AUTOMATION PRODUCTS & ACCESSORIES LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
09050037 · ltd · incorporated 2014-05-21
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 May 2025
Net worth
£95.3k
book net assets
Opportunity
77/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Wholesale of other machinery and equipment
Sector: Wholesale & retail
Investor take
PursueActive trading company with a 67-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 77/100 (strong), bankability 80/100. Strong seller-intent signal (68/100, director aged 67). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Cash flow review and working-capital discipline. Cash down -84% YoY — forensic review of receivables, stock turns, and creditor days. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
1 live charge · oldest 10.2y
45/100
under pressure
Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.
- · Oldest live charge is 10.2 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
- · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.
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
5 officers (1 active, 5 linked, 4 with DOB)
86
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 3 total, 3 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
53 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
77/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
70
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
77
Few red flags.
Signal strength
100
Good data coverage for analysis.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declaredPositive net assets
Net assets £95,258
Net assets shrinking
Down £22,859 YoY
Cash draining
Cash down 84% YoY
Cash YoY
-84%
Year on year
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
£3k
↓ 84% YoY
Net Worth
£95k
↓ 19% YoY
Current Assets
£307k
↓ 26% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2025-05-31 | 2024-05-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £103.6k | £151.1k |
| Current assets | £306.7k | £414.7k |
| Cash | £2.7k | £16.5k |
| Debtors | £117.7k | £150.8k |
| Net assets | £95.3k | £118.1k |
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 officers
Last 90 days
3
filings
- • 2 officers
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
4
filings
- • 2 officers
- • 1 confirmation-statement
- • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (31 events)Click to expand
- 2026-06-10📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2026-06-01➕THOMAS, Brian Keith appointeddirector
- 2026-06-01➖THOMAS, Robert Mark resigneddirector
- 2026-06-01📄appoint-person-director-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP01
- 2026-02-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2025-08-20➖THOMAS, Brian Keith resigneddirector
- 2025-08-20➕THOMAS, Robert Mark appointeddirector
- 2025-08-20📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2025-08-20📄appoint-person-director-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP01
- 2025-08-01📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2025-07-01➖THOMAS, Robert Mark resigneddirector
- 2025-01-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-10-02📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2024-10-01📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2024-10-01📄termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM02
- 2024-09-30➖THOMAS, Robert resignedsecretary
- 2024-05-22📄capital-variation-of-rights-attached-to-sharescapital · SH10
- 2024-05-16📄memorandum-articlesincorporation · MA
- 2024-05-16📄capital-name-of-class-of-sharescapital · SH08
- 2024-05-16📄resolutionresolution · RESOLUTIONS
- 2024-05-10📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2024-01-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-02-16📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2023-02-13📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-05-16📄change-person-secretary-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH03
- 2022-05-16📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2021-02-01➕THOMAS, Brian Keith appointeddirector
- 2016-04-28🔒Charge registered #1Lender: Factor 21 PLC
- 2014-05-21🏢Company incorporatedAs AUTOMATION PRODUCTS & ACCESSORIES LIMITED
- 2014-05-21➕THOMAS, Robert appointedsecretary
- 2014-05-21➕THOMAS, Robert Mark appointeddirector
Owner dependency
90/100
Critical — business is the founderThe business appears inseparable from the founder. Acquisition without a serious earn-out or meaningful transition period would likely destroy value.
FACTORS
- +Sole director: Only one active director — all governance concentrated on one person.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 67 — succession pressure is live.
Succession & seller-readiness
65/100
Strong succession signalMultiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.
SIGNALS
- primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 67. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
Red flags
1 med ·2 director resignations in last 12 months
mediumMultiple recent departures can indicate governance disagreement, succession event, or preparation for sale/stress.
Evidence: THOMAS, Brian Keith resigned 2025-08-20; THOMAS, Robert Mark resigned 2026-06-01
Shareholders & ownership
2 active beneficial owners| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Brian Keith Thomas Individual · British · DOB 05/1959 · age 67 | 50–75% | 50–75% | 50-75% shares · 50-75% voting | 01/03/2018 |
Mr Robert Mark Thomas Individual · British · DOB 06/1965 · age 61 | 25–50% | 25–50% | 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting | 31/12/2017 |
1 historic (ceased) PSC
- Mr Robert Mark Thomasceased 01/03/2018· 75-100% shares · 75-100% voting
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Similar companies
Active · Wholesale & distribution · CO postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AMICO ENERGY LTD→ 16214634 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| ANU BABA LTD→ 15306537 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| ATAY GLOBAL LIMITED→ 05355015 · est 2005 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 21y | — | — |
| AZCON COMPONENT SOLUTIONS LIMITED→ 08859996 · est 2014 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 12y | — | — |
| AZCON CSL LIMITED→ 06946490 · est 2009 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 16y | — | — |
| B. & M. BUSINESS MACHINES LIMITED→ 01026452 · est 1971 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 54y | — | — |
| BABIES R US (LONDON) LIMITED→ 11238015 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| BAK DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION LTD→ 13888733 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| BALASUNDRI METALS LIMITED→ 10271873 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| BALLINGDON HALL LTD→ 13436617 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| BALLINGDON HALL TRADING LTD→ 16961922 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| BANDSAWBLADES.CO.UK LIMITED→ 10341021 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions
8 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
Incorporated2014-05-21
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC46690 — Wholesale of other machinery and equipment
Registered office
1 Riverside Avenue West
Lawford
Manningtree
Essex
CO11 1UN
England
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-02-28
Last made up to: 2025-05-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-06-04
Last: 2026-05-21
Officers (1 active · 4 resigned)
THOMAS, Brian Keith→
Activedirector · ~67y · appointed 2026-06-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
THOMAS, Robert→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 2014-05-21 · resigned 2024-09-30
THOMAS, Brian Keith→
Resigneddirector · ~67y · appointed 2021-02-01 · resigned 2025-08-20
THOMAS, Robert Mark→
Resigneddirector · ~61y · appointed 2025-08-20 · resigned 2026-06-01
THOMAS, Robert Mark→
Resigneddirector · ~61y · appointed 2014-05-21 · resigned 2025-07-01
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 | Factor 21 Factor 21 PLC | A registered charge | — | 28/04/2016 | — |
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.
Recent filings (53 total)
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2026-06-10
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2026-06-01
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-05-28
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2026-02-26
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2025-08-20
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2025-08-20
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2025-08-01
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-06-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-01-31
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2024-10-02
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2024-10-01
termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM02
2024-10-01
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-06-05
capital-variation-of-rights-attached-to-shares
capital · SH10
2024-05-22
memorandum-articles
incorporation · MA
2024-05-16