APOLLO MINIBUS & COACH HIRE LIMITED
🌳Matureactive
05313035 · ltd · incorporated 2004-12-14
Investment thesis
Well-run mature business — low negotiation leverage; premium likely.
Why interesting: Textbook target; clean filings, stable trading.
Why risky: No pressure on seller; any deal likely at full price.
Opportunity decay
approaching window · 12-months
Approaching a transaction window — refinance or sale event plausible in the next 12 months.
- · Oldest live charge 21.5y old — refinance window within 12 months
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Oct 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 49390
Sector: Transportation & storage
Investor take
PursueActive trading company with a 70-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (63/100, director aged 70). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Discharge stale live charges. 1 live charge(s) created 15+ years ago — likely paid but undischarged. Clean register. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
3 live charges · 2 lenders · oldest 21.5y
50/100
clean up first
Refinance viable after a tidy-up — address the highlighted items first.
- · Oldest live charge is 21.5 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Two lenders — manageable, but coordination required.
- · Legal-friction score 25/100 — workable, but lender will want more DD.
Data confidence
Overall: high (80/100)Strong data coverage across all sections. AI outputs should be trusted with minimal caveats.
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
3 charges (3/3 with lender, 3/3 with type)
90
Directors & officers
6 officers (3 active, 6 linked, 3 with DOB)
80
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 3 total, 3 with control declared
90
Director network
5 connected companies via shared directors
60
Filing history
71 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.
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
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 | 2025-10-31 | 2024-10-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Average employees | 35 | 3300 |
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 accounts
Last 180 days
1
filing
- • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (32 events)Click to expand
- 2026-06-05📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2025-07-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-07-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-07-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-12-06📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2022-12-06📄second-filing-of-confirmation-statement-with-made-up-dateconfirmation-statement · RP04CS01
- 2022-12-05📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2022-10-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-08-09📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2021-08-09📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2021-08-08📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2021-07-07📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-07-06📄appoint-person-director-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP01
- 2021-07-06📄appoint-person-director-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP01
- 2021-06-29➕WHEADON, Emma appointeddirector
- 2021-06-29➕WHEADON, Nicholas Keith appointeddirector
- 2021-05-11📄mortgage-charge-part-release-with-charge-numbermortgage · MR05
- 2021-03-20📄mortgage-satisfy-charge-fullmortgage · MR04
- 2021-03-20🔓Charge satisfied #1
- 2020-07-21📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-01-03📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2014-06-12🔒Charge registered #3Lender: Barclays Bank PLC
- 2012-12-13➖TUCKER, Raymond William resignedsecretary
- 2005-01-13🔒Charge registered #2Lender: Barclays Bank PLC
- 2005-01-12🔒Charge registered #1Lender: Park Asset Finance LTD
- 2004-12-15➕WHEADON, Ernest Keith appointeddirector
- 2004-12-15➕TUCKER, Raymond William appointedsecretary
- 2004-12-15➖KTS SECRETARIES LIMITED resignedcorporate-secretary
- 2004-12-15➖KTS NOMINEES LIMITED resignedcorporate-director
- 2004-12-14🏢Company incorporatedAs APOLLO MINIBUS & COACH HIRE LIMITED
- 2004-12-14➕KTS SECRETARIES LIMITED appointedcorporate-secretary
- 2004-12-14➕KTS NOMINEES LIMITED appointedcorporate-director
Owner dependency
83/100
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
- +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 22 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 70 — 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 70 years old. Natural succession window is now.
- 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
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 · dominant holder ≥75%| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Ernest Keith Wheaton Individual · British · DOB 03/1956 · age 70 | 75–100% | 75–100% | 75-100% shares · 75-100% voting | 23/07/2021 |
2 historic (ceased) PSCs
- Mrs Julie Ann Wheadonceased 31/05/2022· 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting
- Wheadon's Group Travel Limitedceased 23/07/2021· 75-100% shares · 75-100% voting
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
Active · Transport & logistics · CF postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ASRA TRANSPORT LTD→ 16939368 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ASSOCIATED FINANCIAL LEASING LIMITED→ 06799006 · est 2009 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 17y | — | — |
| AT PROPS LIMITED→ 10900782 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| AV DISPATCHERS LIMITED→ 16265603 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| AYDIN HAULAGE LTD→ 11807466 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| B & M COURIER SERVICES LIMITED→ 16009221 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| B.D.S LOGISTICS LTD→ 11437136 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| BAMBOO REMOVALS & STORAGE CYF→ 15541587 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| BAOWEIDA UK LIMITED→ 16960034 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| BARRY STORAGE & DISTRIBUTION LIMITED→ 09750006 · est 2015 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 10y | — | — |
| BARTDRIVE LTD→ 16264176 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| BASSETT GENERAL SERVICES LTD→ 15172886 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2004-12-14
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC49390 — SIC 49390
Registered office
Ty Derw Lime Tree Court
Cardiff Gate Business Park
Cardiff
CF23 8AB
Wales
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-07-31
Last made up to: 2025-10-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-12-19
Last: 2025-12-05
Officers (3 active · 3 resigned)
WHEADON, Emma→
Activedirector · ~38y · appointed 2021-06-29
View their other companies + combined net worth →
WHEADON, Ernest Keith→
Activedirector · ~70y · appointed 2004-12-15
View their other companies + combined net worth →
WHEADON, Nicholas Keith→
Activedirector · ~35y · appointed 2021-06-29
View their other companies + combined net worth →
TUCKER, Raymond William→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 2004-12-15 · resigned 2012-12-13
KTS SECRETARIES LIMITED→
Resignedcorporate-secretary · appointed 2004-12-14 · resigned 2004-12-15
KTS NOMINEES LIMITED→
Resignedcorporate-director · appointed 2004-12-14 · resigned 2004-12-15
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
3
Total charges
2
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:3 of 3 shown
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| outstanding | Barclays Barclays Bank PLC | A registered charge | 2 properties | 12/06/2014 | — | |
| outstanding | Barclays Barclays Bank PLC | Debenture | 1 property | 13/01/2005 | — | |
| satisfied | Park Asset Finance Park Asset Finance LTD | Chattel mortgage | 1 property | 12/01/2005 | 20/03/2021 |
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.
Recent filings (71 total)
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2026-06-05
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-12-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-07-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-12-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-07-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-12-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-07-30
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2022-12-06
second-filing-of-confirmation-statement-with-made-up-date
confirmation-statement · RP04CS01
2022-12-06
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-12-05
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2022-12-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-10-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-05-23
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2021-08-09
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2021-08-09