4WARD VEHICLE SOLUTIONS LIMITED

🌳Matureactive
05452680 · ltd · incorporated 2005-05-13
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 19.1y old — refinance window within 12 months
🔒Estimated value
Upgrade to see
Turnover
year to May 2024
Net worth
£427
book net assets
Opportunity
72/100
Strong
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What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 45112
Sector: Wholesale & retail
Investor take
Special-situation opportunity
Distressed automotive with salvageable qualities — special-situations priority.

Opportunity 72/100 (strong), bankability 60/100. Strong seller-intent signal (78/100, director aged 70). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: File overdue accounts. Clears statutory overdue flag — immediate bankability uplift for refinance conversations. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (45/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

1 live charge · oldest 19.1y

65/100
clean up first

Refinance viable after a tidy-up — address the highlighted items first.

  • · Oldest live charge is 19.1 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
  • · Legal-friction score 25/100 — workable, but lender will want more DD.

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
1 charges (1/1 with lender, 1/1 with type)
90
Directors & officers
5 officers (3 active, 5 linked, 3 with DOB)
82
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
2 connected companies via shared directors
51
Filing history
51 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
72/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

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

Business quality
55
Adequate — check latest filings for context.
Acquirability
80
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
67
Some moderate concerns — review flags.
Signal strength
100
Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declared
Positive net assets
Net assets £427

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
Net Worth
£427
↑ 128% YoY
Current Assets
£18k
↑ 65% YoY
Current Liabilities
-£2k£2k£6k£10k£14k£18kMay 2023May 2024

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2024-05-312023-05-31
Total assets£1.2k£-1.0k
Current assets£18.3k£11.1k
Net assets£427£-1.5k

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
1
filing
  • 1 gazette
Last 90 days
1
filing
  • 1 gazette
Last 180 days
1
filing
  • 1 gazette
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (25 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-04-28
    📄
    gazette-notice-compulsory
    gazette · GAZ1
  2. 2025-02-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-02-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  4. 2023-11-16
    SANZ, Richard Michael appointed
    director
  5. 2023-11-16
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  6. 2023-02-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  7. 2022-02-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2021-10-14
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  9. 2021-04-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2020-02-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  11. 2019-02-14
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  12. 2018-02-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  13. 2017-02-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  14. 2016-05-26
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  15. 2016-02-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  16. 2015-06-07
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  17. 2015-02-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  18. 2007-03-08
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: Hsbc Bank PLC
  19. 2006-05-29
    SANZ, Anne appointed
    secretary
  20. 2006-05-29
    GARDEN, Allan William Leslie appointed
    director
  21. 2006-05-29
    COMPANY FORMATIONS LIMITED resigned
    corporate-secretary
  22. 2006-05-29
    SANZ, Richard resigned
    director
  23. 2005-05-13
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As 4WARD VEHICLE SOLUTIONS LIMITED
  24. 2005-05-13
    COMPANY FORMATIONS LIMITED appointed
    corporate-secretary
  25. 2005-05-13
    SANZ, Richard appointed
    director

Owner dependency

83/100
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
  • +Two-director setup: Only two active directors — typical of owner-managed SMEs but limits succession.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 20 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 70 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

74/100
Strong succession signal

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

SIGNALS
  • primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 70 years old. Natural succession window is now.
  • secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
  • secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 20 years.

Red flags

1 high ·
Accounts overdue
high

Statutory accounts have not been filed by their due date. Can indicate admin breakdown, cash preservation, or deliberate delay.

Evidence: Next due: 2026-02-28

Shareholders & ownership

1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Allan William Leslie Garden
Individual · British · DOB 08/1956 · age 70
75100%
75-100% shares06/04/2016

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 →

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Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions

9 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
Incorporated2005-05-13
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC45112 — SIC 45112

Registered office

64 Hall Lane
Armley
Leeds
LS12 2LH
England

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-02-28OVERDUE
Last made up to: 2024-05-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-05-25
Last: 2025-05-11

Officers (3 active · 2 resigned)

SANZ, Anne
secretary · appointed 2006-05-29
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
GARDEN, Allan William Leslie
director · ~70y · appointed 2006-05-29
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
SANZ, Richard Michael
director · ~49y · appointed 2023-11-16
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
COMPANY FORMATIONS LIMITED
corporate-secretary · appointed 2005-05-13 · resigned 2006-05-29
Resigned
SANZ, Richard
director · ~49y · appointed 2005-05-13 · resigned 2006-05-29
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

1
Total charges
1
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:1 of 1 shown
TypeProperties
outstanding
HSBC
Hsbc Bank PLC
Debenture1 property08/03/2007
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (51 total)

gazette-notice-compulsory
gazette · GAZ1
2026-04-28
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-06-24
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-02-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-05-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-02-27
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2023-11-16
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-06-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-02-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-05-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-02-27
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2021-10-14
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-06-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-04-21
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-05-24
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-02-21