AARDVARK MOTORS LTD
🌳Matureactive
08920714 · ltd · incorporated 2014-03-04
Investment thesis
Established operating company — standard diligence applies, no dominant angle.
Why interesting: Live, filing, normal profile.
Why risky: No standout signals in either direction.
Opportunity decay
approaching window · 12-months
Approaching a transaction window — refinance or sale event plausible in the next 12 months.
- · Oldest live charge 8.1y old — refinance window within 12 months
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Mar 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
75/100
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 75/100 (strong), bankability 80/100. 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 (58/100).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
1 live charge · oldest 8.1y
85/100
ready
Refinance conversation should be productive — structure clean and timing right.
- · Oldest live charge is 8.1 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
- · Legal-friction score 15/100 — clean.
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
1 charges (1/1 with lender, 1/1 with type)
90
Directors & officers
3 officers (2 active, 3 linked, 3 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
39 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
75/100Strong
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
100
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 | 2025-03-31 | 2024-03-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Average employees | 800 | 700 |
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
🔒Filing-note intelligence
3 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
0
filings
Last 90 days
1
filing
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
1
filing
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (23 events)Click to expand
- 2025-10-15📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-07-11📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-03-04📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2024-03-04📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2023-09-14📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-07-04📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-05-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-05-20➕HURFORD, Stuart Leslie appointeddirector
- 2021-05-20📄appoint-person-director-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP01
- 2021-05-13📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2021-05-13📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2020-11-03➖HURFORD, Stuart Leslie resigneddirector
- 2020-11-03📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2020-10-30➕HURFORD, Stuart Leslie appointeddirector
- 2020-10-30📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2020-10-30📄appoint-person-director-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP01
- 2020-10-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2019-05-02📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2019-05-02📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2019-05-01📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2018-04-24🔒Charge registered #1Lender: National Westminster Bank PLC
- 2014-03-04🏢Company incorporatedAs AARDVARK MOTORS LTD
- 2014-03-04➕HURFORD, Hayley appointeddirector
Owner dependency
66/100
High — earn-out structure requiredMaterial 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.
- +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.
Succession & seller-readiness
49/100
Moderate signalSome succession indicators present. Worth watching; approach if sector/strategy fits.
SIGNALS
- secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
- secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 12 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Stuart Leslie Hurford Individual · British · DOB 10/1974 · age 52 | 75–100% | — | 75-100% shares | 06/04/2023 |
1 historic (ceased) PSC
- Mrs Hayley Hurfordceased 06/04/2023· 75-100% shares
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Similar companies
Active · Automotive · TA postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2CLICKS SUSPENSION LTD→ 16471074 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 360 COMPS LTD→ 16315720 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| A & M CAR SALES LIMITED→ 09929281 · est 2015 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 10y | — | — |
| A E AUTOS LTD→ 15221425 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| A.L.S. SERVICE AND REPAIRS LIMITED→ 12581447 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| A&E AUTOCARE LIMITED→ 14863707 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| A1 MOT CENTRE (BRIDGWATER) LIMITED→ 07666760 · est 2011 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 14y | — | — |
| A303 MOTORCYCLE SERVICES LIMITED→ 10371648 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| AB PRESTIGE AUTOMOTIVE LTD→ 15845413 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| ABACUS VEHICLE SERVICES LIMITED→ 11739510 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| ABSOLUTE HORSEPOWER LIMITED→ 05774410 · est 2006 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 20y | — | — |
| ACKLAND TYRES LTD→ 10171594 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
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 →🔒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
Incorporated2014-03-04
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC45200 — SIC 45200
Registered office
Wheelwrights Yard
Catsgore
Somerton
Somerset
TA11 7HY
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-03-18
Last: 2026-03-04
Officers (2 active · 1 resigned)
HURFORD, Hayley→
Activedirector · ~47y · appointed 2014-03-04
View their other companies + combined net worth →
HURFORD, Stuart Leslie→
Activedirector · ~52y · appointed 2021-05-20
View their other companies + combined net worth →
HURFORD, Stuart Leslie→
Resigneddirector · ~52y · appointed 2020-10-30 · resigned 2020-11-03
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
1
Total charges
1
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:1 of 1 shown
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| outstanding | National Westminster Bank National Westminster Bank PLC | A registered charge | — | 24/04/2018 | — |
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.
Recent filings (39 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-03-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-10-15
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-03-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-07-11
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-03-04
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2024-03-04
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2024-03-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-09-14
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-03-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-07-04
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-03-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-05-28
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2021-05-20
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2021-05-13
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2021-05-13