CARS (BRISTOL) LTD
💤Zombieactive
07259140 · ltd · incorporated 2010-05-19
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 May 2025
Net worth
£-20.2k
book net assets
Opportunity
75/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 45200
Sector: Wholesale & retail
Investor take
Pass (distressed without resilience)Distressed active trading company — structural issues outweigh the discount.
Opportunity 75/100 (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: distressed disposal / insolvency (65/100).
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
2 officers (1 active, 2 linked, 2 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
39 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
60
Some acquirability indicators.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 105 (micro)Negative net assets
Liabilities exceed assets by £20,177
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
-£20k
~ YoY
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 105 (micro)| Metric | 2025-05-31 | 2024-05-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £-20.2k | £-20.2k |
| Net assets | £-20.2k | £-20.2k |
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
1
filing
- • 1 accounts
Last 90 days
2
filings
- • 1 accounts
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
2
filings
- • 1 accounts
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (19 events)Click to expand
- 2026-06-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2025-05-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-05-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-05-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-02-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-05-24📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-03-01📄accounts-amended-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AAMD
- 2021-03-01📄accounts-amended-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AAMD
- 2020-02-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2019-03-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2018-04-30📄accounts-amended-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AAMD
- 2018-02-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2017-02-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2016-07-07📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2016-02-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2012-05-20➖HILYER-JONES, Alison Jane resigneddirector
- 2010-05-19🏢Company incorporatedAs CARS (BRISTOL) LTD
- 2010-05-19➕HILYER-JONES, Alan appointeddirector
- 2010-05-19➕HILYER-JONES, Alison Jane appointeddirector
Owner dependency
85/100
Critical — business is the founderThe 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 16 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
Succession & seller-readiness
68/100
Strong succession signalMultiple 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 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
cleanNo 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%| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Alan Hilyer-Jones Individual · British · DOB 03/1969 · age 57 | 75–100% | 75–100% | board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control | 06/04/2016 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Similar companies
Active · Automotive · BS postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAR PAINT MEDICS LIMITED→ 07625590 · est 2011 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 14y | — | — |
| CAR STAR LTD→ 15907570 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| CAR-WIZARD LTD→ 11133935 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| CARCO LIMITED→ 02456309 · est 1989 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 36y | — | — |
| CARCRAFT BRISTOL LTD→ 08333632 · est 2012 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 13y | — | — |
| CARLAND BRISTOL LTD→ 13886223 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| CARMA AUTOMOTIVE LIMITED→ 10608743 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| CARNATION UK DIRECT LIMITED→ 11553992 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| CARNETT LIMITED→ 02141394 · est 1987 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 38y | — | — |
| CARNOON LIMITED→ 13675025 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| CARS AUSTRALIA LTD→ 08117457 · est 2012 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 13y | — | — |
| CARS OF BRISTOL LTD→ 13676002 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2010-05-19
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC45200 — SIC 45200
Registered office
71 Sandyleaze
Westbury On Trym
Bristol
BS9 3PZ
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-02-28
Last made up to: 2025-05-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-06-02
Last: 2026-05-19
Officers (1 active · 1 resigned)
HILYER-JONES, Alan→
Activedirector · ~57y · appointed 2010-05-19
View their other companies + combined net worth →
HILYER-JONES, Alison Jane→
Resigneddirector · ~61y · appointed 2010-05-19 · resigned 2012-05-20
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (39 total)
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2026-06-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-06-02
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-06-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-05-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-06-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-05-31
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-06-01
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-05-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-06-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-02-25
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-06-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-05-24
accounts-amended-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AAMD
2021-03-01
accounts-amended-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AAMD
2021-03-01
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-06-22