A&J MOTORS (DARLINGTON) LTD

🌳Matureactive

08114904 · ltd · incorporated 2012-06-21

Investment thesis

Well-run mature business — low negotiation leverage; premium likely.

Why interesting: Textbook target; clean filings, stable trading.

Why risky: No pressure on seller; any deal likely at full price.

Opportunity decay

hardening · 12-months

Already tight — no obvious softening catalysts on the horizon.

· Thesis: well-run, low negotiation leverage

🔒Estimated value

—

Upgrade to see

Turnover

—

year to Jun 2025

Net worth

£639

book net assets

Opportunity

79/100

Strong

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What this business does

Primary activity: SIC 45200

Sector: Wholesale & retail

Investor take

Pursue

Strong opportunity: asset-holding vehicle with strong profile and bankable structure.

Opportunity 79/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. High owner-dependency — earn-out structure likely required for clean transition. Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).

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

Lenders & charges

Confirmed no charges registered

Directors & officers

2 officers (2 active, 2 linked, 2 with DOB)

Ownership & PSC

1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared

Director network

Network not yet resolved

Filing history

32 filings on record

Gazette notices

No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)

Opportunity Score

79/100Strong

PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional

Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.

Business quality

Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.

Acquirability

Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.

Risk profile

Few red flags.

Signal strength

Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declared

Positive net assets

Net assets £639

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts

Cash

—

Net Worth

£639

↑ 497% YoY

Current Assets

£37k

↓ 8.0% YoY

Current Liabilities

—

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown

Metric	2025-06-30	2024-06-30
Total assets	£639	£107
Current assets	£37.3k	£40.5k
Net assets	£639	£107

Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.

Recent activity

Last 30 days

filings

Last 90 days

filings

Last 180 days

filing

• 1 accounts

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (19 events)Click to expand

2026-01-27
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-12-16
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-11-28
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-12-06
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-01-21
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-11-19
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-01-14
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2018-12-10
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2017-12-21
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2017-06-26
📄
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2017-03-28
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2016-08-15
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2016-01-21
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2015-10-28
📄
gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
gazette · DISS40
2015-10-27
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2015-10-20
📄
gazette-notice-compulsory
gazette · GAZ1
2012-06-21
🏢
Company incorporated
As A&J MOTORS (DARLINGTON) LTD
2012-06-21
➕
NORMAN, Jamie Alan appointed
director
2012-06-21
➕
SWAINSTON, Andrew appointed
director

Owner dependency

71/100

High — earn-out structure required

Material founder dependency. Consider a 2-3 year earn-out and build in a handover plan before completion.

FACTORS

+Two-director setup: Only two active directors — typical of owner-managed SMEs but limits succession.
+Senior director age: Director aged approximately 63 — approaching natural succession window.
+No director turnover: Company is 14 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.

Succession & seller-readiness

69/100

Strong succession signal

Multiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.

SIGNALS

primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 63. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
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

Name	Shares	Voting rights	Nature of control	Notified
Mr Jamie Alan Norman Individual · British · DOB 11/1969 · age 57	25–50%	—	25-50% shares	21/06/2017

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

Similar companies

Active · Automotive · DL postcode area

Company	Est. value	Turnover	Net worth	Staff	Age	Opp	Director
A&L MARRIOTT LTD→ 10277663 · est 2016 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	9y	—	—
AH RACE SUPPORT LIMITED→ 13094034 · est 2020 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	5y	—	—
AHL COMMERCIALS LTD→ 14686955 · est 2023 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	3y	—	—
ALAN REED LIMITED→ 03878953 · est 1999 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	26y	—	—
ALAN SEWELL LIMITED→ 04252223 · est 2001 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	24y	—	—
ALLAN RICHARDSON COMMERCIAL VEHICLE ENGINEERS LIMITED→ 05112547 · est 2004 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	21y	—	—
AMR GARAGE DARLINGTON LIMITED→ 15427335 · est 2024 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	2y	—	—
AP AUTODIAGNOSTICS LIMITED→ 06888500 · est 2009 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	16y	—	—
ARNCLIFFE GARAGE LIMITED→ 08431232 · est 2013 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	13y	—	—
ATTENTION 2 DETAIL CAR CARE LIMITED→ 15855279 · est 2024 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	1y	—	—
AUCKSIDE MOTORS LTD→ 04441682 · est 2002 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	23y	—	—
AUTO & ENGINE SERVICES LTD→ 16696981 · est 2025 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →

🔒Tailored diligence questions

6 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 →

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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.

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Company details

Statusactive

Typeltd

Incorporated2012-06-21

Jurisdictionengland-wales

Primary SIC45200 — SIC 45200

Registered office

26a Oxford Street

Darlington

Durham

DL1 1QZ

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: 2027-03-31

Last made up to: 2025-06-30

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2026-07-05

Last: 2025-06-21

Officers (2 active · 0 resigned)

NORMAN, Jamie Alan→

director · ~57y · appointed 2012-06-21

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

SWAINSTON, Andrew→

director · ~63y · appointed 2012-06-21

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

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