AUTOTRANS (GLOUCESTER) LIMITED

🌳Matureactive
06437792 · ltd · incorporated 2007-11-27
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
hardening · 12-months
Already tight — no obvious softening catalysts on the horizon.
  • · Thesis: well-run, low negotiation leverage
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Mar 2025
Net worth
£358.5k
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.

🔒Generate AI memo →🔒Outreach pack →🔒Corporate story →📑 Reports →Sign in to watch
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 45200
Sector: Wholesale & retail
Investor take
Pursue
Asset-holding vehicle with a 66-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 66). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).

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
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
4 officers (3 active, 4 linked, 3 with DOB)
85
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
1 connected companies via shared directors
48
Filing history
45 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
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.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 102
Positive net assets
Net assets £358,473

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£475k
Net Worth
£358k
Current Assets
£487k
Current Liabilities
—
£0£97k£195k£292k£390k£487kMar 2024Mar 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2025-03-312024-03-31
Total assets£546.9k—
Current assets£487.4k—
Cash£475.2k—
Debtors£5.5k—
Net assets£358.5k—

Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.

Recent activity

Last 30 days
0
filings
Last 90 days
0
filings
Last 180 days
2
filings
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
  • • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (21 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-02-11
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-12-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  3. 2023-11-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  4. 2022-08-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  5. 2022-04-28
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  6. 2021-12-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  7. 2021-09-21
    📄
    capital-allotment-shares
    capital · SH01
  8. 2021-04-01
    ➕
    PRETTY, Sophia appointed
    director
  9. 2020-12-15
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  10. 2019-12-09
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  11. 2018-10-11
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  12. 2017-12-20
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  13. 2016-12-16
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  14. 2015-12-11
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  15. 2015-12-11
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  16. 2014-12-27
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  17. 2009-10-01
    ➖
    VAUGHAN, John Joseph resigned
    director
  18. 2007-11-27
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As AUTOTRANS (GLOUCESTER) LIMITED
  19. 2007-11-27
    ➕
    PRETTY, Douglas, Mr. appointed
    secretary
  20. 2007-11-27
    ➕
    PRETTY, Douglas, Mr. appointed
    director
  21. 2007-11-27
    ➕
    VAUGHAN, John Joseph appointed
    director

Owner dependency

91/100
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 19 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 66 — succession pressure is live.
  • +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.

Succession & seller-readiness

79/100
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 66. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
  • secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
  • secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 19 years.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 19 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 Doug Pretty
Individual · British · DOB 06/1960 · age 66
75–100%
—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 →

Similar companies

Active · Automotive · GL postcode area
CompanyEst. valueTurnoverNet worthStaffAgeOppDirector
ANDREW GREENSLADE LTD→
12053400 · est 2019 · no financials extracted
————6y——
APLEY AUTOMOTIVE LTD→
16096614 · est 2024 · no financials extracted
————1y——
ASPECT COMMERCIAL WHEELS LIMITED→
04897050 · est 2003 · no financials extracted
————22y——
AUCTION BUYERS 4U LIMITED→
10499186 · est 2016 · no financials extracted
————9y——
AUDITECHNIK LIMITED→
05074545 · est 2004 · no financials extracted
————22y——
AUTOBAHN CAR CENTRE LTD→
14715124 · est 2023 · no financials extracted
————3y——
AUTOCHECK CAR CENTRE LIMITED→
05608547 · est 2005 · no financials extracted
————20y——
AUTOMANN LTD→
11957393 · est 2019 · no financials extracted
————6y——
AUTOMOTIVE AND COMPUTER ELECTRONICS LTD→
16183505 · est 2025 · no financials extracted
————1y——
AUTOPARTS & DIAGNOSTICS LIMITED→
04704499 · est 2003 · no financials extracted
————23y——
AUTOSTATION LIMITED→
03605994 · est 1998 · no financials extracted
————27y——
AUTOVALUE5 LIMITED→
10005266 · est 2016 · no financials extracted
————10y——
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
Incorporated2007-11-27
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC45200 — SIC 45200

Registered office

Unit 19-20 Severnside Trading Estate
Sudmeadow Road Hempsted
Gloucester
Gloucestershire
GL2 5HS

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-12-10
Last: 2025-11-26

Officers (3 active · 1 resigned)

PRETTY, Douglas, Mr.→
secretary · appointed 2007-11-27
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
PRETTY, Douglas, Mr.→
director · ~66y · appointed 2007-11-27
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
PRETTY, Sophia→
director · ~33y · appointed 2021-04-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
VAUGHAN, John Joseph→
director · ~82y · appointed 2007-11-27 · resigned 2009-10-01
Resigned

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

Recent filings (45 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-02-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2026-02-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2024-12-24
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-11-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-12-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2023-11-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-12-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2022-08-17
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2022-04-28
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2021-12-27
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-12-07
capital-allotment-shares
capital · SH01
2021-09-21
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-01-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2020-12-15
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-12-10