A & B MOTORS LIMITED
Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 80/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 61). 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 (73/100).
Refinance opportunity
1 live charge · oldest 2.3y
Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.
- · Newest facility, 2.3 years old — likely still in initial term.
- · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
- · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.
Data confidence
Overall: high (81/100)Strong data coverage across all sections. AI outputs should be trusted with minimal caveats.
Strong composite across quality, acquirability, and risk. High-priority target — progress to serious diligence.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declaredKey financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsHover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2025-01-31 | 2024-01-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £485.5k | £384.3k |
| Current assets | £572.5k | £438.5k |
| Cash | £226.8k | £307.4k |
| Debtors | £281.3k | £83.4k |
| Net assets | £467.2k | £356.0k |
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
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
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Corporate timeline (18 events)Click to expand
- 2025-05-15📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-08-15📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-02-08📄mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-datemortgage · MR01
- 2024-02-07🔒Charge registered #1Lender: Hsbc UK Bank PLC
- 2023-09-06📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-08-19📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-08-12📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-09-18📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-07-14📄resolutionresolution · RESOLUTIONS
- 2020-04-23📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2019-10-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2018-10-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2017-08-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2017-02-01📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2016-09-14📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2016-02-11📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2010-01-11🏢Company incorporatedAs A & B MOTORS LIMITED
- 2010-01-11➕GOULDING, Alan appointeddirector
Owner dependency
The business appears inseparable from the founder. Acquisition without a serious earn-out or meaningful transition period would likely destroy value.
- +Sole director: Only one active director — all governance concentrated on one person.
- +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 16 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 61 — approaching natural succession window.
- +No director turnover: Company is 16 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.
Succession & seller-readiness
Strong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
- secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 61. Early succession window.
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
- secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 16 years.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 16 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
cleanShareholders & ownership
1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Alan Goulding Individual · British · DOB 05/1965 · age 61 | 75–100% | 75–100% | board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control | 11/01/2017 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Radial SVG graph showing every company connected via shared directors, colour-coded by status.
Available from the Pro tier upwards.
See pricing →Similar companies
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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 →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
Registered office
Filing status
Officers (1 active · 0 resigned)
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| outstanding | HSBC Hsbc UK Bank PLC | A registered charge | 1 property | 07/02/2024 | — |