B.L. AUTOS & SONS LIMITED

🌳Matureactive
04160443 · ltd · incorporated 2001-02-14
Investment thesis
Well-run mature business — low negotiation leverage; premium likely.
Why interesting: Textbook target; clean filings, stable trading.
Why risky: No pressure on seller; any deal likely at full price.
Opportunity decay
hardening · 12-months
Already tight — no obvious softening catalysts on the horizon.
  • · Thesis: well-run, low negotiation leverage
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Feb 2025
Net worth
£58.6k
book net assets
Opportunity
81/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 45200
Sector: Wholesale & retail
Investor take
Pursue
Asset-holding vehicle. Family succession underway — not a classic acquisition target.

Opportunity 81/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Same-surname younger director in place — likely family handover, not open to sale. Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).

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
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
9 officers (5 active, 9 linked, 5 with DOB)
81
Ownership & PSC
3 active PSC(s) of 3 total, 3 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
67 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
81/100Exceptional
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
85
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declared
Positive net assets
Net assets £58,583

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
£59k
↑ 196% YoY
Current Assets
£14k
↑ 66% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
-£61k-£37k-£13k£11k£35k£59kFeb 2024Feb 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2025-02-282024-02-29
Total assets£58.6k£-61.3k
Current assets£13.5k£8.2k
Cash—£2.2k
Net assets£58.6k£-61.3k

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
0
filings
Last 180 days
1
filing
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (29 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-11-25
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-11-05
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2023-10-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2022-11-19
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  5. 2021-11-25
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  6. 2021-11-09
    ➕
    LOWDELL, Barry appointed
    director
  7. 2021-11-09
    ➕
    LOWDELL, Ian Michael appointed
    director
  8. 2021-11-09
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  9. 2021-11-09
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  10. 2021-02-18
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  11. 2019-11-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  12. 2018-11-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  13. 2017-12-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  14. 2016-12-20
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  15. 2016-03-07
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  16. 2015-11-25
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  17. 2015-02-27
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  18. 2010-02-02
    ➖
    LOWDELL, Ian Michael resigned
    director
  19. 2007-04-03
    ➕
    LOWDELL, John William appointed
    secretary
  20. 2007-04-03
    ➖
    LOWDELL, Ian Michael resigned
    secretary
  21. 2001-02-14
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As B.L. AUTOS & SONS LIMITED
  22. 2001-02-14
    ➕
    LOWDELL, John William appointed
    director
  23. 2001-02-14
    ➕
    LOWDELL, Robert Barry appointed
    director
  24. 2001-02-14
    ➕
    LOWDELL, Ian Michael appointed
    secretary
  25. 2001-02-14
    ➕
    LONDON LAW SECRETARIAL LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  26. 2001-02-14
    ➖
    LONDON LAW SECRETARIAL LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  27. 2001-02-14
    ➕
    LOWDELL, Ian Michael appointed
    director
  28. 2001-02-14
    ➕
    LONDON LAW SERVICES LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-director
  29. 2001-02-14
    ➖
    LONDON LAW SERVICES LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-director

Owner dependency

73/100
High — earn-out structure required

Material founder dependency. Consider a 2-3 year earn-out and build in a handover plan before completion.

FACTORS
  • -4 active directors: Broader management team in place — suggests transferable governance.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 25 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 77 — succession pressure is live.
  • +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.

Succession & seller-readiness

50/100
Moderate signal

Some succession indicators present. Worth watching; approach if sector/strategy fits.

SIGNALS
  • primaryFamily succession underway: Not a takeover target — LOWDELL, Ian Michael (same surname) appointed 2021-11-09. Pattern consistent with intra-family handover.
  • primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 77 years old. Natural succession window is now.
  • primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 25 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 25 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

3 active beneficial owners
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Robert Barry Lowdell
Individual · British · DOB 03/1975 · age 51
25–50%
—25-50% shares06/04/2016
Mr John William Lowdell
Individual · British · DOB 11/1960 · age 66
25–50%
—25-50% shares06/04/2016
Mr Ian Michael Lowdell
Individual · British · DOB 11/1976 · age 50
25–50%
—25-50% 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

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 →
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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.

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Company details

Statusactive
Typeltd
Incorporated2001-02-14
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC45200 — SIC 45200

Registered office

8 Southfields
Welwyn Garden City
Herts
AL7 4ST

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-11-30
Last made up to: 2025-02-28
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-02-28
Last: 2026-02-14

Officers (5 active · 4 resigned)

LOWDELL, John William→
secretary · appointed 2007-04-03
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
LOWDELL, Barry→
director · ~77y · appointed 2021-11-09
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
LOWDELL, Ian Michael→
director · ~50y · appointed 2021-11-09
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
LOWDELL, John William→
director · ~66y · appointed 2001-02-14
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
LOWDELL, Robert Barry→
director · ~51y · appointed 2001-02-14
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
LOWDELL, Ian Michael→
secretary · appointed 2001-02-14 · resigned 2007-04-03
Resigned
LONDON LAW SECRETARIAL LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2001-02-14 · resigned 2001-02-14
Resigned
LOWDELL, Ian Michael→
director · ~50y · appointed 2001-02-14 · resigned 2010-02-02
Resigned
LONDON LAW SERVICES LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2001-02-14 · resigned 2001-02-14
Resigned

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

Recent filings (67 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-02-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-11-25
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-02-24
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-11-05
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-02-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-10-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-02-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-11-19
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-02-25
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-11-25
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2021-11-09
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2021-11-09
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-02-19
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-02-18
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-02-17