ARGO FOODS LIMITED

🌳Matureactive
SC245558 · ltd · incorporated 2003-03-12
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
🔔
Follow this company (free)
Email alerts on filings, charges, director changes, gazette notices. No account needed.

Unsubscribe any time from any email. GDPR-respectful.

🔒Generate AI memo →🔒Outreach pack →🔒Corporate story →📑 Reports →Sign in to watch
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 10130
Sector: Manufacturing
Investor take
Pursue
Active 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 (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
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
7 officers (3 active, 7 linked, 3 with DOB)
79
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 3 total, 3 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
68 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 accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
£0£0£0£0£0£0Mar 2024Mar 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2025-03-312024-03-31
Average employees131200

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 persons-with-significant-control
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 90 days
2
filings
  • • 1 persons-with-significant-control
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
3
filings
  • • 1 persons-with-significant-control
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
  • • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (28 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-04-08
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
  2. 2025-11-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-12-16
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2024-08-14
    📄
    termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM02
  5. 2024-08-14
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  6. 2024-08-14
    📄
    appoint-person-secretary-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP03
  7. 2024-08-14
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  8. 2024-07-08
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  9. 2024-04-02
    ➕
    GRAY, Julie appointed
    secretary
  10. 2024-04-02
    ➕
    GRAY, Julie appointed
    director
  11. 2024-04-01
    ➖
    GRAY, Elsie Mcpherson resigned
    secretary
  12. 2024-04-01
    ➖
    GRAY, Elsie Mcpherson resigned
    director
  13. 2023-12-07
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  14. 2023-01-06
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  15. 2022-03-14
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  16. 2021-11-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  17. 2021-01-12
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  18. 2019-12-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  19. 2018-12-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  20. 2017-12-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  21. 2003-03-12
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As ARGO FOODS LIMITED
  22. 2003-03-12
    ➕
    GRAY, Ian Hugh appointed
    director
  23. 2003-03-12
    ➕
    GRAY, Elsie Mcpherson appointed
    secretary
  24. 2003-03-12
    ➕
    ACS SECRETARIES LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  25. 2003-03-12
    ➖
    ACS SECRETARIES LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  26. 2003-03-12
    ➕
    GRAY, Elsie Mcpherson appointed
    director
  27. 2003-03-12
    ➕
    ACS NOMINEES LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-director
  28. 2003-03-12
    ➖
    ACS NOMINEES LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-director

Owner dependency

84/100
Critical — business is the founder

The business appears inseparable from the founder. Acquisition without a serious earn-out or meaningful transition period would likely destroy value.

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 23 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 62 — approaching natural succession window.
  • +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.

Succession & seller-readiness

26/100
Weak signal

Limited succession signal. Not a near-term off-market candidate.

SIGNALS
  • primaryFamily succession underway: Not a takeover target — GRAY, Julie (same surname) appointed 2024-04-02. Pattern consistent with intra-family handover.
  • secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 62. Early succession window.
  • secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
  • primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 23 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.)

Shareholders & ownership

2 active beneficial owners
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mrs Julie Gray
Individual · British · DOB 05/1975 · age 51
25–50%
25–50%25-50% shares · 25-50% voting01/04/2025
Mr Ian Hugh Gray
Individual · British · DOB 06/1964 · age 62
25–50%
25–50%25-50% shares · 25-50% voting30/06/2016
1 historic (ceased) PSC
  • Mrs Elsie Mcpherson Grayceased 01/04/2021· 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting

From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.

Similar companies

Active · Food & drink · FK postcode area
CompanyEst. valueTurnoverNet worthStaffAgeOppDirector
BIOMAR LIMITED→
SC119586 · est 1989
———870036y8360y
GRAHAMS THE FAMILY DAIRY (PROCESSING) LIMITED→
SC311872 · est 2006 · no financials extracted
————19y8286y
GRAHAMS THE FAMILY DAIRY LIMITED→
SC312966 · est 2006 · no financials extracted
————19y8286y
HARVIESTOUN BREWERY (HOLDINGS) LIMITED→
SC334493 · est 2007
———218y8287y
DEVON ALES LIMITED→
SC162887 · est 1996
———030y8180y
ROSEBANK BREWERY CAMELON LIMITED→
SC437746 · est 2012 · no financials extracted
————13y——
ROSEBANK DISTILLERY CAMELON LIMITED→
SC437740 · est 2012 · no financials extracted
————13y——
ROSEBANK WHISKY LIMITED→
SC334522 · est 2007 · no financials extracted
————18y——
ROST COFFEE LTD→
SC637633 · est 2019 · no financials extracted
————6y——
RUSH BEVERAGES LTD→
SC865515 · est 2025 · no financials extracted
———————
SCOTBEEF INVERURIE LIMITED→
SC432208 · est 2012 · no financials extracted
————13y——
SCOTBEEF LIMITED→
SC039434 · est 1963 · no financials extracted
————62y——
Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions

6 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
Incorporated2003-03-12
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC10130 — SIC 10130

Registered office

Calderfield House Drove Loan
Denny
Falkirk
FK6 5LH
United Kingdom

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-03-26
Last: 2026-03-12

Officers (3 active · 4 resigned)

GRAY, Julie→
secretary · appointed 2024-04-02
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
GRAY, Ian Hugh→
director · ~62y · appointed 2003-03-12
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
GRAY, Julie→
director · ~51y · appointed 2024-04-02
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
GRAY, Elsie Mcpherson→
secretary · appointed 2003-03-12 · resigned 2024-04-01
Resigned
ACS SECRETARIES LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2003-03-12 · resigned 2003-03-12
Resigned
GRAY, Elsie Mcpherson→
director · ~83y · appointed 2003-03-12 · resigned 2024-04-01
Resigned
ACS NOMINEES LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2003-03-12 · resigned 2003-03-12
Resigned

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

Recent filings (68 total)

notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2026-04-08
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-04-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-11-24
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-04-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-12-16
termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM02
2024-08-14
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2024-08-14
appoint-person-secretary-company-with-name-date
officers · AP03
2024-08-14
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2024-08-14
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2024-07-08
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-03-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-12-07
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-03-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-01-06
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-03-14