2019-04-12

Resigned

HUNT, Michael William→

director · ~79y · appointed 1997-08-26 · resigned 1999-07-20

Resigned

MEIKLEJOHN, Thomas Cochrane→

director · ~83y · appointed 1997-08-26 · resigned 1999-07-20

Resigned

POLSON, Michael Buchanan→

nominee-director · ~62y · appointed 1997-06-12 · resigned 1997-07-04

Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

Total charges

Outstanding

Active lenders

Status:Lender:2 of 2 shown

			Type	Properties
	outstanding	Virgin Money Clydesdale Bank PLC	A registered charge	1 property	17/02/2014	—
	outstanding	Virgin Money Clydesdale Bank Public Limited Company	Floating charge	1 property	13/01/2000	—

Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (96 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-small

accounts · AA

2026-03-30

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2025-11-06

appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date

officers · AP01

2025-09-30

accounts-with-accounts-type-small

accounts · AA

2025-03-22

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2024-12-08

accounts-with-accounts-type-small

accounts · AA

2024-03-28

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2023-10-31

accounts-with-accounts-type-small

accounts · AA

2023-03-02

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2022-11-14

accounts-with-accounts-type-small

accounts · AA

2022-02-28

appoint-person-secretary-company-with-name-date

officers · AP03

2022-02-21

termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date

officers · TM02

2022-02-21

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2021-11-25

change-account-reference-date-company-current-extended

accounts · AA01

2021-03-23

accounts-with-accounts-type-small

accounts · AA

2021-02-21