ADAMS AUTO LIMITED
🌳Matureactive
01736397 · ltd · incorporated 1983-07-04
Investment thesis
Established operating company — standard diligence applies, no dominant angle.
Why interesting: Live, filing, normal profile.
Why risky: No standout signals in either direction.
Opportunity decay
approaching window · 12-months
Approaching a transaction window — refinance or sale event plausible in the next 12 months.
- · Oldest live charge 4.2y old — refinance window within 12 months
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Jul 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
74/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 45200
Sector: Wholesale & retail
Investor take
PursueStrong opportunity: active trading company with strong profile and bankable structure.
Opportunity 74/100 (strong), bankability 80/100. High owner-dependency — earn-out structure likely required for clean transition. Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (58/100).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
1 live charge · oldest 4.2y
75/100
ready
Refinance conversation should be productive — structure clean and timing right.
- · Charge age ~4.2 years — mid-life; refi window approaching.
- · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
- · Legal-friction score 15/100 — clean.
Data confidence
Overall: medium (78/100)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
1 charges (1/1 with lender, 1/1 with type)
90
Directors & officers
5 officers (2 active, 5 linked, 4 with DOB)
86
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 3 total, 3 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
110 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
74/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
50
Some acquirability indicators.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
100
Good data coverage for analysis.
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2025-07-31 | 2024-07-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Average employees | 600 | 500 |
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
🔒Filing-note intelligence
3 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
2
filings
- • 1 accounts
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
2
filings
- • 1 accounts
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (24 events)Click to expand
- 2026-03-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2025-06-24📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2025-06-24📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2025-02-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-04-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-03-24📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-04-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-02-08📄mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-datemortgage · MR01
- 2022-02-07🔒Charge registered #1Lender: Lloyds Bank PLC
- 2021-10-01📄resolutionresolution · RESOLUTIONS
- 2021-09-30📄memorandum-articlesincorporation · MA
- 2021-09-30📄capital-name-of-class-of-sharescapital · SH08
- 2021-04-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-04-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-10-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-05-09📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2018-02-06📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2018-01-30📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2017-08-31➖ADAMS, Martine Frances resignedsecretary
- 2017-08-31➖ADAMS, Derek Robert resigneddirector
- 2017-08-31➖ADAMS, Martine Frances resigneddirector
- 2012-03-02➕ADAMS, Emma appointeddirector
- 2012-03-02➕ADAMS, Robert John appointeddirector
- 1983-07-04🏢Company incorporatedAs ADAMS AUTO LIMITED
Owner dependency
81/100
Critical — business is the founderThe 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.
- +Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "ADAMS" — strong identity link between founder and business.
- +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.
Succession & seller-readiness
59/100
Strong succession signalMultiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.
SIGNALS
- secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
- secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 14 years.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 43 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
cleanNo 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| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Robert John Adams Individual · British · DOB 02/1980 · age 46 | 25–50% | 25–50% | 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting | 01/04/2025 |
Ms Emma Adams Individual · British · DOB 12/1976 · age 50 | 25–50% | 25–50% | sig. influence25-50% shares · 25-50% voting · significant influence | 06/07/2017 |
1 historic (ceased) PSC
- Mrs Martine Frances Adamsceased 31/08/2017· 25-50% shares
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Similar companies
Active · Automotive · EX postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A & R TAILIFT SERVICES LIMITED→ 04881457 · est 2003 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 22y | — | — |
| A & S AUTO SOLUTIONS LTD→ 15276678 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| A M SQUIRES LIMITED→ 04703989 · est 2003 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 23y | — | — |
| A STAR AUTO MECHANICS LTD→ 14711928 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| A&M COATINGS (SW) LTD→ 14498384 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| A1 MOT & SERVICE SW LTD→ 16883875 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| AARONBERG LTD→ 11844730 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| ACE MOTORCYCLES LIMITED→ 11580622 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| ACM CAR SALES LTD→ 14468269 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| ACORN TYRES AND EXHAUSTS LTD→ 11804162 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| ADAPTIVE VEHICLE CONVERSIONS LIMITED→ 12240720 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| ADH CUSTOMS LIMITED→ 14112064 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
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
Incorporated1983-07-04
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC45200 — SIC 45200
Registered office
Salterton Road
Exmouth
Devon
EX8 2NS
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-04-30
Last made up to: 2025-07-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-01-14
Last: 2025-12-31
Officers (2 active · 3 resigned)
Active
ADAMS, Robert John→
Activedirector · ~46y · appointed 2012-03-02
View their other companies + combined net worth →
ADAMS, Martine Frances→
Resignedsecretary · resigned 2017-08-31
ADAMS, Derek Robert→
Resigneddirector · ~76y · resigned 2017-08-31
ADAMS, Martine Frances→
Resigneddirector · ~70y · resigned 2017-08-31
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
1
Total charges
1
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:1 of 1 shown
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| outstanding | Lloyds Banking Group Lloyds Bank PLC | A registered charge | — | 07/02/2022 | — |
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.
Recent filings (110 total)
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2026-03-26
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-02-02
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2025-06-24
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2025-06-24
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-02-26
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-01-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-04-29
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-01-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-03-24
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-01-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-04-27
mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
mortgage · MR01
2022-02-08
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-01-26
resolution
resolution · RESOLUTIONS
2021-10-01
memorandum-articles
incorporation · MA
2021-09-30