ALTO A1 LIMITED
A small, active road freight operator based in Lancaster, likely running lorries or vans to move goods for clients across the UK, with recent director and ownership changes suggesting the business may be in a period of restructuring or transition.
Opportunity 78/100 (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: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).
Refinance opportunity
2 live charges · oldest 3.1y
Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.
- · Charge age ~3.1 years — mid-life; refi window approaching.
- · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
- · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.
Data confidence
Overall: high (83/100)Strong data coverage across all sections. AI outputs should be trusted with minimal caveats.
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsHover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102| Metric | 2025-02-28 | 2024-02-29 |
|---|---|---|
| Average employees | 100 | 200 |
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
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
- • 1 confirmation-statement
- • 1 confirmation-statement
- • 1 accounts
Corporate timeline (27 events)Click to expand
- 2025-11-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2025-10-01📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2025-10-01📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2025-10-01📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2025-09-24📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2025-08-26📄resolutionresolution · RESOLUTIONS
- 2025-08-26📄capital-name-of-class-of-sharescapital · SH08
- 2025-08-26📄memorandum-articlesincorporation · MA
- 2025-08-26📄capital-alter-shares-subdivisioncapital · SH02
- 2025-08-26📄capital-variation-of-rights-attached-to-sharescapital · SH10
- 2024-11-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-02-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2024-01-09📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2024-01-09📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2024-01-09📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2023-12-13➖GRAYSTON, James Richard resigneddirector
- 2023-12-13📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2023-11-30📄change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortenedaccounts · AA01
- 2023-04-05📄mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-datemortgage · MR01
- 2023-04-05📄mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-datemortgage · MR01
- 2023-04-04🔒Charge registered #2Lender: Cynergy Business Finance Limited
- 2023-04-04🔒Charge registered #1Lender: Cynergy Business Finance Limited
- 2022-11-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2022-10-11✏️certificate-change-of-name-companychange-of-name · CERTNM
- 2022-06-29➕GRAYSTON, James Richard appointeddirector
- 2020-02-26🏢Company incorporatedAs ALTO A1 LIMITED
- 2020-02-26➕GRAYSTON, Andrew John appointeddirector
Owner dependency
The business appears inseparable from the founder. Acquisition without a serious earn-out or meaningful transition period would likely destroy value.
- +Sole director: Only one active director — all governance concentrated on one person.
- +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 61 — approaching natural succession window.
Succession & seller-readiness
Multiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.
- 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
cleanShareholders & ownership
1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Andrew John Grayston Individual · British · DOB 08/1965 · age 61 | 75–100% | 75–100% | board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control | 26/02/2020 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Radial SVG graph showing every company connected via shared directors, colour-coded by status.
Available from the Pro tier upwards.
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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 →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
Registered office
Filing status
Officers (1 active · 1 resigned)
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| outstanding | Cynergy Business Finance Cynergy Business Finance Limited | A registered charge | 6 properties | 04/04/2023 | — | |
| outstanding | Cynergy Business Finance Cynergy Business Finance Limited | A registered charge | 6 properties | 04/04/2023 | — |