AUBREY WATSON LIMITED

🌳Matureactive
00184463 · ltd · incorporated 1922-09-20
Investment thesis
Looks cheap but ownership + security both unclear — probable value trap.
Why interesting: Headline metrics may be attractive.
Why risky: No PSC visibility combined with multiple live charges; transacting likely slow and expensive.
Opportunity decay
approaching window · 12-months
Approaching a transaction window — refinance or sale event plausible in the next 12 months.
  • · Oldest live charge 67.4y old — refinance window within 12 months
🔒Estimated value
Upgrade to see
Turnover
not disclosed
Net worth
book net assets
Opportunity
62/100
Worth a look
🔔
Follow this company (free)
Email alerts on filings, charges, director changes, gazette notices. No account needed.

Unsubscribe any time from any email. GDPR-respectful.

What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 4521
Sector: Wholesale & retail
Investor take
Pass (distressed without resilience)
Distressed admin-neglect survivor — structural issues outweigh the discount.

Opportunity 62/100 (worth a look), bankability 40/100. High owner-dependency — earn-out structure likely required for clean transition. Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: File overdue accounts. Clears statutory overdue flag — immediate bankability uplift for refinance conversations. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (45/100). Current lenders should be on monthly review.

🏦

Refinance opportunity

3 live charges · 2 lenders · oldest 67.4y

50/100
clean up first

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

  • · Oldest live charge is 67.4 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: low (47/100)

Sparse data coverage. Treat AI-generated outputs as preliminary. Manual diligence essential.

Company profile
address, 1 SIC codes, incorporation date
100
Financials
No iXBRL financials extracted
0
Lenders & charges
3 charges (3/3 with lender, 3/3 with type)
90
Directors & officers
4 officers (3 active, 4 linked, 3 with DOB)
85
Ownership & PSC
No PSCs filed (unusual — worth investigating)
35
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
38 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
62/100Worth a look
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

Mixed signal. Worth opening the full target workup before deciding to pursue.

Business quality
45
Concerning — overdue filings or status flags present.
Acquirability
75
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
49
Multiple red flags — proceed with caution.
Signal strength
100
Good data coverage for analysis.

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 (30 events)Click to expand
  1. 2015-02-25
    📄
    restoration-order-of-court
    restoration · AC92
  2. 1996-08-02
    📄
    legacy
    dissolution · 652a
  3. 1996-05-09
    📄
    legacy
    annual-return · 363x
  4. 1995-10-18
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-full
    accounts · AA
  5. 1995-08-04
    📄
    legacy
    officers · 288
  6. 1995-06-20
    📄
    legacy
    annual-return · 363x
  7. 1995-02-20
    📄
    legacy
    officers · 288
  8. 1995-01-21
    GOOCH, David Arthur resigned
    director
  9. 1995-01-19
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 1995-01-01
    📄
    selection-of-documents-registered-before-January-1995
    historical · PRE95
  11. 1993-09-16
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-full
    accounts · AA
  12. 1992-10-09
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-full
    accounts · AA
  13. 1991-09-13
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-full
    accounts · AA
  14. 1991-02-14
    📄
    resolution
    resolution · RESOLUTIONS
  15. 1991-01-15
    📍
    legacy
    address · 287
  16. 1990-09-06
    📄
    legacy
    annual-return · 363
  17. 1990-08-13
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-full
    accounts · AA
  18. 1990-03-06
    📄
    resolution
    resolution · RESOLUTIONS
  19. 1989-10-13
    📄
    memorandum-articles
    incorporation · MA
  20. 1989-09-22
    📄
    legacy
    mortgage · 403a
  21. 1989-09-21
    📄
    legacy
    annual-return · 363
  22. 1989-08-08
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-full
    accounts · AA
  23. 1989-08-03
    📄
    legacy
    officers · 288
  24. 1989-07-31
    📄
    resolution
    resolution · RESOLUTIONS
  25. 1989-07-28
    📄
    legacy
    mortgage · 395
  26. 1989-07-26
    📄
    legacy
    capital · 155(6)a
  27. 1989-07-13
    🔒
    Charge registered #3
    Lender: Barclays Bank PLC
  28. 1962-09-28
    🔒
    Charge registered #2
    Lender: The National Bank Limited
  29. 1959-01-22
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: The National Bank Limited
  30. 1922-09-20
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As AUBREY WATSON LIMITED

Owner dependency

73/100
High — earn-out structure required

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

FACTORS
  • +Two-director setup: Only two active directors — typical of owner-managed SMEs but limits succession.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 98 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

76/100
Likely off-market candidate

Strong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.

