ARTHUR BROTHERS TRANSPORT LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
03967424 · ltd · incorporated 2000-04-07
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 Nov 2024
Net worth
£533.0k
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: Freight transport by road
Sector: Transportation & storage
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company with a 73-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 73). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Cash flow review and working-capital discipline. Cash down -37% YoY — forensic review of receivables, stock turns, and creditor days. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

2 live charges · 2 lenders · oldest 16.6y

30/100
under pressure

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

  • · Oldest live charge is 16.6 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · Two lenders — manageable, but coordination required.
  • · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.

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
2 charges (2/2 with lender, 2/2 with type)
90
Directors & officers
4 officers (1 active, 4 linked, 2 with DOB)
80
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 3 total, 3 with control declared
90
Director network
2 connected companies via shared directors
51
Filing history
67 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 · accounting standard not declared
Positive net assets
Net assets £533,023
Net assets shrinking
Down £1,381 YoY
Cash YoY
-37%
Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£231k
↓ 37% YoY
Net Worth
£533k
~ YoY
Current Assets
£2.1m
↑ 4.8% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£417k£834k£1.3m£1.7m£2.1mNov 2023Nov 2024

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2024-11-302023-11-30
Total assets£549.9k£566.8k
Current assets£2.08M£1.99M
Cash£231.0k£366.6k
Debtors£1.83M£1.60M
Net assets£533.0k£534.4k

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
1
filing
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 90 days
1
filing
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
1
filing
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (27 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-08-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-09-09
    📄
    mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
    mortgage · MR01
  3. 2024-09-09
    🔒
    Charge registered #2
    Lender: Mitsubishi Hc Capital UK PLC
  4. 2024-08-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  5. 2024-06-28
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC05
  6. 2023-08-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  7. 2022-08-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2021-08-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2020-09-18
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2020-03-16
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC05
  11. 2020-03-16
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC02
  12. 2020-03-13
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  13. 2020-02-12
    📄
    change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortened
    accounts · AA01
  14. 2020-01-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  15. 2019-01-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  16. 2018-08-15
    📄
    mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
    mortgage · MR04
  17. 2018-08-15
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #1
  18. 2018-04-12
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  19. 2017-09-23
    ➖
    ARTHUR, Alan James resigned
    secretary
  20. 2017-09-23
    ➖
    ARTHUR, Alan James resigned
    director
  21. 2009-11-19
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: Bibby Financial Services Limited
  22. 2000-04-07
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As ARTHUR BROTHERS TRANSPORT LIMITED
  23. 2000-04-07
    ➕
    ARTHUR, Martin Alan appointed
    director
  24. 2000-04-07
    ➕
    ARTHUR, Alan James appointed
    secretary
  25. 2000-04-07
    ➕
    SWIFT INCORPORATIONS LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  26. 2000-04-07
    ➖
    SWIFT INCORPORATIONS LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  27. 2000-04-07
    ➕
    ARTHUR, Alan James appointed
    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.
  • +Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "ARTHUR" — strong identity link between founder and business.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 26 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 73 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

100/100
Likely off-market candidate

Strong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.

SIGNALS
  • primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 73 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 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.)

Group structure

Arthur Brothers Group Limited is the ultimate parent — holding 75%+ shares. This company sits inside their group.

🏛️
Arthur Brothers Group Limited
Corporate parent · holds 75-100% shares · board control
ultimate parent
⬇
ARTHUR BROTHERS TRANSPORT LIMITED
This company · 03967424

Parent relationships inferred from Persons with Significant Control filings. Full subsidiary tree requires reverse-lookup (coming).

Shareholders & ownership

1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Arthur Brothers Group Limited
Corporate entity
75–100%
75–100%board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control29/11/2019
2 historic (ceased) PSCs
  • Martin Alan Arthurceased 29/11/2019· 25-50% shares
  • Alan James Arthurceased 23/09/2017· 25-50% shares

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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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
Incorporated2000-04-07
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC49410 — Freight transport by road

Registered office

21 Gold Tops
Newport
Gwent
NP20 4PG

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-08-31
Last made up to: 2024-11-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-04-21
Last: 2026-04-07

Officers (1 active · 3 resigned)

ARTHUR, Martin Alan→
director · ~73y · appointed 2000-04-07
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
ARTHUR, Alan James→
secretary · appointed 2000-04-07 · resigned 2017-09-23
Resigned
SWIFT INCORPORATIONS LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2000-04-07 · resigned 2000-04-07
Resigned
ARTHUR, Alan James→
director · ~102y · appointed 2000-04-07 · resigned 2017-09-23
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
Mitsubishi Hc Capital UK
Mitsubishi Hc Capital UK PLC
A registered charge1 property09/09/2024—
satisfied
Bibby Financial Services
Bibby Financial Services Limited
Debenture1 property19/11/200915/08/2018
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (67 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-05-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-08-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-05-20
mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
mortgage · MR01
2024-09-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-08-29
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC05
2024-06-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-04-26
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-08-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-04-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-08-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-04-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-08-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-04-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-09-18
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-04-29