AVALON AUTOMOTIVE LTD
💤Zombieactive
07755327 · ltd · incorporated 2011-08-30
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 Aug 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
78/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 45200
Sector: Wholesale & retail
Investor take
PursueStrong opportunity: active trading company with strong profile and bankable structure.
Opportunity 78/100 (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 (73/100).
Data confidence
Overall: medium (76/100)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 (2 active, 3 linked, 2 with DOB)
83
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
35 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
78/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
70
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2025-08-31 | 2024-08-31 |
|---|
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
1
filing
- • 1 accounts
Last 90 days
3
filings
- • 1 accounts
- • 1 persons-with-significant-control
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
3
filings
- • 1 accounts
- • 1 persons-with-significant-control
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (19 events)Click to expand
- 2026-05-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2026-03-24📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2025-05-14📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2025-04-26📄gazette-filings-brought-up-to-dategazette · DISS40
- 2025-04-15📄gazette-notice-compulsorygazette · GAZ1
- 2024-05-14📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-05-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-06-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-05-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-05-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-05-24📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-05-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-05-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2016-05-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2011-09-23➖COTTRELL, Emma Jane resigneddirector
- 2011-08-30🏢Company incorporatedAs AVALON AUTOMOTIVE LTD
- 2011-08-30➕COTTRELL, Emma Jane appointedsecretary
- 2011-08-30➕LANKFORD, Stuart James appointeddirector
- 2011-08-30➕COTTRELL, Emma Jane appointeddirector
Owner dependency
83/100
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.
- +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 62 — approaching natural succession window.
Succession & seller-readiness
68/100
Strong succession signalMultiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.
SIGNALS
- secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 62. 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 15 years.
- 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| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Stuart James Lankford Individual · British · DOB 12/1964 · age 62 | 25–50% | — | 25-50% shares | 30/08/2016 |
1 historic (ceased) PSC
- Mrs Emma Jane Lankfordceased 01/03/2026· 25-50% shares
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Similar companies
Active · Automotive · ST postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| APEDALE COMMERCIALS LIMITED→ 16899950 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| AUTOKRAFT (STAFFS) LTD.→ 07878216 · est 2011 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 14y | — | — |
| AUTOMOTIVE COMPONENTS DISTRIBUTION LIMITED→ 05495122 · est 2005 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 20y | — | — |
| AUTOSPORTS FINANCE LTD→ 07193135 · est 2010 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 16y | — | — |
| AUTOSPRAY SHELTON LTD→ 16536567 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| AUTOSPRAY TECHNIQUE LIMITED→ 08676258 · est 2013 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 12y | — | — |
| AUTOTEC MOTOR FACTORS LIMITED→ 04942117 · est 2003 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 22y | — | — |
| AWAT TRADING LTD→ 14209899 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| AWD CUSTOMS LTD→ 14594190 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| AWJ AUTOMOTIVE LTD→ 07539397 · est 2011 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 15y | — | — |
| AWN CARS LTD→ 15429972 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| AXE AUTOMOTIVE LTD→ 16392606 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2011-08-30
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC45200 — SIC 45200
Registered office
Unit 11 Emerald Way
Stone Business Park
Stone
Staffordshire
ST15 0SR
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-05-31
Last made up to: 2025-08-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-02-02
Last: 2026-01-19
Officers (2 active · 1 resigned)
COTTRELL, Emma Jane→
Activesecretary · appointed 2011-08-30
View their other companies + combined net worth →
LANKFORD, Stuart James→
Activedirector · ~62y · appointed 2011-08-30
View their other companies + combined net worth →
COTTRELL, Emma Jane→
Resigneddirector · ~56y · appointed 2011-08-30 · resigned 2011-09-23
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (35 total)
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2026-05-22
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2026-03-24
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-03-24
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-05-14
gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
gazette · DISS40
2025-04-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-04-25
gazette-notice-compulsory
gazette · GAZ1
2025-04-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-05-14
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-02-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-05-23
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-01-19
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-10-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-06-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-08-31
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-05-26