JOHN KNOX FARMS LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
SC226816 · ltd · incorporated 2002-01-09
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.
Why now
Window steady · low confidence
Steady and stalled — no momentum either way. Needs an approach trigger.
What changed my view
Last 30 days
No material changes in the last 30 days.
Last 90 days
No snapshot from 90 days ago — start tracking from today.
Last 180 days
No snapshot from 180 days ago — start tracking from today.
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Mar 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
77/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Growing of cereals (except rice), leguminous crops and oil seeds
Sector: Agriculture, forestry & fishing
Investor take
PursueStrong opportunity: active trading company with strong profile and bankable structure.
Opportunity 77/100 (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 (58/100).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
2 live charges · 2 lenders · oldest 11.1y
30/100
under pressure
Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.
- · Oldest live charge is 11.1 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Two lenders — manageable, but coordination required.
- · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.
Data confidence
Overall: medium (76/100)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
2 charges (2/2 with lender, 2/2 with type)
90
Directors & officers
3 officers (2 active, 3 linked, 1 with DOB)
77
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
60 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
77/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
60
Some acquirability indicators.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
100
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 · FRS 102| Metric | 2025-03-31 | 2024-03-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Average employees | 600 | 600 |
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
0
filings
Last 180 days
3
filings
- • 1 mortgage
- • 1 confirmation-statement
- • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (22 events)Click to expand
- 2026-03-04📄mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-datemortgage · MR01
- 2026-02-23🔒Charge registered #2Lender: Templeton Battery Storage Limited (Crn: 15971999)
- 2025-12-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-12-24📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-12-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-11-08📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-12-01📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-12-18📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-12-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-12-18📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-12-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2016-10-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2016-01-13📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2015-07-09📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2015-06-02📄mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-datemortgage · MR01
- 2015-05-28🔒Charge registered #1Lender: The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
- 2015-01-15📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2002-01-09🏢Company incorporatedAs JOHN KNOX FARMS LIMITED
- 2002-01-09➕KNOX, William John Robert appointedsecretary
- 2002-01-09➕KNOX, John Robert James appointeddirector
- 2002-01-09➕OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED appointedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 2002-01-09➖OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary
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.
- +Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "KNOX" — strong identity link between founder and business.
- +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 24 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
Succession & seller-readiness
75/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
- primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 24 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 24 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 John Robert James Knox Individual · British · DOB 04/1969 · age 57 | 75–100% | 75–100% | 75-100% shares · 75-100% voting | 06/04/2016 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Similar companies
Active · Agriculture · DD postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PEACEHILL FARMING LIMITED→ SC144826 · est 1993 | £3.65M £2.81M–£4.50M | £13.06M | — | 5700 | 32y | 84 | 76y |
| ANGUS GROWERS LIMITED→ SC234071 · est 2002 | — | — | — | 1500 | 23y | 83 | 80y |
| COOKSTON FARMS→ SC036246 · est 1961 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 65y | 83 | 73y |
| CRAIGOWL FARMS LTD.→ SC327648 · est 2007 | — | — | — | 2500 | 18y | 83 | 62y |
| CRUIVIE AND BRIGHOUSE LIMITED→ SC055296 · est 1974 | — | — | — | 400 | 52y | 83 | 89y |
| ETHIEBARNS FARMING COMPANY→ SC052695 · est 1973 | — | — | — | 1100 | 53y | 83 | 71y |
| R. & W. WHITTON LIMITED→ SC027167 · est 1949 | — | — | — | 4 | 76y | 83 | 71y |
| SOILESSENTIALS LIMITED→ SC203822 · est 2000 | — | — | £1.16M | — | 26y | 83 | 65y |
| A & C WATSON LIMITED→ SC286270 · est 2005 | — | — | — | 200 | 20y | 82 | 60y |
| A. C. BROWN (FARMS) LIMITED→ SC030970 · est 1955 | — | — | — | 0 | 70y | 82 | 81y |
| ANGUS GAME PLUS LIMITED→ SC255156 · est 2003 | — | — | — | 2 | 22y | 82 | 64y |
| ARBUCKLE SOFT FRUIT LIMITED→ SC223757 · est 2001 | — | — | — | 200 | 24y | 82 | 73y |
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
Incorporated2002-01-09
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC01110 — Growing of cereals (except rice), leguminous crops and oil seeds
Registered office
Westby
64 West High Street
Forfar
Angus
DD8 1BJ
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-01-23
Last: 2026-01-09
Officers (2 active · 1 resigned)
KNOX, William John Robert→
Activesecretary · appointed 2002-01-09
View their other companies + combined net worth →
KNOX, John Robert James→
Activedirector · ~57y · appointed 2002-01-09
View their other companies + combined net worth →
OSWALDS OF EDINBURGH LIMITED→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2002-01-09 · resigned 2002-01-09
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
2
Total charges
2
Outstanding
2
Active lenders
Status:Lender:2 of 2 shown
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| outstanding | Templeton Battery Storage (Crn: 15971999) Templeton Battery Storage Limited (Crn: 15971999) | A registered charge | 3 properties | 23/02/2026 | — | |
| outstanding | Lloyds Banking Group The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC | A registered charge | — | 28/05/2015 | — |
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.
Recent filings (60 total)
mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
mortgage · MR01
2026-03-04
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-01-27
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-12-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-01-30
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-12-24
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-01-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-12-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-01-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-11-08
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-01-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-12-01
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-01-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-12-18
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-01-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-12-23