AUTOMATION SALES LIMITED

🌳Matureactive
04335756 · ltd · incorporated 2001-12-06
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 Mar 2026
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 25990
Sector: Manufacturing
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company with a 69-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 69). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).

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 (2 active, 9 linked, 6 with DOB)
83
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 3 total, 3 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
78 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
80/100Exceptional
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
90
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£0Mar 2025Mar 2026

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2026-03-312025-03-31
Average employees200200

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 accounts
Last 180 days
1
filing
  • • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (34 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-05-08
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-09-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2025-07-24
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  4. 2025-07-17
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  5. 2025-07-16
    ➕
    COLEMAN, Stephen Peter appointed
    director
  6. 2024-07-15
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  7. 2023-11-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2023-03-30
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
  9. 2023-03-30
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  10. 2023-03-30
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  11. 2023-03-30
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  12. 2023-03-30
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  13. 2023-03-15
    ➖
    REEVES, Brian Robert resigned
    director
  14. 2023-03-15
    ➖
    REEVES, Janet Elizabeth resigned
    director
  15. 2022-12-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  16. 2021-09-06
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  17. 2021-05-17
    📄
    termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM02
  18. 2021-05-17
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  19. 2021-04-12
    ➖
    REEVES, Janet Elizabeth resigned
    secretary
  20. 2020-12-13
    ➖
    CHIVERS, Lynn Alison resigned
    director
  21. 2020-11-25
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  22. 2019-10-14
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  23. 2008-01-02
    ➖
    SWALES, John William resigned
    director
  24. 2003-08-21
    ➕
    SWALES, John William appointed
    director
  25. 2002-06-25
    ➕
    CHIVERS, Robert Michael John appointed
    director
  26. 2002-06-25
    ➕
    CHIVERS, Lynn Alison appointed
    director
  27. 2002-06-25
    ➕
    REEVES, Janet Elizabeth appointed
    director
  28. 2001-12-06
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As AUTOMATION SALES LIMITED
  29. 2001-12-06
    ➕
    REEVES, Janet Elizabeth appointed
    secretary
  30. 2001-12-06
    ➕
    THEYDON SECRETARIES LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  31. 2001-12-06
    ➖
    THEYDON SECRETARIES LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  32. 2001-12-06
    ➕
    REEVES, Brian Robert appointed
    director
  33. 2001-12-06
    ➕
    THEYDON NOMINEES LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-director
  34. 2001-12-06
    ➖
    THEYDON NOMINEES LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-director

Owner dependency

83/100
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
  • +Two-director setup: Only two active directors — typical of owner-managed SMEs but limits succession.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 24 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 69 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

76/100
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 69. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
  • secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
  • primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 24 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • 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 Robert Michael John Chivers
Individual · British · DOB 03/1957 · age 69
75–100%
75–100%board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control15/03/2023
2 historic (ceased) PSCs
  • Mrs Janet Elizabeth Reevesceased 15/03/2023· 25-50% shares
  • Mr Brian Robert Reevesceased 15/03/2023· 25-50% shares

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
Incorporated2001-12-06
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC25990 — SIC 25990

Registered office

The Grange
Yatton Keynell
Chippenham
Wiltshire
SN14 7BA

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-12-31
Last made up to: 2026-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-09-11
Last: 2025-08-28

Officers (2 active · 7 resigned)

CHIVERS, Robert Michael John→
director · ~69y · appointed 2002-06-25
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
COLEMAN, Stephen Peter→
director · ~66y · appointed 2025-07-16
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
REEVES, Janet Elizabeth→
secretary · appointed 2001-12-06 · resigned 2021-04-12
Resigned
THEYDON SECRETARIES LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2001-12-06 · resigned 2001-12-06
Resigned
CHIVERS, Lynn Alison→
director · ~67y · appointed 2002-06-25 · resigned 2020-12-13
Resigned
REEVES, Brian Robert→
director · ~90y · appointed 2001-12-06 · resigned 2023-03-15
Resigned
REEVES, Janet Elizabeth→
director · ~86y · appointed 2002-06-25 · resigned 2023-03-15
Resigned
SWALES, John William→
director · ~79y · appointed 2003-08-21 · resigned 2008-01-02
Resigned
THEYDON NOMINEES LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2001-12-06 · resigned 2001-12-06
Resigned

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

Recent filings (78 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2026-05-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-09-17
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-08-28
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-08-06
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2025-07-24
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2025-07-17
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-12-24
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-07-15
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-01-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-11-24
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2023-03-30
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2023-03-30
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2023-03-30
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2023-03-30
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2023-03-30