ABC VAN HIRE LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
07487800 · ltd · incorporated 2011-01-11
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 Jan 2025
Net worth
£243.5k
book net assets
Opportunity
75/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Renting and leasing of cars and light motor vehicles
Sector: Administrative & support services
Investor take
PursueStrong opportunity: active trading company with strong profile and bankable structure.
Opportunity 75/100 (strong), bankability 80/100. 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).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
1 live charge · oldest 5.4y
45/100
under pressure
Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.
- · Oldest live charge is 5.4 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
- · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.
Data confidence
Overall: high (80/100)Strong data coverage across all sections. AI outputs should be trusted with minimal caveats.
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
1 charges (1/1 with lender, 1/1 with type)
90
Directors & officers
4 officers (1 active, 4 linked, 3 with DOB)
85
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 3 total, 3 with control declared
90
Director network
3 connected companies via shared directors
54
Filing history
44 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
55
Some acquirability indicators.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
100
Good data coverage for analysis.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declaredPositive net assets
Net assets £243,504
Net assets shrinking
Down £63,377 YoY
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
£244k
↓ 21% YoY
Current Assets
£279k
↓ 34% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover 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 | £328.7k | £482.9k |
| Current assets | £279.3k | £421.9k |
| Debtors | £279.3k | £376.0k |
| Net assets | £243.5k | £306.9k |
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
3
filings
- • 1 persons-with-significant-control
- • 1 confirmation-statement
- • 1 officers
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (25 events)Click to expand
- 2026-01-13📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2026-01-12📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2025-10-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-10-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-09-05📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-10-19📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-11-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-03-22📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2021-03-22📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2020-12-21📄mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-datemortgage · MR01
- 2020-12-21🔒Charge registered #1Lender: Lloyds Bank PLC
- 2020-11-16📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-05-10📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-01-09📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2017-12-11📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2017-12-11📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2017-10-12📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2017-03-15➖HUGHES, Patrick Joseph resignedsecretary
- 2017-03-15➖HUGHES, Patrick Joseph resigneddirector
- 2016-12-15➕HUGHES, John-Paul appointeddirector
- 2012-01-12➖HUGHES, John Paul resigneddirector
- 2011-01-25➕HUGHES, Patrick Joseph appointeddirector
- 2011-01-11🏢Company incorporatedAs ABC VAN HIRE LIMITED
- 2011-01-11➕HUGHES, Patrick Joseph appointedsecretary
- 2011-01-11➕HUGHES, John Paul appointeddirector
Owner dependency
75/100
High — earn-out structure requiredMaterial 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
55/100
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.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 15 years old and no new directors in the last 3 years — succession not yet being planned internally.
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 John-Paul Hughes Individual · British · DOB 04/1979 · age 47 | 75–100% | 75–100% | 75-100% shares · 75-100% voting | 06/04/2016 |
2 historic (ceased) PSCs
- Mrs Jean Carinda Hughesceased 26/07/2017· 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting · board control
- Mr Patrick Joseph Hughesceased 15/03/2017· 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting
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 →Similar companies
Active · Professional services · WV postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2.0 ARCH LTD→ 16607549 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 212 RECRUITMENT CONSULTANTS LTD→ 10631677 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| 27M PROFESSIONAL SERVICES LTD→ 15871433 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| 7 ISLANDS VISA LIMITED→ 15705728 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| A3S SERVICES LTD→ 13020981 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| AAPY MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS LTD→ 15516214 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| ACTION STAFFING LTD→ 16838431 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ACUMEN PROPERTY CONSULTANTS LTD→ 16859467 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ADAMS DEFENCE SOLICITORS LTD→ 15736175 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| AHM AND SONS LIMITED→ 08104908 · est 2012 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 13y | — | — |
| AI ACCELERATE GROWTH LIMITED→ 12780407 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| AI CAPITAL HOLDINGS LIMITED→ 16448625 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
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
Incorporated2011-01-11
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC77110 — Renting and leasing of cars and light motor vehicles
Registered office
34 Waterloo Road
Wolverhampton
West Midlands
WV1 4DG
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-10-31
Last made up to: 2025-01-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-01-25
Last: 2026-01-11
Officers (1 active · 3 resigned)
HUGHES, John-Paul→
Activedirector · ~47y · appointed 2016-12-15
View their other companies + combined net worth →
HUGHES, Patrick Joseph→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 2011-01-11 · resigned 2017-03-15
HUGHES, John Paul→
Resigneddirector · ~47y · appointed 2011-01-11 · resigned 2012-01-12
HUGHES, Patrick Joseph→
Resigneddirector · ~75y · appointed 2011-01-25 · resigned 2017-03-15
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
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| outstanding | Lloyds Banking Group Lloyds Bank PLC | A registered charge | — | 21/12/2020 | — |
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.
Recent filings (44 total)
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2026-01-13
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-01-12
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2026-01-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-10-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-01-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-10-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-01-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-09-05
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-01-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-10-19
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-02-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-11-30
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-03-29
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2021-03-22
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2021-03-22