AUTOBOND LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
01401876 · ltd · incorporated 1978-11-24
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 Aug 2025
Net worth
£844.8k
book net assets
Opportunity
77/100
Strong
🔔
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What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 28990
Sector: Manufacturing
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company with a 71-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 77/100 (strong), bankability 67/100. Strong seller-intent signal (78/100, director aged 71). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Consolidate lender relationships. 11 distinct lenders creates friction — refinance into single-lender structure for cleaner diligence. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

8 live charges · 6 lenders · oldest 45.5y

15/100
under pressure

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

  • · Oldest live charge is 45.5 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · 6 lenders named — inter-creditor friction likely.
  • · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.

Data confidence

Overall: medium (70/100)

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
8 charges (8/8 with lender, 8/8 with type)
90
Directors & officers
10 officers (2 active, 10 linked, 8 with DOB)
86
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
123 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
70
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
77
Few red flags.
Signal strength
100
Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declared
Positive net assets
Net assets £844,758

Key financials

1 year extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£320k
Net Worth
£845k
Current Assets
£1.9m
Current Liabilities
—

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2025-08-31
Total assets£844.8k
Current assets£1.92M
Cash£320.5k
Debtors£228.4k
Net assets£844.8k

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
1
filing
  • • 1 accounts
Last 90 days
2
filings
  • • 2 accounts
Last 180 days
3
filings
  • • 2 accounts
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (46 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-06-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2026-05-27
    📄
    change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortened
    accounts · AA01
  3. 2025-05-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2024-05-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  5. 2023-05-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  6. 2022-05-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  7. 2021-05-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2020-07-11
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2020-06-30
    📄
    mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
    mortgage · MR04
  10. 2020-06-30
    📄
    mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
    mortgage · MR01
  11. 2020-06-30
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #7
  12. 2020-06-25
    🔒
    Charge registered #8
    Lender: The Autobond Pension Scheme
  13. 2019-05-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  14. 2018-05-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  15. 2017-11-15
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  16. 2017-11-03
    ➖
    MITCHELL, John Samuel resigned
    director
  17. 2017-04-11
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  18. 2016-05-18
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  19. 2016-03-21
    ➕
    MITCHELL, John Samuel appointed
    director
  20. 2015-10-23
    🔒
    Charge registered #7
    Lender: The Autobond Pension Scheme
  21. 2014-12-17
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #6
  22. 2014-12-17
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #5
  23. 2014-06-11
    ➖
    TOMAN, Francis resigned
    director
  24. 2014-04-07
    ➖
    GILMORE, Alan resigned
    director
  25. 2011-02-13
    ➖
    GILMORE, Thomas George resigned
    director
  26. 2011-01-28
    ➖
    MILLS, Alec resigned
    director
  27. 2010-06-14
    🔒
    Charge registered #6
    Lender: National Westminster Bank PLC
  28. 2010-06-03
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #4
  29. 2010-06-03
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #3
  30. 2010-06-03
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #2
  31. 2010-06-03
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #1
  32. 2010-02-15
    ➖
    WARDLE, Carl resigned
    director
  33. 2009-11-26
    🔒
    Charge registered #5
    Lender: National Westminster Bank PLC
  34. 2006-12-13
    ➕
    WARDLE, Carl appointed
    director
  35. 2006-12-11
    ➕
    GILMORE, Karen appointed
    secretary
  36. 2006-04-05
    ➖
    DAVIS, Carol resigned
    secretary
  37. 2002-09-01
    ➖
    JONES, Trevor Edward resigned
    director
  38. 1999-07-01
    🔒
    Charge registered #4
    Lender: Alan Gilmore
  39. 1997-02-01
    ➕
    JONES, Trevor Edward appointed
    director
  40. 1995-12-01
    ➕
    MILLS, Alec appointed
    director
  41. 1993-03-15
    ➕
    GILMORE, Alan appointed
    director
  42. 1993-03-15
    ➕
    TOMAN, Francis appointed
    director
  43. 1991-11-01
    🔒
    Charge registered #3
    Lender: Governor and Company of Bank of Ireland
  44. 1987-07-29
    🔒
    Charge registered #2
    Lender: The Governor and Company of the Bank of Ireland
  45. 1981-01-07
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: Bank of Ireland
  46. 1978-11-24
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As AUTOBOND 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 71 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

85/100
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 71 years old. Natural succession window is now.
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 48 years old and no new directors in the last 3 years — succession not yet being planned internally.

Red flags

1 med ·
Charge satisfaction-then-recreation pattern
medium

Multiple instances where a charge was satisfied and a new charge created within 6 months. Suggests active refinancing cycle.

Shareholders & ownership

1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr John Gilmore
Individual · British · DOB 03/1955 · age 71
75–100%
75–100%75-100% shares · 75-100% voting28/02/2017

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
Incorporated1978-11-24
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC28990 — SIC 28990

Registered office

Heanor Gate Road
Heanor Gate Industrial Estate
Heanor
Derbyshire
DE75 7RJ

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-05-30
Last made up to: 2025-08-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-03-14
Last: 2026-02-28

Officers (2 active · 8 resigned)

GILMORE, Karen→
secretary · appointed 2006-12-11
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
GILMORE, John→
director · ~71y
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
DAVIS, Carol→
secretary · resigned 2006-04-05
Resigned
GILMORE, Alan→
director · ~70y · appointed 1993-03-15 · resigned 2014-04-07
Resigned
GILMORE, Thomas George→
director · ~97y · resigned 2011-02-13
Resigned
JONES, Trevor Edward→
director · ~77y · appointed 1997-02-01 · resigned 2002-09-01
Resigned
MILLS, Alec→
director · ~76y · appointed 1995-12-01 · resigned 2011-01-28
Resigned
MITCHELL, John Samuel→
director · ~51y · appointed 2016-03-21 · resigned 2017-11-03
Resigned
TOMAN, Francis→
director · ~74y · appointed 1993-03-15 · resigned 2014-06-11
Resigned
WARDLE, Carl→
director · ~53y · appointed 2006-12-13 · resigned 2010-02-15
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

8
Total charges
1
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:8 of 8 shown
TypeProperties
outstanding
The Autobond Pension Scheme
A registered charge—25/06/2020—
satisfied
The Autobond Pension Scheme
A registered charge—23/10/201530/06/2020
satisfied
National Westminster Bank
National Westminster Bank PLC
Debenture1 property14/06/201017/12/2014
satisfied
National Westminster Bank
National Westminster Bank PLC
Charge of deposit1 property26/11/200917/12/2014
satisfied
Alan Gilmore / John Gilmore / Thomas George Gilmore / Francis Towman / E B Consultants / Trevor Edward Jones
Alan Gilmore / John Gilmore / Thomas George Gilmore / Francis Towman / E B Consultants Limited / Trevor Edward Jones
Debenture1 property01/07/199903/06/2010
satisfied
Governor and Company of Bank of Ireland
Legal charge1 property01/11/199103/06/2010
satisfied
The Governor and Company of the Bank of Ireland
Legal charge1 property29/07/198703/06/2010
satisfied
Bank of Ireland
Debenture1 property07/01/198103/06/2010
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (123 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2026-06-23
change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortened
accounts · AA01
2026-05-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-03-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-05-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-02-28
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-05-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-02-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-05-30
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-02-28
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-05-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-02-28
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-05-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-03-01
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-07-11
mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
mortgage · MR04
2020-06-30