A B ABBEY AUTOMOBILE ENGINEERING CO LIMITED
🌳Matureactive
04915980 · ltd · incorporated 2003-09-30
Investment thesis
Established operating company — standard diligence applies, no dominant angle.
Why interesting: Live, filing, normal profile.
Why risky: No standout signals in either direction.
Opportunity decay
approaching window · 12-months
Approaching a transaction window — refinance or sale event plausible in the next 12 months.
- · Oldest live charge 22.3y old — refinance window within 12 months
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Dec 2024
Net worth
£9.6k
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 45200
Sector: Wholesale & retail
Investor take
PursueActive trading company with a 85-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (63/100, director aged 85). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
2 live charges · 2 lenders · oldest 22.3y
70/100
ready
Refinance conversation should be productive — structure clean and timing right.
- · Oldest live charge is 22.3 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Two lenders — manageable, but coordination required.
- · Legal-friction score 15/100 — clean.
Data confidence
Overall: medium (79/100)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
2 charges (2/2 with lender, 2/2 with type)
90
Directors & officers
6 officers (4 active, 6 linked, 3 with DOB)
80
Ownership & PSC
3 active PSC(s) of 3 total, 3 with control declared
90
Director network
2 connected companies via shared directors
51
Filing history
64 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
82/100Exceptional
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
100
Good data coverage for analysis.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declaredPositive net assets
Net assets £9,587
Cash YoY
-6%
Year on year
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
£28k
↓ 6.3% YoY
Net Worth
£10k
↑ 7.9% YoY
Current Assets
£50k
↓ 13% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2024-12-31 | 2023-12-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £109.3k | £122.0k |
| Current assets | £49.8k | £57.0k |
| Cash | £28.0k | £29.9k |
| Debtors | £20.4k | £26.1k |
| Net assets | £9.6k | £8.9k |
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
🔒Filing-note intelligence
2 signals 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 (28 events)Click to expand
- 2025-10-08📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2025-10-08📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2025-10-08📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2025-09-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-08-12📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-06-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-09-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-10-13📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2021-10-13📄change-person-secretary-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH03
- 2021-10-13📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2021-09-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-11-20📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-11-28📄mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-datemortgage · MR01
- 2019-11-27📄mortgage-satisfy-charge-fullmortgage · MR04
- 2019-11-27🔓Charge satisfied #1
- 2019-11-26🔒Charge registered #2Lender: National Westminster Bank PLC
- 2019-09-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-09-11📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2004-01-09🔒Charge registered #1Lender: Hsbc Bank PLC
- 2003-09-30🏢Company incorporatedAs A B ABBEY AUTOMOBILE ENGINEERING CO LIMITED
- 2003-09-30➕ABBEY, Pauline appointedsecretary
- 2003-09-30➕ABBEY, Darren Benjamin appointeddirector
- 2003-09-30➕ABBEY, Pauline appointeddirector
- 2003-09-30➕ABBEY, Richard Anthony appointeddirector
- 2003-09-30➕TEMPLE SECRETARIES LIMITED appointedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 2003-09-30➖TEMPLE SECRETARIES LIMITED resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 2003-09-30➕COMPANY DIRECTORS LIMITED appointedcorporate-nominee-director
- 2003-09-30➖COMPANY DIRECTORS LIMITED resignedcorporate-nominee-director
Owner dependency
98/100
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
- +Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "ABBEY" — 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.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 85 — succession pressure is live.
- +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.
Succession & seller-readiness
90/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 85 years old. Natural succession window is now.
- 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
3 active beneficial owners| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Darren Benjamin Abbey Individual · English · DOB 04/1968 · age 58 | 25–50% | 25–50% | 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting | 06/04/2016 |
Mr Richard Anthony Abbey Individual · English · DOB 11/1971 · age 55 | 25–50% | 25–50% | 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting | 06/04/2016 |
Mrs Pauline Abbey Individual · English · DOB 12/1941 · age 85 | 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.
🔒Co-director network graph
Radial SVG graph showing every company connected via shared directors, colour-coded by status.
Available from the Pro tier upwards.
See pricing →Similar companies
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1ST WHEELS CAR SALES LIMITED→ 15557262 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| 274 AUTOMOBILES LIMITED→ 16858190 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 4 SEASONS TYRES LTD→ 16284358 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| 8X DISTRIBUTION LIMITED→ 14688324 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| A & A MOTORS (YORKSHIRE) LIMITED→ 05822592 · est 2006 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 19y | — | — |
| A.A.M.G. (HULL) LIMITED→ 11338614 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| A1 TYRE SERVICES & AUTOCENTRES LTD→ 12788727 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| A63 GARAGE LIMITED→ 13033834 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| ABU MOTOR SERVICE LIMITED→ 16167710 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| AC PLATINUM CARS LIMITED→ 11783088 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| AC TRADEUK LTD→ 13521406 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| ADAMS TYRE SPECIALISTS LIMITED→ 10647026 · 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
Incorporated2003-09-30
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC45200 — SIC 45200
Registered office
1103-5 Hessle High Road
Hull
HU4 6SD
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last made up to: 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-10-14
Last: 2025-09-30
Officers (4 active · 2 resigned)
Active
ABBEY, Darren Benjamin→
Activedirector · ~58y · appointed 2003-09-30
View their other companies + combined net worth →
ABBEY, Pauline→
Activedirector · ~85y · appointed 2003-09-30
View their other companies + combined net worth →
ABBEY, Richard Anthony→
Activedirector · ~55y · appointed 2003-09-30
View their other companies + combined net worth →
TEMPLE SECRETARIES LIMITED→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2003-09-30 · resigned 2003-09-30
COMPANY DIRECTORS LIMITED→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-director · appointed 2003-09-30 · resigned 2003-09-30
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
2
Total charges
1
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:2 of 2 shown
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| outstanding | National Westminster Bank National Westminster Bank PLC | A registered charge | 1 property | 26/11/2019 | — | |
| satisfied | HSBC Hsbc Bank PLC | Debenture | 1 property | 09/01/2004 | 27/11/2019 |
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.
Recent filings (64 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-10-08
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2025-10-08
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2025-10-08
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2025-10-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-09-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-10-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-08-12
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-10-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-06-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-10-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-09-30
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2021-10-13
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-10-13
change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
officers · CH03
2021-10-13
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2021-10-13