AUTOZONE VEHICLE REFINISHING LIMITED

💤Zombieactive

04596344 · ltd · incorporated 2002-11-21

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 2025

Net worth

—

book net assets

Opportunity

80/100

Exceptional

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What this business does

Primary activity: SIC 45200

Sector: Wholesale & retail

Investor take

Pursue

Active trading company with a 70-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 70). 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 (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

Lenders & charges

Confirmed no charges registered

Directors & officers

5 officers (1 active, 5 linked, 2 with DOB)

Ownership & PSC

2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared

Director network

Network not yet resolved

Filing history

65 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	2025-11-30	2024-11-30
Average employees	5	500

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

filing

• 1 accounts

Last 180 days

filings

• 1 accounts
• 1 confirmation-statement

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (25 events)Click to expand

2026-02-23
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-04-28
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-02-01
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-05-03
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-03-07
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-08-12
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-10-09
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-10-01
📄
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2020-02-12
📄
gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
gazette · DISS40
2020-02-11
📄
gazette-notice-compulsory
gazette · GAZ1
2019-08-28
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2018-08-24
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2017-11-29
📄
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2017-11-29
📄
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2017-08-29
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2010-04-16
➖
FITZGERALD, Sean Nicholas Peter resigned
secretary
2010-04-16
➖
FITZGERALD, Sean Nicholas Peter resigned
director
2002-11-21
🏢
Company incorporated
As AUTOZONE VEHICLE REFINISHING LIMITED
2002-11-21
➕
ROBINSON, David Paul appointed
director
2002-11-21
➕
FITZGERALD, Sean Nicholas Peter appointed
secretary
2002-11-21
➕
SWIFT INCORPORATIONS LIMITED appointed
corporate-nominee-secretary
2002-11-21
➖
SWIFT INCORPORATIONS LIMITED resigned
corporate-nominee-secretary
2002-11-21
➕
FITZGERALD, Sean Nicholas Peter appointed
director
2002-11-21
➕
INSTANT COMPANIES LIMITED appointed
corporate-nominee-director
2002-11-21
➖
INSTANT COMPANIES LIMITED resigned
corporate-nominee-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.
+Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 23 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
+Founder age: Director aged approximately 70 — 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 70 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 23 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 23 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

2 active beneficial owners

Name	Shares	Voting rights	Nature of control	Notified
Gail Robinson Individual · British · DOB 11/1956 · age 70	25–50%	25–50%	25-50% shares · 25-50% voting	06/04/2016
David Paul Robinson Individual · British · DOB 07/1956 · age 70	25–50%	25–50%	25-50% shares · 25-50% voting	06/04/2016

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

Similar companies

Active · Automotive · BS postcode area

Company	Est. value	Turnover	Net worth	Staff	Age	Opp	Director
A&T MOTOCROSS PARTS LIMITED→ 07156022 · est 2010 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	16y	—	—
AIRLUX SOLUTIONS LTD→ 16044233 · est 2024 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	1y	—	—
ASHLEY ENGINES LTD→ 05155486 · est 2004 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	21y	—	—
AUTO INSIGHT HUB LTD→ 16049845 · est 2024 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	1y	—	—
AUTOMEND BRISTOL LTD→ 09186480 · est 2014 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	11y	—	—
AUTOMOTIVE VEHICLE SPECIALIST'S LTD→ 15390400 · est 2024 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	2y	—	—
AUTOTECH PLUS LIMITED→ 07883389 · est 2011 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	14y	—	—
AUTOTRONIC MOT STATION LTD→ 16440550 · est 2025 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
AUTUMNBROOKE GARAGE (BRISTOL) LTD→ 11105291 · est 2017 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	8y	—	—
AVANTGARDE AUTOMOTIVE MERCEDES-BENZ SPECIALISTS LTD→ 08588484 · est 2013 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	12y	—	—
AVANTI AUTOMOTIVE LIMITED→ 10831045 · est 2017 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	8y	—	—
AVB COMMERCIALS LIMITED→ 06734426 · est 2008 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	17y	—	—

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

Incorporated2002-11-21

Jurisdictionengland-wales

Primary SIC45200 — SIC 45200

Registered office

30-31 St James Place

Mangotsfield

Bristol

BS16 9JB

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: 2027-08-31

Last made up to: 2025-11-30

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2026-12-05

Last: 2025-11-21

Officers (1 active · 4 resigned)

ROBINSON, David Paul→

director · ~70y · appointed 2002-11-21

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

FITZGERALD, Sean Nicholas Peter→

secretary · appointed 2002-11-21 · resigned 2010-04-16

Resigned

SWIFT INCORPORATIONS LIMITED→

corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2002-11-21 · resigned 2002-11-21

Resigned

FITZGERALD, Sean Nicholas Peter→

director · ~58y · appointed 2002-11-21 · resigned 2010-04-16

Resigned

INSTANT COMPANIES LIMITED→

corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2002-11-21 · resigned 2002-11-21

Resigned

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