C.A.E. DIESEL LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
01249680 · ltd · incorporated 1976-03-18
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.
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Mar 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
78/100
Strong
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What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 45200
Sector: Wholesale & retail
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company with a 65-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 78/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (68/100, director aged 65). 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).

Data confidence

Overall: medium (77/100)

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
6 officers (1 active, 6 linked, 5 with DOB)
87
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
103 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
78/100Strong
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
90
Good data coverage for analysis.

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
£0£18k£37k£55k£74k£92kMar 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
Total assets—£92.2k
Current assets—£91.2k
Net assets—£92.0k
Average employees400—

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
1
filing
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (24 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-12-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-12-25
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-12-07
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  4. 2023-12-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  5. 2023-03-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  6. 2022-03-09
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  7. 2020-10-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  8. 2019-12-20
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  9. 2018-10-15
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  10. 2017-09-08
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  11. 2016-09-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  12. 2016-05-23
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  13. 2015-11-09
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  14. 2015-04-25
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  15. 2014-09-19
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  16. 2013-12-31
    ➖
    SMITH, Roger James resigned
    director
  17. 2013-02-04
    ➕
    TAYLOR, John appointed
    director
  18. 2011-05-12
    ➖
    TAYLOR, Iris Evelyn resigned
    secretary
  19. 2003-04-01
    ➕
    SMITH, Roger James appointed
    director
  20. 2002-12-31
    ➖
    TAYLOR, Allen resigned
    director
  21. 1995-09-21
    ➖
    TAYLOR, John Thomas resigned
    director
  22. 1995-09-20
    ➕
    TAYLOR, Allen appointed
    director
  23. 1994-04-07
    ➖
    TAYLOR, Iris Evelyn resigned
    director
  24. 1976-03-18
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As C.A.E. DIESEL LIMITED

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 65 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

88/100
Likely off-market candidate

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

SIGNALS
  • primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 65. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
  • secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 13 years.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 50 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

clean
No 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%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
John Taylor
Individual · British · DOB 02/1961 · age 65
75–100%
—75-100% shares01/04/2017

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

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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
Incorporated1976-03-18
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC45200 — SIC 45200

Registered office

The Breeches
Galley Hill Road
Waltham Abbey
EN9 2AQ
England

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-01-24
Last: 2026-01-10

Officers (1 active · 5 resigned)

TAYLOR, John→
director · ~65y · appointed 2013-02-04
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
TAYLOR, Iris Evelyn→
secretary · resigned 2011-05-12
Resigned
SMITH, Roger James→
director · ~77y · appointed 2003-04-01 · resigned 2013-12-31
Resigned
TAYLOR, Allen→
director · ~63y · appointed 1995-09-20 · resigned 2002-12-31
Resigned
TAYLOR, Iris Evelyn→
director · ~103y · resigned 1994-04-07
Resigned
TAYLOR, John Thomas→
director · ~65y · resigned 1995-09-21
Resigned

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

Recent filings (103 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-01-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-12-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-01-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-12-25
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2024-12-07
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-01-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-12-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-04-26
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-03-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-04-27
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-03-09
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-04-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-10-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-04-28
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2019-12-20