ASHLEY COMMERCIAL VEHICLES LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
04700944 · ltd · incorporated 2003-03-18
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 Mar 2025
Net worth
£140.2k
book net assets
Opportunity
75/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 45200
Sector: Wholesale & retail
Investor take
PursueStrong opportunity: asset-holding vehicle with strong profile and bankable structure.
Opportunity 75/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. High owner-dependency — earn-out structure likely required for clean transition. 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 (58/100).
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
2 officers (1 active, 2 linked, 1 with DOB)
80
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
59 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
75/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
60
Some acquirability indicators.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declaredPositive net assets
Net assets £140,159
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
£140k
↑ 63% YoY
Current Assets
£222k
↑ 23% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2025-03-31 | 2024-03-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £123.6k | £60.9k |
| Current assets | £221.8k | £181.0k |
| Net assets | £140.2k | £86.0k |
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
3
filings
- • 2 officers
- • 1 persons-with-significant-control
Last 180 days
4
filings
- • 2 officers
- • 1 persons-with-significant-control
- • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (21 events)Click to expand
- 2026-05-06📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2026-05-06📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2026-05-06📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2025-12-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-12-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-10-28📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2024-10-28📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2024-06-04📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2024-06-04📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2024-06-04📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2023-12-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-02-20➖ASHLEY, Marie Louise resignedsecretary
- 2023-02-20📄termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM02
- 2022-12-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-12-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2020-12-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2019-12-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2019-08-16📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2003-03-18🏢Company incorporatedAs ASHLEY COMMERCIAL VEHICLES LIMITED
- 2003-03-18➕ASHLEY, Craig Paul appointeddirector
- 2003-03-18➕ASHLEY, Marie Louise appointedsecretary
Owner dependency
100/100
Critical — business is the founderThe 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 "ASHLEY" — strong identity link between founder and business.
- +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 23 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
Succession & seller-readiness
75/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- 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
cleanNo 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| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Craig Paul Ashley Individual · English · DOB 05/1972 · age 54 | 25–50% | 25–50% | board control25-50% shares · 25-50% voting · board control | 06/04/2016 |
1 historic (ceased) PSC
- Mrs Marie Ashleyceased 12/08/2019· 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting · board control
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
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| ALLSCOTT CARS LTD→ 17092319 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| AMEX TRADING LTD→ 13482496 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| ANH AUTOMOTIVE LTD→ 15323071 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| AP MOTOR WORKS LTD→ 16860047 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ARES GARAGE LIMITED→ 17000856 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ASHBOURNE AUTOMOTIVE LIMITED→ 11909351 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
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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
Incorporated2003-03-18
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC45200 — SIC 45200
Registered office
15 15 Willow Tern
Crudgington
Telford
Shropshire
TF6 6FL
United Kingdom
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-08-30
Last: 2025-08-16
Officers (1 active · 1 resigned)
ASHLEY, Craig Paul→
Activedirector · ~54y · appointed 2003-03-18
View their other companies + combined net worth →
ASHLEY, Marie Louise→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 2003-03-18 · resigned 2023-02-20
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (59 total)
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2026-05-06
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2026-05-06
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2026-05-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-12-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-08-30
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-12-31
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2024-10-28
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2024-10-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-08-17
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2024-06-04
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2024-06-04
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2024-06-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-12-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-09-13
termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM02
2023-02-20