A J VEHICLE ENGINEERS LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
07111679 · ltd · incorporated 2009-12-23
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 Dec 2024
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
74/100
Strong
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What this business does
Primary activity: Other business support service activities n.e.c.
Sector: Administrative & support services
Investor take
Pursue
Strong opportunity: active trading company with strong profile and bankable structure.

Opportunity 74/100 (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 (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
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
3 officers (1 active, 3 linked, 3 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
37 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
74/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

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

Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
55
Some acquirability indicators.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
£0£0£0£0£0£0Dec 2023Dec 2024

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2024-12-312023-12-31

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 (21 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-09-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-09-19
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2023-09-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  4. 2022-09-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  5. 2021-07-14
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  6. 2020-09-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  7. 2019-09-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  8. 2018-09-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  9. 2017-09-25
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  10. 2016-09-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  11. 2016-01-14
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  12. 2015-09-15
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  13. 2015-01-09
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  14. 2014-09-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  15. 2014-01-23
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  16. 2012-01-19
    ➕
    FREEMAN, Alex James appointed
    director
  17. 2012-01-19
    ➖
    FREEMAN, Roger Allen resigned
    director
  18. 2012-01-19
    ➖
    FREEMAN, Valerie Rose resigned
    director
  19. 2010-01-25
    ➕
    FREEMAN, Valerie Rose appointed
    director
  20. 2009-12-23
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As A J VEHICLE ENGINEERS LIMITED
  21. 2009-12-23
    ➕
    FREEMAN, Roger Allen appointed
    director

Owner dependency

75/100
High — earn-out structure required

Material founder dependency. Consider a 2-3 year earn-out and build in a handover plan before completion.

FACTORS
  • +Sole director: Only one active director — all governance concentrated on 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 14 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

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 Alex James Freeman
Individual · British · DOB 09/1970 · age 56
75–100%
—75-100% shares06/04/2016

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
Incorporated2009-12-23
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC82990 — Other business support service activities n.e.c.

Registered office

Yew Tree House
Lewes Road
Forest Row
East Sussex
RH18 5AA

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last made up to: 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-01-02
Last: 2025-12-19

Officers (1 active · 2 resigned)

FREEMAN, Alex James→
director · ~56y · appointed 2012-01-19
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
FREEMAN, Roger Allen→
director · ~83y · appointed 2009-12-23 · resigned 2012-01-19
Resigned
FREEMAN, Valerie Rose→
director · ~83y · appointed 2010-01-25 · resigned 2012-01-19
Resigned

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

Recent filings (37 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-01-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-09-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-01-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-09-19
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-01-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2023-09-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-01-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2022-09-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-01-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2021-07-14
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-01-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2020-09-24
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-01-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2019-09-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-01-02