A R PAYNE (AUTOS) LIMITED
🌳Matureactive
01796764 · ltd · incorporated 1984-03-02
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 31.8y old — refinance window within 12 months
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to May 2025
Net worth
£1.27M
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 45200
Sector: Wholesale & retail
Investor take
PursueActive trading company with a 78-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 80/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 78). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Discharge stale live charges. 1 live charge(s) created 15+ years ago — likely paid but undischarged. Clean register. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
1 live charge · oldest 31.8y
65/100
clean up first
Refinance viable after a tidy-up — address the highlighted items first.
- · Oldest live charge is 31.8 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
- · Legal-friction score 25/100 — workable, but lender will want more DD.
Data confidence
Overall: medium (79/100)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
3 officers (3 active, 3 linked, 2 with DOB)
83
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
1 connected companies via shared directors
48
Filing history
87 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
82/100Exceptional
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Strong composite across quality, acquirability, and risk. High-priority target — progress to serious diligence.
Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
80
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
100
Good data coverage for analysis.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 102Positive net assets
Net assets £1,274,695
Cash YoY
+13%
Year on year
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
£280k
↑ 13% YoY
Net Worth
£1.3m
~ YoY
Current Assets
£812k
↑ 1.1% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102| Metric | 2025-05-31 | 2024-05-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £1.40M | £1.40M |
| Current assets | £812.0k | £803.2k |
| Cash | £280.3k | £247.5k |
| Debtors | £185.1k | £209.0k |
| Net assets | £1.27M | £1.27M |
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
0
filings
Last 180 days
2
filings
- • 1 accounts
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (18 events)Click to expand
- 2026-01-16📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2025-01-21📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-01-18📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-12-20📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-12-13📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-10-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-12-10📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-12-20📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-01-10📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2016-12-15📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2016-01-07📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2015-12-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2015-01-07📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2014-12-18📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2014-03-12📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 1994-07-06🔒Charge registered #1Lender: Jane Georgina Mary Payne
- 1993-07-05➕PAYNE, Jane Georgina Mary appointeddirector
- 1984-03-02🏢Company incorporatedAs A R PAYNE (AUTOS) LIMITED
Owner dependency
100/100
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 "PAYNE" — strong identity link between founder and business.
- +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 33 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 78 — succession pressure is live.
- +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.
Succession & seller-readiness
96/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 78 years old. Natural succession window is now.
- secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
- primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 33 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 42 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
1 active beneficial owner| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Anthony Richard Payne Individual · British · DOB 08/1948 · age 78 | — | — | sig. influencesignificant influence | 06/04/2016 |
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 →Similar companies
Active · Automotive · DA postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 RINGS LTD→ 06466324 · est 2008 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 18y | — | — |
| 6 STARS GIVEAWAYS LTD→ 12618602 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| 703 MOTORSPORTS LTD→ 15294047 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| A.O. MOTORS LTD→ 11892231 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| A&A AUTOS LTD→ 09152322 · est 2014 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 11y | — | — |
| A&K BROTHERS AUTOMOTIVE LTD→ 11792837 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| A2Z AUTO LTD→ 10884770 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| AA & A TRADERS LTD→ 13783208 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| ABBEY AUTOS CENTRE LIMITED→ 06971103 · est 2009 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 16y | — | — |
| ABC MOT CENTRE LIMITED→ 16736459 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ACCESSE MOTORCYCLES LTD→ 16922034 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ACE CLASSICS (LONDON) LIMITED→ 03264271 · est 1996 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 29y | — | — |
Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions
7 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
Incorporated1984-03-02
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC45200 — SIC 45200
Registered office
27 Parkwood Road
Bexley
Kent
DA5 3NW
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-02-28
Last made up to: 2025-05-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-01-15
Last: 2026-01-01
Officers (3 active · 0 resigned)
Active
Active
PAYNE, Jane Georgina Mary→
Activedirector · ~71y · appointed 1993-07-05
View their other companies + combined net worth →
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 | Jane Georgina Mary Payne | Legal charge | 3 properties | 06/07/1994 | — |
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.
Recent filings (87 total)
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2026-01-16
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-01-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-01-21
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-01-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-01-18
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-01-12
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-01-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-12-20
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-01-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-12-13
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-01-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-10-25
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-01-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-12-10
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-01-02