AUTOMOTIVE CARDIFF LTD
💤Zombieactive
10200110 · ltd · incorporated 2016-05-26
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
£-13.4k
book net assets
Opportunity
75/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 45200
Sector: Wholesale & retail
Investor take
Pass (distressed without resilience)Distressed active trading company — structural issues outweigh the discount.
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. 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: distressed disposal / insolvency (65/100).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
1 live charge · oldest 3.3y
35/100
under pressure
Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.
- · Charge age ~3.3 years — mid-life; refi window approaching.
- · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
- · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.
Data confidence
Overall: medium (71/100)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
1 year of iXBRL accounts extracted (no YoY comparison) + narrative notes parsed
50
Lenders & charges
1 charges (1/1 with lender, 1/1 with type)
90
Directors & officers
2 officers (1 active, 2 linked, 2 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
27 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.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 105 (micro)Negative net assets
Liabilities exceed assets by £13,448
Key financials
1 year extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
-£13k
Current Assets
£75k
Current Liabilities
—
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 105 (micro)| Metric | 2025-05-31 |
|---|---|
| Total assets | £6.3k |
| Current assets | £75.1k |
| Net assets | £-13.4k |
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
4
filings
- • 1 accounts
- • 1 confirmation-statement
- • 1 officers
Last 180 days
5
filings
- • 2 accounts
- • 1 confirmation-statement
- • 1 officers
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (20 events)Click to expand
- 2026-07-03📄accounts-amended-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AAMD
- 2026-04-24➖DUDLEY, Susan Lesley resigneddirector
- 2026-04-24📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2026-04-24📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2026-02-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2025-02-20📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-02-20📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-04-12📄mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-datemortgage · MR01
- 2023-04-05🔒Charge registered #1Lender: Dbw Investments (10) Limited
- 2023-02-15📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-11-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-02-17📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2020-01-08📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-01-10📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-05-10📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2018-04-24📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2017-12-18📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2016-05-26🏢Company incorporatedAs AUTOMOTIVE CARDIFF LTD
- 2016-05-26➕DUDLEY, James Christopher appointeddirector
- 2016-05-26➕DUDLEY, Susan Lesley appointeddirector
Owner dependency
75/100
High — earn-out structure requiredMaterial founder dependency. Consider a 2-3 year earn-out and build in a handover plan before completion.
FACTORS
- +Sole director: Only one active director — all governance concentrated on one person.
Succession & seller-readiness
50/100
Moderate signalSome succession indicators present. Worth watching; approach if sector/strategy fits.
SIGNALS
- 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
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| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr James Christopher Dudley Individual · British · DOB 03/1983 · age 43 | — | — | sig. influencesignificant influence | 25/05/2017 |
1 historic (ceased) PSC
- Mrs Susan Lesley Dudleyceased 24/04/2026· significant influence
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Similar companies
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AUSTIN ROVER CARS LTD→ 15846616 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| AUSTIN ROVER MOTORSPORT LTD→ 15845946 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| AUTO-PARTS (SOUTH WALES) LIMITED→ 00829529 · est 1964 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 61y | — | — |
| AUTOBARN BARRY LTD→ 16358883 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| AUTOEXPORTUK LTD→ 16562507 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| AUTOHUB DIRECT LTD→ 16753760 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| AUTOLEC CCTV LIMITED→ 11884831 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| AUTOMASTER (SOUTH WALES) LIMITED→ 04630742 · est 2003 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 23y | — | — |
| AUTOMATES LIMITED→ 16501154 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| AUTOPARTS CAR LTD→ 15342098 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| AUTOPRO CAR SALES LTD→ 07591578 · est 2011 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 15y | — | — |
| AUTOSPRAY CARDIFF LTD→ 08054981 · est 2012 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 13y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2016-05-26
Jurisdictionwales
Primary SIC45200 — SIC 45200
Registered office
Connies House, Suite 31
Rhymney River Bridge Road
Cardiff
CF23 9AF
Wales
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-02-28
Last made up to: 2025-05-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-05-18
Last: 2026-05-04
Officers (1 active · 1 resigned)
DUDLEY, James Christopher→
Activedirector · ~43y · appointed 2016-05-26
View their other companies + combined net worth →
DUDLEY, Susan Lesley→
Resigneddirector · ~78y · appointed 2016-05-26 · resigned 2026-04-24
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 | Dbw Investments (10) Dbw Investments (10) Limited | A registered charge | 2 properties | 05/04/2023 | — |
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.
Recent filings (27 total)
accounts-amended-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AAMD
2026-07-03
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-05-26
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2026-04-24
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2026-04-24
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2026-02-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-05-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-02-20
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-06-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-02-20
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-05-19
mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
mortgage · MR01
2023-04-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-02-15
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-05-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-11-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-06-01