AFFORDABLE CARS OF SUSSEX LTD
🌳Matureactive
09567614 · ltd · incorporated 2015-04-29
Investment thesis
Well-run mature business — low negotiation leverage; premium likely.
Why interesting: Textbook target; clean filings, stable trading.
Why risky: No pressure on seller; any deal likely at full price.
Why now
Window steady · low confidence
Steady and tidy — no seller pressure yet. Approach only if an angle opens.
Opportunity decay
hardening · 12-months
Already tight — no obvious softening catalysts on the horizon.
- · Thesis: well-run, low negotiation leverage
What changed my view
Last 30 days
No material changes in the last 30 days.
Last 90 days
No snapshot from 90 days ago — start tracking from today.
Last 180 days
No snapshot from 180 days ago — start tracking from today.
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Apr 2026
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
74/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 45112
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. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (58/100).
Data confidence
Overall: high (84/100)Strong data coverage across all sections. AI outputs should be trusted with minimal caveats.
Company profile
address, 1 SIC codes, incorporation date
100
Financials
3 years of iXBRL accounts extracted + narrative notes parsed
95
Lenders & charges
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
2 officers (2 active, 2 linked, 2 with DOB)
90
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
30 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
3 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 | 2026-04-30 | 2025-04-30 | 2024-04-30 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total assets | — | £263.3k | £239.0k |
| Current assets | — | £410.7k | £460.9k |
| Cash | — | — | £173.8k |
| Debtors | — | — | £42.6k |
| Net assets | — | £240.5k | £208.7k |
| Average employees | 500 | — | — |
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
2
filings
- • 1 accounts
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
2
filings
- • 1 accounts
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (18 events)Click to expand
- 2026-07-14📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2025-11-03📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2025-06-18📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-06-20📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2023-09-08📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-12-01📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-01-06📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-12-16📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-11-13📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-11-21📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-04-30📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2018-04-30📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2018-01-05📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-12-28📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2017-11-20📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2015-04-29🏢Company incorporatedAs AFFORDABLE CARS OF SUSSEX LTD
- 2015-04-29➕RUSSELL, James Oliver Terence appointeddirector
- 2015-04-29➕THOMSON, Grant Simon appointeddirector
Owner dependency
63/100
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.
- +No director turnover: Company is 11 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.
Succession & seller-readiness
41/100
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.
- 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
2 active beneficial owners| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Grant Simon Thomson Individual · British · DOB 03/1985 · age 41 | 25–50% | 25–50% | 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting | 06/04/2016 |
Mr James Oliver Terence Russell Individual · British · DOB 01/1988 · age 38 | 25–50% | 25–50% | 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting | 06/04/2016 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Similar companies
Active · Automotive · BN postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| B M HOLDINGS LIMITED→ 03308610 · est 1997 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 29y | — | — |
| BAYHAM MOTORS LIMITED→ 06139084 · est 2007 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 19y | — | — |
| BCD AUTO LIMITED→ 15374502 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| BEACHY HEAD MANAGEMENT LIMITED→ 13017068 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| BEETLEMANIA LTD→ 14056200 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| BEK WHOLESALE LTD→ 04932066 · est 2003 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 22y | — | — |
| BEN LILLY LIMITED→ 06685685 · est 2008 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 17y | — | — |
| BENJAMIN M BROWN LIMITED→ 11863321 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| BENNETT AUTOS LTD→ 08556213 · est 2013 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 12y | — | — |
| BENZO HOLDING CO LIMITED→ 10670839 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| BERWICK SERVICE STATION LIMITED→ 05024721 · est 2004 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 22y | — | — |
| BESPOKE DEFENDERS MOTOR COMPANY LTD→ 16032339 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2015-04-29
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC45112 — SIC 45112
Registered office
93-97 South Coast Road
Peacehaven
East Sussex
BN10 8QT
England
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2028-01-31
Last made up to: 2026-04-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-04-29
Last: 2026-04-15
Officers (2 active · 0 resigned)
RUSSELL, James Oliver Terence→
Activedirector · ~38y · appointed 2015-04-29
View their other companies + combined net worth →
THOMSON, Grant Simon→
Activedirector · ~41y · appointed 2015-04-29
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (30 total)
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2026-07-14
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-04-19
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2025-11-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-06-18
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-04-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2024-06-20
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-04-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-09-08
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-04-24
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-12-01
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-04-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-01-06
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-04-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-12-16
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-04-23