ABM MOTORS LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
03004276 · ltd · incorporated 1994-12-21
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 Dec 2024
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 45200
Sector: Wholesale & retail
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company with a 66-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 85/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 66). 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).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

1 live charge · oldest 26.8y

45/100
under pressure

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

  • · Oldest live charge is 26.8 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
1 charges (1/1 with lender, 1/1 with type)
90
Directors & officers
4 officers (2 active, 4 linked, 1 with DOB)
75
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
89 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 accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
£0£0£0£0£0£0Dec 2023Dec 2024

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2024-12-312023-12-31
Average employees200200

Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.

Recent activity

Last 30 days
0
filings
Last 90 days
1
filing
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
1
filing
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (25 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-11-27
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  2. 2025-04-08
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-05-02
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2023-08-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  5. 2022-07-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  6. 2021-08-18
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  7. 2021-07-14
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  8. 2021-03-10
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  9. 2020-03-18
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  10. 2020-03-18
    📄
    administrative-restoration-company
    restoration · RT01
  11. 2020-02-25
    📄
    gazette-dissolved-compulsory
    gazette · GAZ2
  12. 2019-12-10
    📄
    gazette-notice-compulsory
    gazette · GAZ1
  13. 2019-02-04
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  14. 2019-01-29
    📄
    gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
    gazette · DISS40
  15. 2018-12-11
    📄
    gazette-notice-compulsory
    gazette · GAZ1
  16. 2018-01-17
    📄
    gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
    gazette · DISS40
  17. 2003-07-04
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #1
  18. 1999-08-11
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: Aib Group (UK) PLC
  19. 1995-01-03
    ➕
    ASARE, Annette appointed
    secretary
  20. 1995-01-03
    ➕
    ASARE, Michael appointed
    director
  21. 1995-01-03
    ➖
    ASHCROFT CAMERON SECRETARIES LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  22. 1995-01-03
    ➖
    ASHCROFT CAMERON NOMINEES LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-director
  23. 1994-12-21
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As ABM MOTORS LIMITED
  24. 1994-12-21
    ➕
    ASHCROFT CAMERON SECRETARIES LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  25. 1994-12-21
    ➕
    ASHCROFT CAMERON NOMINEES LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-director

Owner dependency

100/100
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.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 31 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 66 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

95/100
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 66. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
  • primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 31 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 31 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
Mr Michael Asare
Individual · Ghanaian · DOB 12/1960 · age 66
75–100%
—75-100% shares06/04/2016

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
Incorporated1994-12-21
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC45200 — SIC 45200

Registered office

26 Station Road
Watford
WD17 1JU
England

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last made up to: 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-01-04
Last: 2025-12-21

Officers (2 active · 2 resigned)

ASARE, Annette→
secretary · appointed 1995-01-03
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
ASARE, Michael→
director · ~66y · appointed 1995-01-03
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
ASHCROFT CAMERON SECRETARIES LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 1994-12-21 · resigned 1995-01-03
Resigned
ASHCROFT CAMERON NOMINEES LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 1994-12-21 · resigned 1995-01-03
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

1
Total charges
0
Outstanding
0
Active lenders
Status:Lender:1 of 1 shown
TypeProperties
satisfied
Aib Group (UK)
Aib Group (UK) PLC
Mortgage debenture1 property11/08/199904/07/2003

Recent filings (89 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-03-19
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2025-11-27
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-04-08
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-01-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-05-02
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-01-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-08-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-01-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-07-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-01-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-08-18
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2021-07-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-03-10
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-02-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-03-18