HAZELBANK MOTORS LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
SC055569 · ltd · incorporated 1974-05-01
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 Dec 2024
Net worth
£517.8k
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 45112
Sector: Wholesale & retail
Investor take
PursueStrong opportunity: active trading company with exceptional profile and bankable structure.
Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 58). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Discharge stale live charges. 3 live charge(s) created 15+ years ago — likely paid but undischarged. Clean register. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
5 live charges · 2 lenders · oldest 39.2y
30/100
under pressure
Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.
- · Oldest live charge is 39.2 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Two lenders — manageable, but coordination required.
- · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.
Data confidence
Overall: medium (77/100)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
5 charges (5/5 with lender, 5/5 with type)
90
Directors & officers
5 officers (2 active, 5 linked, 3 with DOB)
82
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
110 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
82/100Exceptional
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Strong composite across quality, acquirability, and risk. High-priority target — progress to serious diligence.
Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
80
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 · FRS 102Positive net assets
Net assets £517,798
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
£2k
Net Worth
£518k
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102| Metric | 2024-12-31 | 2023-12-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £747.5k | — |
| Cash | £1.8k | — |
| Net assets | £517.8k | — |
| Average employees | — | 300 |
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 (28 events)Click to expand
- 2025-08-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-08-12📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-06-14📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-06-20📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-10-01📄mortgage-satisfy-charge-fullmortgage · MR04
- 2021-10-01📄mortgage-satisfy-charge-fullmortgage · MR04
- 2021-10-01🔓Charge satisfied #6
- 2021-10-01🔓Charge satisfied #2
- 2021-07-02📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-08-14📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-03-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-08-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-08-16📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2016-08-24📄appoint-person-secretary-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP03
- 2016-08-24📄termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM02
- 2016-08-24📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2016-07-31➕COATES, Iain Edward appointedsecretary
- 2016-07-31➖COATES, Seonaid Patience resignedsecretary
- 2016-07-31➖COATES, Seonaid Patience resigneddirector
- 2016-06-03📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2003-11-20➖COATES, Derek Franklin resigneddirector
- 2000-04-21🔒Charge registered #6Lender: Fiat Auto Financial Services Limited
- 1992-10-29🔒Charge registered #4Lender: The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
- 1989-12-21🔒Charge registered #3Lender: The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
- 1989-06-01➕COATES, Iain Edward appointeddirector
- 1987-02-23🔒Charge registered #2Lender: The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
- 1987-02-13🔒Charge registered #1Lender: The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
- 1974-05-01🏢Company incorporatedAs HAZELBANK MOTORS LIMITED
Owner dependency
93/100
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.
- +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 37 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 58 — approaching natural succession window.
Succession & seller-readiness
85/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 58. Early succession window.
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
- primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 37 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 52 years old and no new directors in the last 3 years — succession not yet being planned internally.
- 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 · dominant holder ≥75%| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Iain Edward Coates Individual · British · DOB 09/1968 · age 58 | 75–100% | 75–100% | board controlsig. influence75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control · significant influence | 31/08/2016 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Similar companies
Active · Automotive · PA postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GT AUTOMOTIVE PAISLEY LIMITED→ SC396986 · est 2011 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 15y | — | — |
| JOHN STEWART AUTO REPAIRS LIMITED→ SC544414 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| KENNETH BROWN (MOTOR ENGINEERING) LIMITED→ SC100078 · est 1986 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 39y | — | — |
| L.S.C. FLEET MAINTENANCE LTD→ SC751112 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| L4 TINTS LTD→ SC718718 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| LOVE STREET COACHWORKS LTD→ SC815985 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| MEGA AUTO REPAIR LTD→ SC830390 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| MERPARTS LTD.→ SC339982 · est 2008 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 18y | — | — |
| MUNRO'S OF OBAN LIMITED→ SC274027 · est 2004 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 21y | — | — |
| NJK HYGIENE EXPERTS LTD→ SC852787 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| NORMAN STUART AUTO SERVICES LIMITED→ SC335102 · est 2007 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 18y | — | — |
| NORTHERN COMMERCIALS (SCOTLAND) LTD→ SC259506 · est 2003 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 22y | — | — |
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.
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
Incorporated1974-05-01
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC45112 — SIC 45112
Registered office
Hazelbank Motors
Lynn Road
Oban
Argyll
PA34 4PL
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last made up to: 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-09-15
Last: 2025-09-01
Officers (2 active · 3 resigned)
COATES, Iain Edward→
Activesecretary · appointed 2016-07-31
View their other companies + combined net worth →
COATES, Iain Edward→
Activedirector · ~58y · appointed 1989-06-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
COATES, Seonaid Patience→
Resignedsecretary · resigned 2016-07-31
COATES, Derek Franklin→
Resigneddirector · ~85y · resigned 2003-11-20
COATES, Seonaid Patience→
Resigneddirector · ~85y · resigned 2016-07-31
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
5
Total charges
3
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:5 of 5 shown
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| satisfied | Fiat Auto Financial Services Fiat Auto Financial Services Limited | Standard security | 1 property | 21/04/2000 | 01/10/2021 | |
| outstanding | Lloyds Banking Group The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC | Standard security | 1 property | 29/10/1992 | — | |
| outstanding | Lloyds Banking Group The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC | Standard security | 1 property | 21/12/1989 | — | |
| satisfied | Lloyds Banking Group The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC | Standard security | 1 property | 23/02/1987 | 01/10/2021 | |
| outstanding | Lloyds Banking Group The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC | Bond & floating charge | 1 property | 13/02/1987 | — |
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.
Recent filings (110 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-09-01
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-08-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-09-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-08-12
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-09-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-06-14
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-09-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-06-20
mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
mortgage · MR04
2021-10-01
mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
mortgage · MR04
2021-10-01
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-09-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-07-02
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-09-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-08-14
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-09-02