A CLASS SCHOOL OF MOTORING LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
04896689 · ltd · incorporated 2003-09-12
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 Dec 2024
Net worth
£-1.7k
book net assets
Opportunity
74/100
Strong
🔔
Follow this company (free)
Email alerts on filings, charges, director changes, gazette notices. No account needed.

Unsubscribe any time from any email. GDPR-respectful.

🔒Generate AI memo →🔒Outreach pack →🔒Corporate story →📑 Reports →Sign in to watch
What this business does
Primary activity: Driving school activities
Sector: Education
Investor take
Pass (distressed without resilience)
Distressed active trading company — structural issues outweigh the discount.

Opportunity 74/100 (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: distressed disposal / insolvency (65/100).

Data confidence

Overall: medium (77/100)

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
7 officers (1 active, 7 linked, 5 with DOB)
84
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
61 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
74/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.

Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
55
Some acquirability indicators.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 105 (micro)
Negative net assets
Liabilities exceed assets by £1,722

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
-£2k
↓ 35% YoY
Current Assets
£206
↓ 24% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
-£2k-£1k-£924-£526-£127£272Dec 2023Dec 2024

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 105 (micro)
Metric2024-12-312023-12-31
Total assets£-1.7k£-1.3k
Current assets£206£272
Net assets£-1.7k£-1.3k

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
0
filings
Last 180 days
0
filings
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (29 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-09-05
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-09-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  3. 2023-09-12
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  4. 2022-09-16
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  5. 2021-09-16
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  6. 2020-09-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  7. 2019-09-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  8. 2018-09-20
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  9. 2017-09-04
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  10. 2016-09-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  11. 2015-10-19
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  12. 2015-09-15
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  13. 2014-09-23
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  14. 2014-09-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  15. 2014-02-18
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name
    officers · TM01
  16. 2013-07-04
    ➕
    LANGLEY, Gary appointed
    director
  17. 2013-07-04
    ➖
    LANGFORD, Glenn John resigned
    director
  18. 2011-01-12
    ➖
    CLAYTON, Mark resigned
    secretary
  19. 2011-01-12
    ➖
    CLAYTON, Mark resigned
    director
  20. 2009-09-04
    ➖
    COPESTAKE, Stephen Philip resigned
    director
  21. 2008-11-17
    ➖
    CRUISE, Gary resigned
    director
  22. 2008-02-11
    ➕
    COPESTAKE, Stephen Philip appointed
    director
  23. 2006-09-01
    ➕
    CLAYTON, Mark appointed
    director
  24. 2006-09-01
    ➕
    CRUISE, Gary appointed
    director
  25. 2005-05-17
    ➕
    CLAYTON, Mark appointed
    secretary
  26. 2005-05-17
    ➖
    LANGFORD, Sarah resigned
    secretary
  27. 2003-09-12
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As A CLASS SCHOOL OF MOTORING LIMITED
  28. 2003-09-12
    ➕
    LANGFORD, Sarah appointed
    secretary
  29. 2003-09-12
    ➕
    LANGFORD, Glenn John appointed
    director

Owner dependency

75/100
High — earn-out structure required

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

FACTORS
  • +Sole director: Only one active director — all governance concentrated on one person.

Succession & seller-readiness

68/100
Strong succession signal

Multiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.

SIGNALS
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
  • secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 13 years.
  • 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
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Gary Langley
Individual · British · DOB 07/1978 · age 48
50–75%
50–75%board control50-75% shares · 50-75% voting · board control06/04/2016
Mr Gary Cruise
Individual · British · DOB 04/1961 · age 65
25–50%
25–50%25-50% shares · 25-50% voting06/04/2016

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

Similar companies

Active · Education & training · SY postcode area
CompanyEst. valueTurnoverNet worthStaffAgeOppDirector
4 SPORTS COACHING LTD→
14356600 · est 2022 · no financials extracted
————3y——
ABAGAR 2020 LTD→
12895323 · est 2020 · no financials extracted
————5y——
ABERMULE HIVE CIC→
16665771 · est 2025 · no financials extracted
———————
ACER INTERNATIONAL UNITED KINGDOM LIMITED→
05572704 · est 2005 · no financials extracted
————20y——
ACTIVEHISTORY.CO.UK LIMITED→
06111680 · est 2007 · no financials extracted
————19y——
ADAM COTTON DRIVER TRAINING LIMITED→
09887870 · est 2015 · no financials extracted
————10y——
ADCOTE SCHOOL LIMITED→
10067403 · est 2016 · no financials extracted
————10y——
ADMIRAL AGENCY LIMITED→
11546028 · est 2018 · no financials extracted
————7y——
AEROLEARN FLIGHT TRAINING LTD→
16336882 · est 2025 · no financials extracted
————1y——
ALL WEIGHS UP LTD→
14941378 · est 2023 · no financials extracted
————2y——
ALTERNATIVES 4 LEARNING LTD→
10236483 · est 2016 · no financials extracted
————9y——
AMBERLEIGH CARE HOLDINGS LIMITED→
10557170 · est 2017 · no financials extracted
————9y——
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
Incorporated2003-09-12
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC85530 — Driving school activities

Registered office

12 Kings Drive
Baschurch
Shrewsbury
Shropshire
SY4 2DG

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last made up to: 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-09-26
Last: 2025-09-12

Officers (1 active · 6 resigned)

LANGLEY, Gary→
director · ~48y · appointed 2013-07-04
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
CLAYTON, Mark→
secretary · appointed 2005-05-17 · resigned 2011-01-12
Resigned
LANGFORD, Sarah→
secretary · appointed 2003-09-12 · resigned 2005-05-17
Resigned
CLAYTON, Mark→
director · ~68y · appointed 2006-09-01 · resigned 2011-01-12
Resigned
COPESTAKE, Stephen Philip→
director · ~60y · appointed 2008-02-11 · resigned 2009-09-04
Resigned
CRUISE, Gary→
director · ~65y · appointed 2006-09-01 · resigned 2008-11-17
Resigned
LANGFORD, Glenn John→
director · ~61y · appointed 2003-09-12 · resigned 2013-07-04
Resigned

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

Recent filings (61 total)

confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-09-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-09-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-09-17
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-09-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-09-12
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-09-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-09-16
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-09-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-09-16
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-09-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-09-22
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-09-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2019-09-17
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-09-12
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2018-09-21