A.P. HODGETTS LIMITED

💤Zombieactive

04511388 · ltd · incorporated 2002-08-14

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 Aug 2025

Net worth

—

book net assets

Opportunity

80/100

Exceptional

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What this business does

Primary activity: SIC 49319

Sector: Transportation & storage

ALSO REGISTERED FOR

82990Other business support service activities n.e.c.

Investor take

Pursue

Active trading company with a 68-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 68). 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).

Data confidence

Overall: medium (75/100)

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

Lenders & charges

Confirmed no charges registered

Directors & officers

4 officers (2 active, 4 linked, 1 with DOB)

Ownership & PSC

1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared

Director network

Network not yet resolved

Filing history

55 filings on record

Gazette notices

No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)

Opportunity Score

80/100Exceptional

PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional

Strong composite across quality, acquirability, and risk. High-priority target — progress to serious diligence.

Business quality

Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.

Acquirability

Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.

Risk profile

Few red flags.

Signal strength

Good data coverage for analysis.

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts

Cash

—

Net Worth

—

Current Assets

—

Current Liabilities

—

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102

Metric	2025-08-31	2024-08-31
Average employees	1	100

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

filings

Last 90 days

filings

Last 180 days

filing

• 1 accounts

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (22 events)Click to expand

2025-12-03
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-04-28
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-03-13
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-03-10
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-05-05
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-11-02
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-03-04
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-01-24
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2018-01-30
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2017-08-09
📄
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2017-02-21
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2016-03-08
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2015-08-14
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2015-08-14
📍
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2015-03-16
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2002-08-14
🏢
Company incorporated
As A.P. HODGETTS LIMITED
2002-08-14
➕
HODGETTS, Jean appointed
secretary
2002-08-14
➕
HODGETTS, Allan Phillip appointed
director
2002-08-14
➕
OAKLEY SECRETARIAL SERVICES LIMITED appointed
corporate-secretary
2002-08-14
➖
OAKLEY SECRETARIAL SERVICES LIMITED resigned
corporate-secretary
2002-08-14
➕
OAKLEY CORPORATE DOCTORS LIMITED appointed
corporate-director
2002-08-14
➖
OAKLEY CORPORATE DOCTORS LIMITED resigned
corporate-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 "HODGETTS" — strong identity link between founder and business.
+Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 24 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
+Founder age: Director aged approximately 68 — 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 68. 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 24 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 24 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%

Name	Shares	Voting rights	Nature of control	Notified
Mr Allan Phillip Hodgetts Individual · British · DOB 06/1958 · age 68	75–100%	75–100%	board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control	06/04/2016

From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.

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35006 LOCOMOTIVE COMPANY LIMITED(THE)→ 01762406 · est 1983 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	42y	—	—
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ACE CARS WORCESTER LTD→ 16096146 · est 2024 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	1y	—	—
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ACE TAXIS AND PRIVATE HIRE LIMITED→ 10388718 · est 2016 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	9y	—	—
ADELIN TRANSPORT LTD→ 15194355 · est 2023 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	2y	—	—
ADR EXPRESS LTD→ 04694806 · est 2003 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	23y	—	—
AEROAUTO LIMITED→ 09476160 · est 2015 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	11y	—	—
AGAPE TRANSPORT SERVICES LTD→ 15304541 · est 2023 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	2y	—	—

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

Incorporated2002-08-14

Jurisdictionengland-wales

Primary SIC49319 — SIC 49319

Registered office

17 Little Hill Chawson Valley

Droitwich

Worcestershire

WR9 0RQ

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: 2027-05-31

Last made up to: 2025-08-31

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2026-08-19

Last: 2025-08-05

Officers (2 active · 2 resigned)

HODGETTS, Jean→

secretary · appointed 2002-08-14

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

HODGETTS, Allan Phillip→

director · ~68y · appointed 2002-08-14

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

OAKLEY SECRETARIAL SERVICES LIMITED→

corporate-secretary · appointed 2002-08-14 · resigned 2002-08-14

Resigned

OAKLEY CORPORATE DOCTORS LIMITED→

corporate-director · appointed 2002-08-14 · resigned 2002-08-14

Resigned

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