A1 CARS BEDFORD LTD

🌳Matureactive
09176206 · ltd · incorporated 2014-08-14
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.
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Aug 2025
Net worth
£853.1k
book net assets
Opportunity
79/100
Strong
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What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 45200
Sector: Wholesale & retail
ALSO REGISTERED FOR
  • 49320SIC 49320
Investor take
Pursue
Asset-holding vehicle with a 68-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 79/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (63/100, director aged 68). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Cash flow review and working-capital discipline. Cash down -46% YoY — forensic review of receivables, stock turns, and creditor days. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).

Data confidence

Overall: high (80/100)

Strong data coverage across all sections. AI outputs should be trusted with minimal caveats.

Company profile
address, 2 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
6 officers (3 active, 6 linked, 6 with DOB)
90
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 3 total, 3 with control declared
90
Director network
3 connected companies via shared directors
54
Filing history
44 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
79/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

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

Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
75
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
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 £853,065
Net assets shrinking
Down £83,012 YoY
Cash draining
Cash down 46% YoY
Cash YoY
-46%
Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£53k
↓ 46% YoY
Net Worth
£853k
↓ 8.9% YoY
Current Assets
£93k
↓ 35% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£187k£374k£562k£749k£936kAug 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£853.1k£944.6k
Current assets£92.9k£142.3k
Cash£53.0k£97.8k
Debtors£39.9k£44.5k
Net assets£853.1k£936.1k

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
4
filings
  • • 2 persons-with-significant-control
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
  • • 1 officers
Last 90 days
5
filings
  • • 2 persons-with-significant-control
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
  • • 1 officers
Last 180 days
8
filings
  • • 3 officers
  • • 2 confirmation-statement
  • • 2 persons-with-significant-control
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (26 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-06-18
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  2. 2026-06-17
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  3. 2026-06-17
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  4. 2026-05-07
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  5. 2026-03-17
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  6. 2026-03-17
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  7. 2026-01-31
    ➖
    IQBAL, Shazan resigned
    director
  8. 2025-05-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2025-01-18
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
  10. 2025-01-18
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  11. 2024-05-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  12. 2023-09-29
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
  13. 2023-05-09
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  14. 2022-11-21
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  15. 2022-08-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  16. 2021-08-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  17. 2020-05-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  18. 2017-11-01
    ➕
    IQBAL, Imran appointed
    director
  19. 2017-11-01
    ➕
    IQBAL, Khadeja Bibi appointed
    director
  20. 2017-11-01
    ➕
    IQBAL, Khadeja appointed
    director
  21. 2017-11-01
    ➖
    IQBAL, Khadeja resigned
    director
  22. 2017-11-01
    ➕
    IQBAL, Shazan appointed
    director
  23. 2015-07-30
    ➖
    MAHMOOD, Tariq resigned
    director
  24. 2014-08-14
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As A1 CARS BEDFORD LTD
  25. 2014-08-14
    ➕
    IQBAL, Zafar appointed
    director
  26. 2014-08-14
    ➕
    MAHMOOD, Tariq appointed
    director

Owner dependency

73/100
High — earn-out structure required

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

FACTORS
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 68 — succession pressure is live.
  • +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.

Succession & seller-readiness

55/100
Strong succession signal

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

SIGNALS
  • primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 68. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
  • 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 · dominant holder ≥75%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Imran Iqbal
Individual · British · DOB 05/1986 · age 40
75–100%
75–100%board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control01/11/2022
2 historic (ceased) PSCs
  • Shazan Iqbalceased 31/01/2026· 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting
  • Mr Zafar Iqbalceased 22/11/2023· 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting · board control

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

🔒Co-director network graph

Radial SVG graph showing every company connected via shared directors, colour-coded by status.

Available from the Pro tier upwards.

See pricing →

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10501317 · est 2016 · no financials extracted
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A 5 ENTERPRISES LTD→
05626546 · est 2005 · no financials extracted
————20y——
A J EXECUTIVE CARS LTD→
10625817 · est 2017 · no financials extracted
————9y——
A. K. ALARMS LIMITED→
04924350 · est 2003 · no financials extracted
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15784999 · est 2024 · no financials extracted
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ABBAS CAR SALES LIMITED→
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————7y——
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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
Incorporated2014-08-14
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC45200 — SIC 45200

Registered office

27 St. Cuthberts Street
Bedford
MK40 3JG
England

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-05-31
Last made up to: 2025-08-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-07-02
Last: 2026-06-18

Officers (3 active · 3 resigned)

IQBAL, Imran→
director · ~40y · appointed 2017-11-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
IQBAL, Khadeja Bibi→
director · ~65y · appointed 2017-11-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
IQBAL, Zafar→
director · ~68y · appointed 2014-08-14
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
IQBAL, Khadeja→
director · ~65y · appointed 2017-11-01 · resigned 2017-11-01
Resigned
IQBAL, Shazan→
director · ~38y · appointed 2017-11-01 · resigned 2026-01-31
Resigned
MAHMOOD, Tariq→
director · ~62y · appointed 2014-08-14 · resigned 2015-07-30
Resigned

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

Recent filings (44 total)

confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-06-19
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2026-06-18
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2026-06-17
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2026-06-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2026-05-07
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-03-17
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2026-03-17
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2026-03-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-05-27
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-01-18
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2025-01-18
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2025-01-18
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-11-26
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-05-24
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-11-23