AMEAUTO LTD
💤Zombieactive
10335951 · ltd · incorporated 2016-08-18
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 Mar 2025
Net worth
£-951.9k
book net assets
Opportunity
78/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 45310
Sector: Wholesale & retail
Investor take
Pass (distressed without resilience)Distressed active trading company — structural issues outweigh the discount.
Opportunity 78/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. 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: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
2 live charges · 2 lenders · oldest 9.4y
30/100
under pressure
Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.
- · Oldest live charge is 9.4 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Two lenders — manageable, but coordination required.
- · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.
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
2 charges (2/2 with lender, 2/2 with type)
90
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
31 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
65
Adequate — check latest filings for context.
Acquirability
70
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
100
Good data coverage for analysis.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declaredNegative net assets
Liabilities exceed assets by £951,900
Cash YoY
+244%
Year on year
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
£69k
↑ 244% YoY
Net Worth
-£952k
↑ 11% YoY
Current Assets
£1.2m
↑ 82% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2025-03-31 | 2024-03-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £-945.4k | £-1.05M |
| Current assets | £1.21M | £664.0k |
| Cash | £69.0k | £20.1k |
| Debtors | £809.8k | £292.9k |
| Net assets | £-951.9k | £-1.06M |
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
🔒Filing-note intelligence
2 signals 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
0
filings
Last 90 days
0
filings
Last 180 days
0
filings
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (21 events)Click to expand
- 2025-07-02📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2025-04-18📄mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-datemortgage · MR01
- 2025-04-15🔒Charge registered #2Lender: The Trustees of Sancorp Pension Scheme (Harjot Bhogal, Satnam Bhogal and Dcd Trustees Limited)
- 2025-03-08📄gazette-filings-brought-up-to-dategazette · DISS40
- 2025-03-07📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2025-03-04📄gazette-notice-compulsorygazette · GAZ1
- 2024-09-06📄change-account-reference-date-company-previous-extendedaccounts · AA01
- 2023-12-21📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-11-29📄gazette-filings-brought-up-to-dategazette · DISS40
- 2023-11-28📄gazette-notice-compulsorygazette · GAZ1
- 2023-09-28📄change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortenedaccounts · AA01
- 2022-11-23📄gazette-filings-brought-up-to-dategazette · DISS40
- 2022-11-22📄gazette-notice-compulsorygazette · GAZ1
- 2022-01-18📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-12-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-10-09📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-06-24📄resolutionresolution · RESOLUTIONS
- 2019-04-11📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-01-18🔒Charge registered #1Lender: Lloyds Bank Commercial Finance Limited
- 2016-08-18🏢Company incorporatedAs AMEAUTO LTD
- 2016-08-18➕SMITH, David John appointeddirector
Owner dependency
88/100
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
- +Sole director: Only one active director — all governance concentrated on one person.
- +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 61 — approaching natural succession window.
- +No director turnover: Company is 10 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.
Succession & seller-readiness
55/100
Strong succession signalMultiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.
SIGNALS
- secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 61. Early succession window.
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
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 · dominant holder ≥75%| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr David John Smith Individual · British · DOB 08/1965 · age 61 | 75–100% | 75–100% | board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control | 18/08/2016 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A MEW CAR TRANSPORTATION AND SERVICING LIMITED→ 09957480 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 10y | — | — |
| ADAA AUTO LIMITED→ 16677238 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| AGS AUTOMOTIVE LTD→ 17001756 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| AJB HISTORIC LIMITED→ 15993913 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| ALISONCARSALES LIMITED→ 16806286 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ALL C&J LTD→ 15581020 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| ALPHA COMMERCIALS LIMITED→ 04030295 · est 2000 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 25y | — | — |
| AMA GROUP SOLUTIONS LTD→ 13655488 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| AMETHYST AUTOS LIMITED→ 16337374 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| AMF AUTOMOTIVE LTD→ 11578972 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| ANNINGS MOTORS LIMITED→ 13384387 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| ANSELLS SERVICE CENTRE LTD.→ 10913126 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2016-08-18
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC45310 — SIC 45310
Registered office
Atlantic House
8 Bell Lane
Uckfield
East Sussex
TN22 1QL
England
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-09-19
Last: 2025-09-05
Officers (1 active · 0 resigned)
SMITH, David John→
Activedirector · ~61y · appointed 2016-08-18
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
2
Total charges
2
Outstanding
2
Active lenders
Status:Lender:2 of 2 shown
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| outstanding | The Trustees of Sancorp Pension Scheme (Harjot Bhogal, Satnam Bhogal and Dcd Trustees ) The Trustees of Sancorp Pension Scheme (Harjot Bhogal, Satnam Bhogal and Dcd Trustees Limited) | A registered charge | — | 15/04/2025 | — | |
| outstanding | Lloyds Banking Group Lloyds Bank Commercial Finance Limited | A registered charge | — | 18/01/2017 | — |
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.
Recent filings (31 total)
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-10-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-07-02
mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
mortgage · MR01
2025-04-18
gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
gazette · DISS40
2025-03-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-03-07
gazette-notice-compulsory
gazette · GAZ1
2025-03-04
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-09-19
change-account-reference-date-company-previous-extended
accounts · AA01
2024-09-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-12-21
gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
gazette · DISS40
2023-11-29
gazette-notice-compulsory
gazette · GAZ1
2023-11-28
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-11-22
change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortened
accounts · AA01
2023-09-28
gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
gazette · DISS40
2022-11-23
gazette-notice-compulsory
gazette · GAZ1
2022-11-22