ACE WHEELS LTD
💤Zombieactive
08329620 · ltd · incorporated 2012-12-13
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 Dec 2024
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
74/100
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 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
2 officers (1 active, 2 linked, 2 with DOB)
90
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 3 total, 3 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.
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 | 2024-12-31 | 2023-12-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Average employees | 0 | 100 |
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
2
filings
- • 1 confirmation-statement
- • 1 persons-with-significant-control
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (20 events)Click to expand
- 2025-12-16📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2025-09-17📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-09-19📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-09-21📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-09-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-09-08📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2022-09-08📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2021-09-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2020-09-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2019-09-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-09-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-12-20📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2017-12-20📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2017-09-20📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2017-06-21📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2017-03-22📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2017-03-09➖CLARK, Richard resigneddirector
- 2012-12-13🏢Company incorporatedAs ACE WHEELS LTD
- 2012-12-13➕PIPKIN, Chris appointeddirector
- 2012-12-13➕CLARK, Richard 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
58/100
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.
- secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 13 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 · dominant holder ≥75%| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Chris Pipkin Individual · British · DOB 05/1981 · age 45 | 75–100% | — | 75-100% shares | 08/09/2022 |
2 historic (ceased) PSCs
- Mr Richard Clarkceased 20/12/2017· 25-50% shares
- Mr Christopher Pipkinceased 07/09/2022· significant influence
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Similar companies
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1ST CLASS AUTOCARE LIMITED→ 16561697 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 3 JAYS CAR SALES LIMITED→ 13347655 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| A AND R MOTORS LTD→ 15589140 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| A J ROBERTSON LIMITED→ 07319662 · est 2010 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 15y | — | — |
| A M K GATWICK LIMITED→ 03617997 · est 1998 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 27y | — | — |
| A P C DRISCOLL TRADING LTD→ 08537827 · est 2013 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 12y | — | — |
| A-2-Z CAR SALES LTD→ 04948536 · est 2003 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 22y | — | — |
| A.M MOT AND SERVICE CENTRE LTD→ 17003475 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| A&G.MQ LIMITED→ 15713412 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| AA CAPITAL TYRES LTD→ 16184093 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| AB DRIVE SOLUTION LIMITED→ 16446726 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ABTO AUTOS LTD→ 11946496 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2012-12-13
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC45200 — SIC 45200
Registered office
29 Cuckfield Crescent
Worthing
BN13 2ED
England
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last made up to: 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-12-27
Last: 2025-12-13
Officers (1 active · 1 resigned)
PIPKIN, Chris→
Activedirector · ~45y · appointed 2012-12-13
View their other companies + combined net worth →
CLARK, Richard→
Resigneddirector · ~48y · appointed 2012-12-13 · resigned 2017-03-09
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (35 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-12-23
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2025-12-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-09-17
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-12-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-09-19
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-12-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-09-21
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-12-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-09-30
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2022-09-08
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2022-09-08
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-12-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-09-29
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-12-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-09-23