4X4UK LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
05055158 · ltd · incorporated 2004-02-25
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
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
🔔
Follow this company (free)
Email alerts on filings, charges, director changes, gazette notices. No account needed.

Unsubscribe any time from any email. GDPR-respectful.

What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 45200
Sector: Wholesale & retail
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company with a 64-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 64). 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, 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
4 officers (2 active, 4 linked, 1 with DOB)
75
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
56 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
🔒For-sale listings overlay

1 public broker listing match this company. Unlock to see asking price, broker, and our match confidence.

Available from the Pro tier upwards.

See pricing →
Opportunity Score
80/100Exceptional
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
90
Good data coverage for analysis.

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
Net Worth
Current Assets
Current Liabilities
£0£0£0£0£0£0Mar 2024Mar 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2025-03-312024-03-31
Average employees100100

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
1
filing
  • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
1
filing
  • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (22 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-10-09
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-12-05
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  3. 2023-12-05
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  4. 2022-10-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  5. 2021-11-18
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  6. 2020-11-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  7. 2019-12-02
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  8. 2018-11-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  9. 2017-11-14
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  10. 2016-11-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  11. 2016-03-24
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  12. 2015-11-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  13. 2015-03-24
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  14. 2014-12-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  15. 2014-03-27
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  16. 2004-02-26
    BRIGHTON SECRETARY LTD resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  17. 2004-02-26
    BRIGHTON DIRECTOR LTD resigned
    corporate-nominee-director
  18. 2004-02-25
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As 4X4UK LIMITED
  19. 2004-02-25
    LONDESBOROUGH, Sharon Ann appointed
    secretary
  20. 2004-02-25
    LONDESBOROUGH, Vincent Charles appointed
    director
  21. 2004-02-25
    BRIGHTON SECRETARY LTD appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  22. 2004-02-25
    BRIGHTON DIRECTOR LTD appointed
    corporate-nominee-director

Owner dependency

93/100
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 22 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 64 — approaching natural succession window.

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 64. 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 22 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 22 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%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Vincent Charles Londesborough
Individual · United Kingdom · DOB 03/1962 · age 64
75100%
75-100% shares06/04/2016

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

Similar companies

Active · Automotive · L postcode area
CompanyEst. valueTurnoverNet worthStaffAgeOppDirector
02228038 LIMITED
02228038 · est 1988 · no financials extracted
38y
16609625 LTD
16609625 · est 2025 · no financials extracted
1ST CARSHOP 2000 LTD
17105001 · est 2026 · no financials extracted
28 STATE CARS LIMITED
11277566 · est 2018 · no financials extracted
8y
365 ENGINES LTD
08269390 · est 2012 · no financials extracted
13y
365 MOTOR SPARES LTD
10985782 · est 2017 · no financials extracted
8y
365 SALVAGE LIMITED
07490473 · est 2011 · no financials extracted
15y
555 GARAGE SERVICES LIMITED
16323691 · est 2025 · no financials extracted
1y
A 2 Z CAR SALES LIVERPOOL LTD
13311028 · est 2021 · no financials extracted
5y
A A TRANSPORTER LIMITED
13151569 · est 2021 · no financials extracted
5y
A. DAVIES AUTOS LIMITED
04537943 · est 2002 · no financials extracted
23y
A1 AUTO REPAIR CENTER LIMITED
08526505 · est 2013 · no financials extracted
12y
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
Incorporated2004-02-25
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC45200 — SIC 45200

Registered office

Unit 26 Sefton Lane Industrial Estate
Maghull
Liverpool
Merseyside
L31 8BX

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-03-11
Last: 2026-02-25

Officers (2 active · 2 resigned)

LONDESBOROUGH, Sharon Ann
secretary · appointed 2004-02-25
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
LONDESBOROUGH, Vincent Charles
director · ~64y · appointed 2004-02-25
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
BRIGHTON SECRETARY LTD
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2004-02-25 · resigned 2004-02-26
Resigned
BRIGHTON DIRECTOR LTD
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2004-02-25 · resigned 2004-02-26
Resigned

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

Recent filings (56 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-03-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-10-09
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-03-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-12-05
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-03-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-12-05
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-03-30
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-10-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-03-30
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-11-18
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-05-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-11-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-03-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2019-12-02
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-03-07