AUTOMOTIVE ENGINEERING (NORTHANTS) LIMITED
🌳Matureactive
10288303 · ltd · incorporated 2016-07-20
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.
Opportunity decay
hardening · 12-months
Already tight — no obvious softening catalysts on the horizon.
- · Thesis: well-run, low negotiation leverage
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Aug 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
78/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 45200
Sector: Wholesale & retail
Investor take
PursueActive 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. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).
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
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
26 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.
Key financials
2 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 | 2025-08-31 | 2024-08-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | — | £10.0k |
| Current assets | — | £19.0k |
| Net assets | — | £5.7k |
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 confirmation-statement
Last 90 days
2
filings
- • 1 confirmation-statement
- • 1 accounts
Last 180 days
2
filings
- • 1 confirmation-statement
- • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (18 events)Click to expand
- 2026-05-12📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2025-04-03📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-05-03📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-03-24📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-03-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-05-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2020-02-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2019-02-15📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2018-03-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2017-08-01📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2017-08-01📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2017-08-01📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2017-08-01📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2017-08-01📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2017-01-17📄change-account-reference-date-company-current-extendedaccounts · AA01
- 2016-07-20🏢Company incorporatedAs AUTOMOTIVE ENGINEERING (NORTHANTS) LIMITED
- 2016-07-20➕BENNETT, Nigel appointeddirector
- 2016-07-20➕BENNETT, Sally appointeddirector
Owner dependency
86/100
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
- +Two-director setup: Only two active directors — typical of owner-managed SMEs but limits succession.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 66 — succession pressure is live.
- +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.
- +No director turnover: Company is 10 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.
Succession & seller-readiness
61/100
Strong succession signalMultiple 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.
- 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 Nigel Bennett Individual · British · DOB 07/1960 · age 66 | 25–50% | 25–50% | 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting | 20/07/2016 |
Mrs Sally Bennett Individual · British · DOB 11/1965 · age 61 | 25–50% | 25–50% | 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting | 20/07/2016 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Similar companies
Active · Automotive · NN postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A P CUSTOMS LTD→ 12271825 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| ANSSEMS TRAILERS UK LIMITED→ 13207627 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| AP TRANSMISSIONS LTD→ 12676184 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| AUTO DIRECT SERVICES (CORBY) LIMITED→ 06359354 · est 2007 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 18y | — | — |
| AUTODG LTD→ 16392615 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| AUTOHOME CORPORATE LTD→ 08362508 · est 2013 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 13y | — | — |
| AUTOMATE NORTHAMPTON LTD→ 16596200 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| AUTOMOTIVE SOLUTIONS CORBY LTD→ 12385456 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| AUTOMOTO CLASSICS LTD→ 10346507 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| AUTOPLUS NORTHAMPTON LIMITED→ 07934180 · est 2012 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 14y | — | — |
| AUTOPLUSTYRES LTD→ 12095421 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| AUTOPOINT (NORTHAMPTON) LIMITED→ 04945056 · est 2003 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 22y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2016-07-20
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC45200 — SIC 45200
Registered office
101 Bunting Road
Northampton
Northamptonshire
NN2 6EE
England
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-05-31
Last made up to: 2025-08-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-08-02
Last: 2026-07-19
Officers (2 active · 0 resigned)
BENNETT, Nigel→
Activedirector · ~66y · appointed 2016-07-20
View their other companies + combined net worth →
BENNETT, Sally→
Activedirector · ~61y · appointed 2016-07-20
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (26 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-07-22
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2026-05-12
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-07-28
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-04-03
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-07-26
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-05-03
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-08-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-03-24
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-07-27
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-03-30
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-07-28
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-05-25
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-08-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-02-26
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-07-31