AUTOMOTIVE MACHINE SERVICES LTD

💤Zombieactive
07094950 · ltd · incorporated 2009-12-03
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 Mar 2025
Net worth
£201.8k
book net assets
Opportunity
76/100
Strong
🔔
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What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 45200
Sector: Wholesale & retail
Investor take
Pursue
Strong opportunity: asset-holding vehicle with strong profile and bankable structure.

Opportunity 76/100 (strong), bankability 85/100. Strong seller-intent signal (68/100, director aged 46). 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).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

2 live charges · oldest 11.7y

45/100
under pressure

Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.

  • · Oldest live charge is 11.7 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
  • · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.

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
2 charges (2/2 with lender, 2/2 with type)
90
Directors & officers
1 officers (1 active, 1 linked, 1 with DOB)
90
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 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
76/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

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

Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
60
Some acquirability indicators.
Risk profile
82
Few red 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 £201,760
Cash YoY
-27%
Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£50k
↓ 27% YoY
Net Worth
£202k
↑ 15% YoY
Current Assets
£71k
↓ 23% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£40k£81k£121k£161k£202kMar 2024Mar 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2025-03-312024-03-31
Total assets£201.8k£175.3k
Current assets£70.5k£91.4k
Cash£49.7k£67.9k
Debtors£20.8k£23.5k
Net assets£201.8k£175.3k

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
2
filings
  • • 2 mortgage
Last 90 days
2
filings
  • • 2 mortgage
Last 180 days
3
filings
  • • 2 mortgage
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (25 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-06-12
    📄
    mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
    mortgage · MR04
  2. 2026-06-12
    📄
    mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
    mortgage · MR04
  3. 2026-06-12
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #2
  4. 2026-06-12
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #1
  5. 2025-12-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  6. 2025-01-23
    📍
    change-sail-address-company-with-old-address-new-address
    address · AD02
  7. 2024-12-20
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2024-11-15
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  9. 2024-02-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  10. 2023-06-09
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  11. 2022-12-19
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  12. 2021-12-14
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  13. 2021-09-30
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  14. 2021-07-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  15. 2021-06-24
    📄
    gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
    gazette · DISS40
  16. 2021-06-08
    📄
    gazette-notice-compulsory
    gazette · GAZ1
  17. 2020-03-31
    📍
    move-registers-to-sail-company-with-new-address
    address · AD03
  18. 2020-03-31
    📍
    change-sail-address-company-with-new-address
    address · AD02
  19. 2020-03-30
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  20. 2020-03-30
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  21. 2020-03-30
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  22. 2014-11-13
    🔒
    Charge registered #2
    Lender: Lloyds Bank PLC
  23. 2014-11-03
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: Lloyds Bank PLC
  24. 2009-12-03
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As AUTOMOTIVE MACHINE SERVICES LTD
  25. 2009-12-03
    ➕
    WATLING, Nicholas Robert appointed
    director

Owner dependency

90/100
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 17 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +No director turnover: Company is 17 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.

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 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 low
Multiple registered office changes
low

Multiple address changes in a short period can indicate operational instability or admin disorder.

Shareholders & ownership

1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Nicholas Watling
Individual · British · DOB 04/1980 · age 46
75–100%
75–100%board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control01/07/2016

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

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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
Incorporated2009-12-03
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC45200 — SIC 45200

Registered office

Unit 26, Mid-Sussex Business Park Folders Lane East
Ditchling
Hassocks
BN6 8SE
England

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-12-23
Last: 2025-12-09

Officers (1 active · 0 resigned)

WATLING, Nicholas Robert→
director · ~46y · appointed 2009-12-03
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active

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

Mortgages & charges

2
Total charges
0
Outstanding
0
Active lenders
Status:Lender:2 of 2 shown
TypeProperties
satisfied
Lloyds Banking Group
Lloyds Bank PLC
A registered charge1 property13/11/201412/06/2026
satisfied
Lloyds Banking Group
Lloyds Bank PLC
A registered charge—03/11/201412/06/2026

Recent filings (52 total)

mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
mortgage · MR04
2026-06-12
mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
mortgage · MR04
2026-06-12
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-02-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-12-17
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-01-23
change-sail-address-company-with-old-address-new-address
address · AD02
2025-01-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-12-20
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2024-11-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-02-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-12-14
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2023-06-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-12-19
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-12-09
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-01-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-12-14