AM CARS LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
03966468 · ltd · incorporated 2000-04-06
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 Jul 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: Sale of new cars and light motor vehicles
Sector: Wholesale & retail
ALSO REGISTERED FOR
  • 45200SIC 45200
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company with a 63-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 63). 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

2 live charges · 2 lenders · oldest 25.7y

30/100
under pressure

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

  • · Oldest live charge is 25.7 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · Two lenders — manageable, but coordination required.
  • · 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, 2 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
4 officers (1 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
69 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£0Jul 2024Jul 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2025-07-312024-07-31
Average employees800900

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 (26 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-04-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-04-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-04-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2023-07-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  5. 2022-04-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  6. 2021-04-13
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  7. 2020-04-20
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2019-04-18
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2018-04-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2017-05-08
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  11. 2016-04-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  12. 2016-04-13
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  13. 2015-04-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  14. 2015-04-20
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  15. 2014-06-24
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  16. 2014-04-19
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #1
  17. 2013-11-25
    🔒
    Charge registered #2
    Lender: Svenska Handelsbanken Ab (Publ)
  18. 2013-08-29
    ➖
    MARSDEN, Connie resigned
    secretary
  19. 2000-10-03
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: National Westminster Bank PLC
  20. 2000-04-06
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As AM CARS LIMITED
  21. 2000-04-06
    ➕
    MARSDEN, Adam John appointed
    director
  22. 2000-04-06
    ➕
    MARSDEN, Connie appointed
    secretary
  23. 2000-04-06
    ➕
    SECRETARIAL APPOINTMENTS LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  24. 2000-04-06
    ➖
    SECRETARIAL APPOINTMENTS LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  25. 2000-04-06
    ➕
    CORPORATE APPOINTMENTS LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-director
  26. 2000-04-06
    ➖
    CORPORATE APPOINTMENTS LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-director

Owner dependency

93/100
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 26 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 63 — approaching natural succession window.

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 63. 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 26 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 26 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 Adam John Marsden
Individual · British · DOB 03/1963 · age 63
75–100%
75–100%board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control06/04/2016

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

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
Incorporated2000-04-06
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC45111 — Sale of new cars and light motor vehicles

Registered office

Unit 4 Slape Industrial Estate
Station Road
Ilminster
Somerset
TA19 9BL

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-04-30
Last made up to: 2025-07-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-04-20
Last: 2026-04-06

Officers (1 active · 3 resigned)

MARSDEN, Adam John→
director · ~63y · appointed 2000-04-06
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
MARSDEN, Connie→
secretary · appointed 2000-04-06 · resigned 2013-08-29
Resigned
SECRETARIAL APPOINTMENTS LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2000-04-06 · resigned 2000-04-06
Resigned
CORPORATE APPOINTMENTS LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2000-04-06 · resigned 2000-04-06
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

2
Total charges
1
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:2 of 2 shown
TypeProperties
outstanding
Svenska Handelsbanken Ab (Publ)
A registered charge1 property25/11/2013—
satisfied
National Westminster Bank
National Westminster Bank PLC
Mortgage debenture1 property03/10/200019/04/2014
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (69 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2026-04-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-04-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-04-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-04-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-04-24
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-04-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-07-21
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-04-19
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-04-28
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-04-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-05-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-04-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-04-20
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-04-17
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-05-10