SIGNALS
  • primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 98 years old. Natural succession window is now.
  • secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 104 years old and no new directors in the last 3 years — succession not yet being planned internally.

Red flags

2 high ·
Accounts overdue
high

Statutory accounts have not been filed by their due date. Can indicate admin breakdown, cash preservation, or deliberate delay.

Evidence: Next due: 1997-01-31

Confirmation statement overdue
high

Annual confirmation statement not filed on time. Required statutory filing — overdue is a strong discipline signal.

Evidence: Next due: 2017-05-14

Similar companies

Active · Automotive · NR postcode area
CompanyEst. valueTurnoverNet worthStaffAgeOppDirector
A&A MINI SPECIALIST LTD
13315496 · est 2021 · no financials extracted
5y
ANDY'S IMPORTS LIMITED
04862202 · est 2003 · no financials extracted
22y
ANGLIA TRUX LTD
08977994 · est 2014 · no financials extracted
12y
ANY CAR TIRES & SERVICING LTD
15984835 · est 2024 · no financials extracted
1y
ARB RECOVERY NORFOLK LTD
17116879 · est 2026 · no financials extracted
ARCHIES CAMPERS LTD
13366877 · est 2021 · no financials extracted
4y
ARRISAUTO LIMITED
10608167 · est 2017 · no financials extracted
9y
ASAF AUTOS LTD
14505602 · est 2022 · no financials extracted
3y
ASPLAND CARS LIMITED
01262859 · est 1976 · no financials extracted
49y
ATLANTIC TRADING (NORFOLK) LIMITED
04143684 · est 2001 · no financials extracted
25y
ATTLEBOROUGH SERVICE CENTRE LIMITED
05282380 · est 2004 · no financials extracted
21y
AUTO BODY REPAIR GROUP LIMITED
14744436 · est 2023 · no financials extracted
3y
Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions

11 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
Incorporated1922-09-20
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC4521 — SIC 4521

Registered office

Holland Court
The Close
Norwich
Norfolk
NR1 4DY

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 1997-01-31OVERDUE
Last made up to: 1995-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2017-05-14OVERDUE
Last:

Officers (3 active · 1 resigned)

ELSEY, David Bryan
secretary
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
BIRCH, Michael
director · ~80y
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
HOLMES, James Nigel
director · ~98y
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
GOOCH, David Arthur
director · ~89y · resigned 1995-01-21
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

3
Total charges
3
Outstanding
2
Active lenders
Status:Lender:3 of 3 shown
TypeProperties
outstanding
Barclays
Barclays Bank PLC
Debenture1 property13/07/1989
outstanding
The National Bank
The National Bank Limited
First charge without written instrument by way of a simple deposit1 property28/09/1962
part-satisfied
The National Bank
The National Bank Limited
By deposit of deeds iwht out written instrument1 property22/01/1959
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (38 total)

restoration-order-of-court
restoration · AC92
2015-02-25
legacy
dissolution · 652a
1996-08-02
legacy
annual-return · 363x
1996-05-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-full
accounts · AA
1995-10-18
legacy
officers · 288
1995-08-04
legacy
annual-return · 363x
1995-06-20
legacy
officers · 288
1995-02-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-full
accounts · AA
1995-01-19
selection-of-documents-registered-before-January-1995
historical · PRE95
1995-01-01
accounts-with-accounts-type-full
accounts · AA
1993-09-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-full
accounts · AA
1992-10-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-full
accounts · AA
1991-09-13
resolution
resolution · RESOLUTIONS
1991-02-14
legacy
address · 287
1991-01-15
legacy
annual-return · 363
1990-09-06