AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSIONS (PRESTON) LTD

💤Zombieactive
08171329 · ltd · incorporated 2012-08-07
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
£146
book net assets
Opportunity
74/100
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 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 (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
4 officers (1 active, 4 linked, 4 with DOB)
90
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
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.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declared
Positive net assets
Net assets £146
Net assets shrinking
Down £229 YoY
Cash YoY
+159%
Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£15k
↑ 159% YoY
Net Worth
£146
↓ 61% YoY
Current Assets
£32k
↓ 1.4% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£7k£13k£20k£26k£33kAug 2024Aug 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2025-08-312024-08-31
Total assets£2.2k£2.3k
Current assets£32.5k£32.9k
Cash£15.3k£5.9k
Debtors£14.1k£13.2k
Net assets£146£375

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
1
filing
  • • 1 accounts
Last 180 days
1
filing
  • • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (24 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-05-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-10-02
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  3. 2025-09-18
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
  4. 2025-09-18
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  5. 2025-08-31
    ➖
    LAWRANCE, Grant Brooklyn resigned
    director
  6. 2025-08-13
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  7. 2025-08-01
    ➕
    LAWRANCE, James Michael appointed
    director
  8. 2025-05-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2024-04-08
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2023-05-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  11. 2022-07-12
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  12. 2022-07-11
    ➖
    LAWRANCE, James Michael resigned
    director
  13. 2022-05-19
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  14. 2021-10-12
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  15. 2021-09-09
    ➕
    LAWRANCE, James Michael appointed
    director
  16. 2021-06-03
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  17. 2020-04-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  18. 2019-05-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  19. 2017-10-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  20. 2017-01-16
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  21. 2013-08-15
    ➖
    HOWARD, Mark Anthony resigned
    director
  22. 2012-08-07
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSIONS (PRESTON) LTD
  23. 2012-08-07
    ➕
    HOWARD, Mark Anthony appointed
    director
  24. 2012-08-07
    ➕
    LAWRANCE, Grant Brooklyn 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

45/100
Moderate signal

Some succession indicators present. Worth watching; approach if sector/strategy fits.

SIGNALS
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.

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 · dominant holder ≥75%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr James Michael Lawrance
Individual · British · DOB 10/1996 · age 30
75–100%
75–100%board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control01/09/2025
1 historic (ceased) PSC
  • Mr Grant Brooklyn Lawranceceased 01/09/2025· 75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control

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

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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
Incorporated2012-08-07
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC45200 — SIC 45200

Registered office

Black Bull House 353-355 Station Road
Bamber Bridge
Preston
Lancashire
PR5 6EE

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-05-31
Last made up to: 2025-08-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-08-21
Last: 2025-08-07

Officers (1 active · 3 resigned)

LAWRANCE, James Michael→
director · ~30y · appointed 2025-08-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
HOWARD, Mark Anthony→
director · ~63y · appointed 2012-08-07 · resigned 2013-08-15
Resigned
LAWRANCE, Grant Brooklyn→
director · ~65y · appointed 2012-08-07 · resigned 2025-08-31
Resigned
LAWRANCE, James Michael→
director · ~30y · appointed 2021-09-09 · resigned 2022-07-11
Resigned

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
2026-05-26
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2025-10-02
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2025-09-18
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2025-09-18
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-08-19
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2025-08-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-05-31
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-08-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-04-08
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-08-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-05-27
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-08-22
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2022-07-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-05-19
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2021-10-12