AUTOPREP LTD

💤Zombieactive
08031876 · ltd · incorporated 2012-04-16
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 Apr 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
74/100
Strong
🔔
Follow this company (free)
Email alerts on filings, charges, director changes, gazette notices. No account needed.

Unsubscribe any time from any email. GDPR-respectful.

🔒Generate AI memo →🔒Outreach pack →🔒Corporate story →📑 Reports →Sign in to watch
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 45200
Sector: Wholesale & retail
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 (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
4 officers (2 active, 4 linked, 2 with DOB)
80
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
34 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£0Apr 2024Apr 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2025-04-302024-04-30
Average employees—400

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 (22 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-06-05
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-06-03
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  3. 2023-10-17
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  4. 2023-10-17
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  5. 2023-07-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  6. 2022-09-29
    📄
    appoint-person-secretary-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP03
  7. 2022-09-29
    📄
    termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM02
  8. 2022-09-15
    ➕
    WATERTON, John Henry appointed
    secretary
  9. 2022-09-15
    ➖
    LEVERETT, Sheraleen resigned
    secretary
  10. 2022-08-13
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  11. 2021-09-20
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  12. 2020-09-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  13. 2020-01-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  14. 2019-02-13
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  15. 2019-01-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  16. 2018-04-30
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  17. 2018-04-06
    ➖
    LEVERETT, Richard resigned
    director
  18. 2018-02-08
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  19. 2012-04-16
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As AUTOPREP LTD
  20. 2012-04-16
    ➕
    WATERTON, John Henry appointed
    director
  21. 2012-04-16
    ➕
    LEVERETT, Sheraleen appointed
    secretary
  22. 2012-04-16
    ➕
    LEVERETT, Richard 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

58/100
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.
  • 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
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr John Henry Waterton
Individual · British · DOB 11/1970 · age 56
——sig. influencesignificant influence06/04/2016
1 historic (ceased) PSC
  • Mr Richard Leverettceased 06/04/2018· significant influence

From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.

Similar companies

Active · Automotive · BA postcode area
CompanyEst. valueTurnoverNet worthStaffAgeOppDirector
A & R AUTOMOTIVE (SOUTH WEST) LIMITED→
07640337 · est 2011 · no financials extracted
————14y——
A E DENT REMOVAL LIMITED→
07923299 · est 2012 · no financials extracted
————14y——
ADAM & JONES LTD→
15989013 · est 2024 · no financials extracted
————1y——
ADVANCED WORKSHOP SOLUTIONS LIMITED→
12527059 · est 2020 · no financials extracted
————6y——
AJR AUTO BODY REPAIRS LIMITED→
08704506 · est 2013 · no financials extracted
————12y——
APF ENTERPRISES LTD→
12162856 · est 2019 · no financials extracted
————6y——
ARNIE GRIFFITHS LIMITED→
08434427 · est 2013 · no financials extracted
————13y——
ARNIE LEVICS LIMITED→
01195725 · est 1975 · no financials extracted
————51y——
AUTO-SERVICOS LTD→
12718466 · est 2020 · no financials extracted
————5y——
AUTORARA LTD→
14006124 · est 2022 · no financials extracted
————4y——
AUTOSAVA LIMITED→
05414081 · est 2005 · no financials extracted
————21y——
AUTOTECH (MELKSHAM) LIMITED→
07720553 · est 2011 · no financials extracted
————14y——
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
Incorporated2012-04-16
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC45200 — SIC 45200

Registered office

111 Washington Road
West Wilts Trading Estate
Westbury
Wiltshire
BA13 4JP

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-01-31
Last made up to: 2025-04-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-10-18
Last: 2025-10-04

Officers (2 active · 2 resigned)

WATERTON, John Henry→
secretary · appointed 2022-09-15
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
WATERTON, John Henry→
director · ~56y · appointed 2012-04-16
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
LEVERETT, Sheraleen→
secretary · appointed 2012-04-16 · resigned 2022-09-15
Resigned
LEVERETT, Richard→
director · ~66y · appointed 2012-04-16 · resigned 2018-04-06
Resigned

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

Recent filings (34 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-10-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2025-06-05
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-11-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-06-03
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-10-17
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2023-10-17
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2023-10-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-07-24
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-10-04
appoint-person-secretary-company-with-name-date
officers · AP03
2022-09-29
termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM02
2022-09-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-08-13
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-05-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-09-20
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-04-27