A1 GEARBOXES LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
02937834 · ltd · incorporated 1994-06-10
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 Jun 2024
Net worth
—
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 75-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 80/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 75). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Discharge stale live charges. 3 live charge(s) created 15+ years ago — likely paid but undischarged. Clean register. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
3 live charges · oldest 30.1y
45/100
under pressure
Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.
- · Oldest live charge is 30.1 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
- · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.
Data confidence
Overall: medium (76/100)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
3 charges (3/3 with lender, 3/3 with type)
90
Directors & officers
4 officers (2 active, 4 linked, 1 with DOB)
75
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
79 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.
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 · FRS 102| Metric | 2024-06-30 | 2023-06-30 |
|---|---|---|
| Average employees | 500 | 500 |
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
0
filings
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (26 events)Click to expand
- 2025-01-15📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-03-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-06-26📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC05
- 2023-05-18📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-03-16📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2022-03-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-04-20📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-06-05📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-03-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-06-06📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC02
- 2018-06-06📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2018-04-09📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-05-11📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2017-05-11📄change-person-secretary-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH03
- 2017-04-04📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2016-06-15📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 1999-02-01🔒Charge registered #3Lender: Barclays Bank PLC
- 1998-09-01🔒Charge registered #2Lender: Barclays Bank PLC
- 1996-04-01🔒Charge registered #1Lender: Barclays Bank PLC
- 1994-06-13➕PAPWORTH, Jo Ann Christina appointedsecretary
- 1994-06-13➕PAPWORTH, Stephen Ronald appointeddirector
- 1994-06-13➖LONDON LAW SECRETARIAL LIMITED resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 1994-06-13➖LONDON LAW SERVICES LIMITED resignedcorporate-nominee-director
- 1994-06-10🏢Company incorporatedAs A1 GEARBOXES LIMITED
- 1994-06-10➕LONDON LAW SECRETARIAL LIMITED appointedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 1994-06-10➕LONDON LAW SERVICES LIMITED appointedcorporate-nominee-director
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
- +Sole director: Only one active director — all governance concentrated on one person.
- +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 32 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 75 — succession pressure is live.
Succession & seller-readiness
100/100
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 75 years old. Natural succession window is now.
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
- primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 32 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 32 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.)
Group structure
Lanvin Trading Ltd holds majority control (50-75%). Likely parent but not wholly-owned.
🏛️majority
Lanvin Trading Ltd
Corporate parent · holds 50-75% shares
⬇
A1 GEARBOXES LIMITED
This company · 02937834
Parent relationships inferred from Persons with Significant Control filings. Full subsidiary tree requires reverse-lookup (coming).
Shareholders & ownership
2 active beneficial owners| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Lanvin Trading Ltd Corporate entity | 50–75% | — | 50-75% shares | 06/04/2016 |
Stephen Ronald Papworth Individual · British · DOB 02/1951 · age 75 | — | — | sig. influencesignificant influence | 06/04/2016 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1ST BOSTON'S MOT STATION LIMITED→ 14018016 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
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| A&C CAR SALES LIMITED→ 14516861 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| A1 CAMPERS LTD→ 10208297 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| A1 TYRES AND AUTO REPAIR LTD→ 15090313 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| A10 AUTO CENTRE LIMITED→ 09019843 · est 2014 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 11y | — | — |
Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions
9 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
Incorporated1994-06-10
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC45200 — SIC 45200
Registered office
St Neots Road
Eaton Ford
St Neots
Cambridgeshire
PE19 7AD
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-06-30
Last made up to: 2024-06-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-06-24
Last: 2025-06-10
Officers (2 active · 2 resigned)
PAPWORTH, Jo Ann Christina→
Activesecretary · appointed 1994-06-13
View their other companies + combined net worth →
PAPWORTH, Stephen Ronald→
Activedirector · ~75y · appointed 1994-06-13
View their other companies + combined net worth →
LONDON LAW SECRETARIAL LIMITED→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 1994-06-10 · resigned 1994-06-13
LONDON LAW SERVICES LIMITED→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-director · appointed 1994-06-10 · resigned 1994-06-13
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
3
Total charges
3
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:3 of 3 shown
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| outstanding | Barclays Barclays Bank PLC | Legal charge | 1 property | 01/02/1999 | — | |
| outstanding | Barclays Barclays Bank PLC | Legal charge | 1 property | 01/09/1998 | — | |
| outstanding | Barclays Barclays Bank PLC | Legal charge | 2 properties | 01/04/1996 | — |
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.
Recent filings (79 total)
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-06-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-01-15
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-07-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-03-30
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-06-28
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC05
2023-06-26
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-05-18
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2023-03-16
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-07-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-03-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-06-30
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-04-20
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-06-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-06-05
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-07-03