AUTO CARMELEON LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
09862488 · ltd · incorporated 2015-11-09
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
—
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Turnover
—
not disclosed
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
78/100
Strong
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What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 29201
Sector: Manufacturing
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company with a 66-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 78/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (68/100, director aged 66). 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 (73/100).

Data confidence

Overall: medium (55/100)

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
No iXBRL financials extracted
0
Lenders & charges
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
1 officers (1 active, 1 linked, 1 with DOB)
90
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
29 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
78/100Strong
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
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.

Recent activity

Last 30 days
0
filings
Last 90 days
0
filings
Last 180 days
0
filings
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (18 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-09-04
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-07-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  3. 2023-06-15
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  4. 2023-06-13
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  5. 2022-08-31
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  6. 2022-07-19
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  7. 2021-08-11
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  8. 2020-08-04
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  9. 2019-11-19
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  10. 2019-09-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  11. 2019-08-14
    📄
    change-account-reference-date-company-previous-extended
    accounts · AA01
  12. 2019-01-05
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  13. 2018-12-05
    📄
    change-account-reference-date-company-current-shortened
    accounts · AA01
  14. 2018-01-03
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  15. 2016-12-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  16. 2016-12-19
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  17. 2015-11-09
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As AUTO CARMELEON LIMITED
  18. 2015-11-09
    ➕
    TESTER, Richard appointed
    director

Owner dependency

95/100
Critical — business is the founder

The 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 66 — succession pressure is live.
  • +No director turnover: Company is 11 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.

Succession & seller-readiness

70/100
Strong succession signal

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

SIGNALS
  • primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 66. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
  • 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
Richard Tester
Individual · British · DOB 03/1960 · age 66
75–100%
75–100%board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control06/04/2016

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

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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.

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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.

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Company details

Statusactive
Typeltd
Incorporated2015-11-09
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC29201 — SIC 29201

Registered office

Unit 9a Banff Farm Uckfield Road
Ringmer
Lewes
BN8 5RR
England

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-11-17
Last: 2025-11-03

Officers (1 active · 0 resigned)

TESTER, Richard→
director · ~66y · appointed 2015-11-09
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active

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

Recent filings (29 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-11-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-09-04
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-12-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-07-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-01-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-06-15
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2023-06-13
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-12-12
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2022-08-31
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-07-19
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-12-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-08-11
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-11-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-08-04
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-11-29