COWS & CO FOOD LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
SC534599 · ltd · incorporated 2016-05-05
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 Jul 2023
Net worth
book net assets
Opportunity
79/100
Strong
🔔
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What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 46330
Sector: Wholesale & retail
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company with a 66-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 79/100 (strong), bankability 85/100. Strong seller-intent signal (68/100, director aged 66). 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 (73/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

1 live charge · oldest 8.3y

45/100
under pressure

Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.

  • · Oldest live charge is 8.3 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
  • · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.

Data confidence

Overall: medium (73/100)

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
1 year of iXBRL accounts extracted (no YoY comparison) + narrative notes parsed
50
Lenders & charges
1 charges (1/1 with lender, 1/1 with type)
90
Directors & officers
4 officers (1 active, 4 linked, 4 with DOB)
90
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
4 connected companies via shared directors
57
Filing history
27 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
79/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.

Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
70
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
100
Good data coverage for analysis.

Key financials

1 year extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
Net Worth
Current Assets
Current Liabilities

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2023-07-31
Average employees1400

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

🔒Filing-note intelligence

2 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
0
filings
Last 90 days
1
filing
  • 1 persons-with-significant-control
Last 180 days
1
filing
  • 1 persons-with-significant-control
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (27 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-04-13
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC05
  2. 2025-04-10
    📄
    mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
    mortgage · MR04
  3. 2025-04-10
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #1
  4. 2025-02-05
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  5. 2024-12-09
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC05
  6. 2024-05-02
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  7. 2024-04-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  8. 2023-05-23
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  9. 2023-05-11
    CALLANDER, William Mark resigned
    director
  10. 2023-05-02
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-audited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  11. 2022-04-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  12. 2021-03-12
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  13. 2021-02-05
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  14. 2021-02-04
    CROUCH, Peter James resigned
    director
  15. 2020-05-01
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  16. 2020-02-27
    MACLENNAN, Stuart Alexander resigned
    director
  17. 2020-02-27
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  18. 2019-04-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  19. 2018-02-12
    📄
    mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
    mortgage · MR01
  20. 2018-02-08
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: Npif Tvc Debt LP Acting by Tvc Loans Npif Gp Limited as the General Partner of Npif Tvc Debt LP Acting by Fw Capital Limited.
  21. 2017-11-15
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  22. 2017-06-21
    📄
    change-account-reference-date-company-current-extended
    accounts · AA01
  23. 2016-05-05
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As COWS & CO FOOD LIMITED
  24. 2016-05-05
    WALTON, Maurice Tom appointed
    director
  25. 2016-05-05
    CALLANDER, William Mark appointed
    director
  26. 2016-05-05
    CROUCH, Peter James appointed
    director
  27. 2016-05-05
    MACLENNAN, Stuart Alexander appointed
    director

Owner dependency

90/100
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
  • +Sole director: Only one active director — all governance concentrated on 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.
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
  • 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

Cows & Co Group Limited is the ultimate parent — holding 75%+ shares. This company sits inside their group.

🏛️
Cows & Co Group Limited
Corporate parent · holds 75-100% shares · board control
ultimate parent
COWS & CO FOOD LIMITED
This company · SC534599

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%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Cows & Co Group Limited
Corporate entity
75100%
75–100%board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control04/05/2017

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 →

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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
Incorporated2016-05-05
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC46330 — SIC 46330

Registered office

3 Burnside Cottages
Seton Mains
Longniddry
East Lothian
EH32 0PG
Scotland

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-04-30
Last made up to: 2024-07-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-05-10
Last: 2025-04-26

Officers (1 active · 3 resigned)

WALTON, Maurice Tom
director · ~66y · appointed 2016-05-05
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
CALLANDER, William Mark
director · ~59y · appointed 2016-05-05 · resigned 2023-05-11
Resigned
CROUCH, Peter James
director · ~58y · appointed 2016-05-05 · resigned 2021-02-04
Resigned
MACLENNAN, Stuart Alexander
director · ~55y · appointed 2016-05-05 · resigned 2020-02-27
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

1
Total charges
0
Outstanding
0
Active lenders
Status:Lender:1 of 1 shown
TypeProperties
satisfied
Npif Tvc Debt LP Acting by Tvc Loans Npif Gp as the General Partner of Npif Tvc Debt LP Acting by Fw Capital .
Npif Tvc Debt LP Acting by Tvc Loans Npif Gp Limited as the General Partner of Npif Tvc Debt LP Acting by Fw Capital Limited.
A registered charge2 properties08/02/201810/04/2025

Recent filings (27 total)

change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC05
2026-04-13
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-05-07
mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
mortgage · MR04
2025-04-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2025-02-05
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC05
2024-12-09
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-05-08
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2024-05-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2024-04-29
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2023-05-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-05-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-audited-abridged
accounts · AA
2023-05-02
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-05-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2022-04-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-04-26
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2021-03-12