ASTON WORKSHOP LIMITED

🌳Matureactive
07098945 · ltd · incorporated 2009-12-09
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 14.4y old — refinance window within 12 months
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Sept 2024
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
🔔
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What this business does
Primary activity: Sale of new cars and light motor vehicles
Sector: Wholesale & retail
ALSO REGISTERED FOR
  • 45200SIC 45200
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company. Family succession underway — not a classic acquisition target.

Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 80/100. Same-surname younger director in place — likely family handover, not open to sale. Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

1 live charge · oldest 14.4y

85/100
ready

Refinance conversation should be productive — structure clean and timing right.

  • · Oldest live charge is 14.4 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
  • · Legal-friction score 15/100 — clean.

Data confidence

Overall: medium (74/100)

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
1 year of iXBRL accounts extracted (no YoY comparison) + narrative notes parsed
50
Lenders & charges
1 charges (1/1 with lender, 1/1 with type)
90
Directors & officers
7 officers (2 active, 7 linked, 6 with DOB)
87
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
6 connected companies via shared directors
63
Filing history
54 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
82/100Exceptional
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
100
Good data coverage for analysis.

Key financials

1 year extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2024-09-30
Average employees4600

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
0
filings
Last 90 days
0
filings
Last 180 days
1
filing
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (30 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-09-22
    📄
    change-account-reference-date-company-current-extended
    accounts · AA01
  2. 2025-06-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-07-09
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC02
  4. 2024-07-09
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  5. 2024-06-10
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  6. 2023-09-25
    ➕
    FOUNTAIN, Fraser appointed
    director
  7. 2023-09-25
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  8. 2023-06-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2023-06-21
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  10. 2023-06-15
    ➖
    CUMMINGS, David resigned
    director
  11. 2022-09-08
    ➕
    CUMMINGS, David appointed
    director
  12. 2022-09-08
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  13. 2022-06-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  14. 2021-06-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  15. 2020-06-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  16. 2019-03-14
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  17. 2018-04-03
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  18. 2017-01-13
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  19. 2016-12-14
    📄
    change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortened
    accounts · AA01
  20. 2015-04-27
    ➖
    RICHARDSON, Caren resigned
    secretary
  21. 2014-04-22
    ➕
    RICHARDSON, Caren appointed
    secretary
  22. 2012-01-17
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: National Westminster Bank PLC
  23. 2011-03-11
    ➕
    FOUNTAIN, Robert Steven appointed
    director
  24. 2011-03-11
    ➖
    BRANNIGAN, Eric resigned
    director
  25. 2011-03-11
    ➖
    NAIRN, David Albert resigned
    director
  26. 2010-01-07
    ➕
    BRANNIGAN, Eric appointed
    director
  27. 2010-01-07
    ➕
    NAIRN, David Albert appointed
    director
  28. 2009-12-09
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As ASTON WORKSHOP LIMITED
  29. 2009-12-09
    ➕
    JACOBS, Yomtov Eliezer appointed
    director
  30. 2009-12-09
    ➖
    JACOBS, Yomtov Eliezer resigned
    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 15 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 72 — succession pressure is live.
  • +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.

Succession & seller-readiness

39/100
Weak signal

Limited succession signal. Not a near-term off-market candidate.

SIGNALS
  • primaryFamily succession underway: Not a takeover target — FOUNTAIN, Fraser (same surname) appointed 2023-09-25. Pattern consistent with intra-family handover.
  • primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 72 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 15 years.
  • 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.)

Group structure

Fountain Holdings Beamish Limited is the ultimate parent — holding 75%+ shares. This company sits inside their group.

🏛️
Fountain Holdings Beamish Limited
Corporate parent · holds 75-100% shares
ultimate parent
⬇
ASTON WORKSHOP LIMITED
This company · 07098945

Parent relationships inferred from Persons with Significant Control filings. Full subsidiary tree requires reverse-lookup (coming).

Shareholders & ownership

2 active beneficial owners · dominant holder ≥75%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Fountain Holdings Beamish Limited
Corporate entity
75–100%
—75-100% shares13/12/2023
Mr Robert Steven Fountain
Individual · British · DOB 12/1954 · age 72
——sig. influencesignificant influence09/12/2016

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

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
Incorporated2009-12-09
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC45111 — Sale of new cars and light motor vehicles

Registered office

Gosling Hill 1 Red Row
Beamish Burn
Beamish
Co Durham
DH9 0RW

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last made up to: 2024-09-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-12-23
Last: 2025-12-09

Officers (2 active · 5 resigned)

FOUNTAIN, Fraser→
director · ~30y · appointed 2023-09-25
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
FOUNTAIN, Robert Steven→
director · ~72y · appointed 2011-03-11
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
RICHARDSON, Caren→
secretary · appointed 2014-04-22 · resigned 2015-04-27
Resigned
BRANNIGAN, Eric→
director · ~77y · appointed 2010-01-07 · resigned 2011-03-11
Resigned
CUMMINGS, David→
director · ~48y · appointed 2022-09-08 · resigned 2023-06-15
Resigned
JACOBS, Yomtov Eliezer→
director · ~56y · appointed 2009-12-09 · resigned 2009-12-09
Resigned
NAIRN, David Albert→
director · ~71y · appointed 2010-01-07 · resigned 2011-03-11
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
National Westminster Bank
National Westminster Bank PLC
Debenture1 property17/01/2012—
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (54 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-12-11
change-account-reference-date-company-current-extended
accounts · AA01
2025-09-22
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-06-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-12-09
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC02
2024-07-09
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2024-07-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-06-10
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-12-12
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2023-09-25
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-06-28
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2023-06-21
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-12-12
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2022-09-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-06-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-12-09