ABL CARS LTD

💤Zombieactive

05823247 · ltd · incorporated 2006-05-19

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 May 2025

Net worth

—

book net assets

Opportunity

75/100

Strong

🔒Generate AI memo →🔒Outreach pack →🔒Corporate story →📑 Reports →Sign in to watch

What this business does

Primary activity: SIC 45112

Sector: Wholesale & retail

ALSO REGISTERED FOR

45190SIC 45190

Investor take

Pursue

Strong opportunity: active trading company with strong profile and bankable structure.

Opportunity 75/100 (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: share sale to pe / searcher (58/100).

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, 2 SIC codes, incorporation date

100

Financials

2 years of iXBRL accounts extracted (YoY deltas available) + narrative notes parsed

Lenders & charges

Confirmed no charges registered

Directors & officers

5 officers (2 active, 5 linked, 1 with DOB)

Ownership & PSC

1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared

Director network

Network not yet resolved

Filing history

49 filings on record

Gazette notices

No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)

Opportunity Score

75/100Strong

PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional

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

Business quality

Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.

Acquirability

Some acquirability indicators.

Risk profile

Few red flags.

Signal strength

Good data coverage for analysis.

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts

Cash

—

Net Worth

—

Current Assets

—

Current Liabilities

—

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · IFRS

Metric	2025-05-31	2024-05-31
Average employees	200	200

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

filings

Last 90 days

filing

• 1 accounts

Last 180 days

filing

• 1 accounts

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (25 events)Click to expand

2026-02-26
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-02-27
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-02-23
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-02-28
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-02-27
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-02-28
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-02-29
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2019-07-14
📄
appoint-person-secretary-company-with-name-date
officers · AP03
2019-07-14
📄
termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM02
2019-07-02
➕
HUTT, Victoria Louise appointed
secretary
2019-07-01
➖
LOKE, Nicola Marie resigned
secretary
2019-02-24
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2018-02-26
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2017-02-24
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2016-06-02
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2016-02-25
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2015-06-16
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2015-03-09
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2006-05-24
➕
LOKE, Ashley Barry appointed
director
2006-05-24
➕
LOKE, Nicola Marie appointed
secretary
2006-05-22
➖
FORM 10 SECRETARIES FD LTD resigned
corporate-nominee-secretary
2006-05-22
➖
FORM 10 DIRECTORS FD LTD resigned
corporate-nominee-director
2006-05-19
🏢
Company incorporated
As ABL CARS LTD
2006-05-19
➕
FORM 10 SECRETARIES FD LTD appointed
corporate-nominee-secretary
2006-05-19
➕
FORM 10 DIRECTORS FD LTD appointed
corporate-nominee-director

Owner dependency

85/100

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 20 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in 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 20 years.
secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 20 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%

Name	Shares	Voting rights	Nature of control	Notified
Mr Ashley Barry Loke Individual · British · DOB 04/1973 · age 53	75–100%	—	75-100% shares	06/04/2016

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

Similar companies

Active · Automotive · LE postcode area

Company	Est. value	Turnover	Net worth	Staff	Age	Opp	Director
10TEN AUTO REPAIRS LTD→ 16863746 · est 2025 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
13 CARS LTD→ 16442312 · est 2025 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
4X4HQ LTD→ 12162254 · est 2019 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	6y	—	—
A.C.E AUTO REPAIRS LTD→ 15543310 · est 2024 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	2y	—	—
A1 JAPANEEDS AUTO LTD→ 05741972 · est 2006 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	20y	—	—
A1 POWDER COAT LTD→ 13375975 · est 2021 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	4y	—	—
A7 CARS LTD→ 15286353 · est 2023 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	2y	—	—
ABABBEEL CARS LTD→ 10587288 · est 2017 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	9y	—	—
ABBASI AUTOMOBILE AND RECOVERY LTD→ 16763629 · est 2025 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
ABBEY MOTORCYCLES LIMITED→ 04714142 · est 2003 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	23y	—	—
ABULA GROUP OF COMPANIES LTD→ 16849736 · est 2025 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
AC MOTOR SERVICES (LEICESTER) LTD→ 06176261 · est 2007 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	19y	—	—

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

Incorporated2006-05-19

Jurisdictionengland-wales

Primary SIC45112 — SIC 45112

Registered office

2 Alton Road

Aylestone

Leicester

LE2 8QA

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: 2027-02-28

Last made up to: 2025-05-31

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2026-06-02

Last: 2025-05-19

Officers (2 active · 3 resigned)

HUTT, Victoria Louise→

secretary · appointed 2019-07-02

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

LOKE, Ashley Barry→

director · ~53y · appointed 2006-05-24

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

LOKE, Nicola Marie→

secretary · appointed 2006-05-24 · resigned 2019-07-01

Resigned

FORM 10 SECRETARIES FD LTD→

corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2006-05-19 · resigned 2006-05-22

Resigned

FORM 10 DIRECTORS FD LTD→

corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2006-05-19 · resigned 2006-05-22

Resigned

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