AUTOQUALITY LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
03218489 · ltd · incorporated 1996-06-28
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 May 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
🔔
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What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 46740
Sector: Wholesale & retail
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company with a 65-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 80/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 65). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Discharge stale live charges. 2 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

2 live charges · oldest 29.8y

45/100
under pressure

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

  • · Oldest live charge is 29.8 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
  • · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.

Data confidence

Overall: high (80/100)

Strong data coverage across all sections. AI outputs should be trusted with minimal caveats.

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
2 charges (2/2 with lender, 2/2 with type)
90
Directors & officers
7 officers (1 active, 7 linked, 4 with DOB)
81
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
4 connected companies via shared directors
57
Filing history
92 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£0May 2024May 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2025-05-312024-05-31

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
1
filing
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
1
filing
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (32 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-07-09
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-01-20
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  3. 2025-01-20
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  4. 2024-07-10
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  5. 2023-07-07
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  6. 2022-10-12
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  7. 2022-07-04
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2021-07-07
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2021-01-07
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2019-12-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  11. 2019-07-11
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
  12. 2019-03-29
    📄
    capital-cancellation-shares
    capital · SH06
  13. 2019-03-29
    📄
    capital-return-purchase-own-shares
    capital · SH03
  14. 2019-03-08
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  15. 2019-03-07
    ➖
    SMITH, Margaret resigned
    director
  16. 2019-01-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  17. 2017-11-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  18. 2015-08-01
    ➖
    DUNN, David resigned
    secretary
  19. 2015-08-01
    ➖
    DUNN, David resigned
    director
  20. 2015-08-01
    ➖
    DUNN, Eileen resigned
    director
  21. 2000-11-17
    ➕
    DUNN, Eileen appointed
    director
  22. 2000-11-17
    ➕
    SMITH, Margaret appointed
    director
  23. 1997-08-29
    🔒
    Charge registered #2
    Lender: National Westminster Bank PLC
  24. 1996-08-27
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: National Westminster Bank PLC
  25. 1996-07-24
    ➕
    SMITH, Geoffrey Michael appointed
    director
  26. 1996-07-24
    ➕
    DUNN, David appointed
    secretary
  27. 1996-07-24
    ➖
    BRITANNIA COMPANY FORMATIONS LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  28. 1996-07-24
    ➕
    DUNN, David appointed
    director
  29. 1996-07-24
    ➖
    DEANSGATE COMPANY FORMATIONS LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-director
  30. 1996-06-28
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As AUTOQUALITY LIMITED
  31. 1996-06-28
    ➕
    BRITANNIA COMPANY FORMATIONS LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  32. 1996-06-28
    ➕
    DEANSGATE COMPANY FORMATIONS 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 30 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 65 — 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 65. 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 30 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 30 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 Geoffrey Michael Smith
Individual · British · DOB 06/1961 · age 65
75–100%
75–100%board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control11/07/2019

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 →

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AJ KICKZZZ LTD→
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11501647 · est 2018 · no financials extracted
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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
Incorporated1996-06-28
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC46740 — SIC 46740

Registered office

Unit 8, The Quad Chester West Employment Park
Sealand Road
Chester
CH1 4QP
England

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-02-28
Last made up to: 2025-05-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-04-11
Last: 2026-03-28

Officers (1 active · 6 resigned)

SMITH, Geoffrey Michael→
director · ~65y · appointed 1996-07-24
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
DUNN, David→
secretary · appointed 1996-07-24 · resigned 2015-08-01
Resigned
BRITANNIA COMPANY FORMATIONS LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 1996-06-28 · resigned 1996-07-24
Resigned
DUNN, David→
director · ~77y · appointed 1996-07-24 · resigned 2015-08-01
Resigned
DUNN, Eileen→
director · ~79y · appointed 2000-11-17 · resigned 2015-08-01
Resigned
SMITH, Margaret→
director · ~68y · appointed 2000-11-17 · resigned 2019-03-07
Resigned
DEANSGATE COMPANY FORMATIONS LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 1996-06-28 · resigned 1996-07-24
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

2
Total charges
2
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:2 of 2 shown
TypeProperties
outstanding
National Westminster Bank
National Westminster Bank PLC
Legal mortgage1 property29/08/1997—
outstanding
National Westminster Bank
National Westminster Bank PLC
Mortgage debenture1 property27/08/1996—
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (92 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-03-30
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-07-09
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-03-31
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2025-01-20
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2025-01-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-07-10
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-04-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-07-07
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-03-29
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2022-10-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-07-04
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-03-31
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-07-07
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-04-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-01-07