AUTO BIONICS LTD
🌳Matureactive
07077430 · ltd · incorporated 2009-11-16
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 13.9y old — refinance window within 12 months
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Dec 2024
Net worth
£-73.2k
book net assets
Opportunity
75/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 29320
Sector: Manufacturing
Investor take
Pass (distressed without resilience)Distressed active trading company — structural issues outweigh the discount.
Opportunity 75/100 (strong), bankability 85/100. Strong seller-intent signal (68/100, director aged 55). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: distressed disposal / insolvency (65/100).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
3 live charges · oldest 13.9y
85/100
ready
Refinance conversation should be productive — structure clean and timing right.
- · Oldest live charge is 13.9 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
- · Legal-friction score 15/100 — clean.
Data confidence
Overall: medium (78/100)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
3 charges (3/3 with lender, 3/3 with type)
90
Directors & officers
3 officers (2 active, 3 linked, 3 with DOB)
90
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
52 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
75/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
65
Some acquirability indicators.
Risk profile
77
Few red flags.
Signal strength
100
Good data coverage for analysis.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 105 (micro)Negative net assets
Liabilities exceed assets by £73,158
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
-£73k
↓ 27% YoY
Current Assets
£26k
↑ 53% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 105 (micro)| Metric | 2024-12-31 | 2023-12-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £-73.2k | £-57.8k |
| Current assets | £25.9k | £16.9k |
| Net assets | £-73.2k | £-57.8k |
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
0
filings
Last 180 days
0
filings
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (29 events)Click to expand
- 2025-09-16📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-09-17📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-09-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-11-14📄appoint-person-director-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP01
- 2022-11-01➕AUSTIN, Joanne Louise appointeddirector
- 2022-09-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-09-14📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2022-09-14📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2022-09-09📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2021-12-01📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2021-11-30➖SHIPSTONE, Jason Mark resigneddirector
- 2021-11-30📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2021-11-30📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2021-09-09📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-01-02📄mortgage-satisfy-charge-fullmortgage · MR04
- 2021-01-02📄mortgage-satisfy-charge-fullmortgage · MR04
- 2021-01-02📄mortgage-satisfy-charge-fullmortgage · MR04
- 2021-01-02🔓Charge satisfied #3
- 2021-01-02🔓Charge satisfied #2
- 2021-01-02🔓Charge satisfied #1
- 2020-12-16📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2019-09-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2019-01-29📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2016-06-03🔒Charge registered #3Lender: Hsbc Bank PLC
- 2012-06-26🔒Charge registered #2Lender: Hsbc Bank PLC
- 2012-06-19🔒Charge registered #1Lender: Hsbc Bank PLC
- 2009-11-16🏢Company incorporatedAs AUTO BIONICS LTD
- 2009-11-16➕AUSTIN, Steven appointeddirector
- 2009-11-16➕SHIPSTONE, Jason Mark appointeddirector
Owner dependency
76/100
High — earn-out structure requiredMaterial founder dependency. Consider a 2-3 year earn-out and build in a handover plan before completion.
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 17 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.
Succession & seller-readiness
59/100
Strong succession signalMultiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.
SIGNALS
- secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
- secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 17 years.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 17 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
1 med ·Charge satisfaction-then-recreation pattern
mediumMultiple instances where a charge was satisfied and a new charge created within 6 months. Suggests active refinancing cycle.
Shareholders & ownership
1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Steven Austin Individual · British · DOB 02/1971 · age 55 | 75–100% | 75–100% | board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control | 16/11/2016 |
1 historic (ceased) PSC
- Mr Jason Mark Shipstoneceased 30/11/2021· 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting · board control
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10SQUARED LIMITED→ 05174578 · est 2004 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 21y | — | — |
| AIRSIDE SERVICES (YORKS) LTD→ 08186850 · est 2012 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 13y | — | — |
| AL SUSPENSION LTD→ 11968349 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| ALEX JAMES HUNT LTD→ 15138370 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| ARMISTEAD ENGINEERING SERVICES LTD→ 08027470 · est 2012 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 14y | — | — |
| ASPINALL ENTERTAINMENTS LTD→ 16118827 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| AUFGUSS SAUNAS LTD→ 16340936 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| AUTO SERVICES YORK LTD→ 06883208 · est 2009 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 16y | — | — |
| AWS PIXELS LIMITED→ 11797188 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| AXEL MOTORSPORT LIMITED→ 04208356 · est 2001 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 24y | — | — |
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Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions
6 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
Incorporated2009-11-16
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC29320 — SIC 29320
Registered office
Unit 8 Oakney Wood Avenue
Selby
North Yorkshire
YO8 8FQ
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last made up to: 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-06-23
Last: 2025-06-09
Officers (2 active · 1 resigned)
AUSTIN, Joanne Louise→
Activedirector · ~55y · appointed 2022-11-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
AUSTIN, Steven→
Activedirector · ~55y · appointed 2009-11-16
View their other companies + combined net worth →
SHIPSTONE, Jason Mark→
Resigneddirector · ~55y · appointed 2009-11-16 · resigned 2021-11-30
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
3
Total charges
0
Outstanding
0
Active lenders
Status:Lender:3 of 3 shown
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| satisfied | HSBC Hsbc Bank PLC | A registered charge | 1 property | 03/06/2016 | 02/01/2021 | |
| satisfied | HSBC Hsbc Bank PLC | Legal mortgage | 1 property | 26/06/2012 | 02/01/2021 | |
| satisfied | HSBC Hsbc Bank PLC | Debenture | 1 property | 19/06/2012 | 02/01/2021 |
Recent filings (52 total)
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-09-16
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-06-09
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-11-30
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-09-17
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-11-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-09-26
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-11-17
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2022-11-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-09-29
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2022-09-14
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2022-09-14
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2022-09-09
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2021-12-01
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2021-11-30
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2021-11-30