KIRKHILL AUTO SERVICES LTD.
💤Zombieactive
SC170280 · ltd · incorporated 1996-11-29
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 Nov 2024
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 45200
Sector: Wholesale & retail
Investor take
PursueActive trading company with a 65-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 85/100. Strong seller-intent signal (93/100, director aged 65). 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 25.4y
45/100
under pressure
Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.
- · Oldest live charge is 25.4 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
- · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.
Data confidence
Overall: medium (79/100)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
7 officers (1 active, 7 linked, 3 with DOB)
79
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
3 connected companies via shared directors
54
Filing history
85 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.
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 | 2024-11-30 | 2023-11-30 |
|---|
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
2
filings
- • 2 mortgage
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (34 events)Click to expand
- 2025-12-22📄mortgage-satisfy-charge-fullmortgage · MR04
- 2025-12-22🔓Charge satisfied #1
- 2025-11-25📄mortgage-satisfy-charge-fullmortgage · MR04
- 2025-11-25🔓Charge satisfied #2
- 2025-08-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-08-01📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-08-24📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-11-24📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-03-22📄capital-allotment-sharescapital · SH01
- 2022-02-21📄memorandum-articlesincorporation · MA
- 2022-02-21📄resolutionresolution · RESOLUTIONS
- 2021-09-08📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-03-13📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-07-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-11-12📍change-sail-address-company-with-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD02
- 2018-08-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-09-04📄capital-cancellation-sharescapital · SH06
- 2017-09-04📄capital-return-purchase-own-sharescapital · SH03
- 2014-12-05➖BOTHWELL, Robert William resignedsecretary
- 2014-09-26➖HENDERSON, Lorna resignedsecretary
- 2006-02-01➕HENDERSON, Lorna appointedsecretary
- 2005-11-02🔒Charge registered #2Lender: The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
- 2002-11-20➕BOTHWELL, Robert William appointedsecretary
- 2002-10-25➖HENDERSON, Lorna Conn resignedsecretary
- 2000-11-17🔒Charge registered #1Lender: The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
- 1996-12-02➕WHEELER, John Leslie appointeddirector
- 1996-12-02➕HENDERSON, Lorna Conn appointedsecretary
- 1996-11-29🏢Company incorporatedAs KIRKHILL AUTO SERVICES LTD.
- 1996-11-29➕FOOT, Leigh appointednominee-secretary
- 1996-11-29➖FOOT, Leigh resignednominee-secretary
- 1996-11-29➕MCINTOSH, Susan appointednominee-director
- 1996-11-29➖MCINTOSH, Susan resignednominee-director
- 1996-11-29➕TRAINER, Peter appointednominee-director
- 1996-11-29➖TRAINER, Peter resignednominee-director
Owner dependency
100/100
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 29 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 65 — succession pressure is live.
Succession & seller-readiness
95/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 65. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
- primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 29 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 29 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 John Leslie Wheeler Individual · British · DOB 06/1961 · age 65 | 75–100% | — | 75-100% shares | 06/04/2016 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
🔒Co-director network graph
Radial SVG graph showing every company connected via shared directors, colour-coded by status.
Available from the Pro tier upwards.
See pricing →Similar companies
Active · Automotive · AB postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NEIL R PHILIP LTD→ SC331944 · est 2007 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 18y | — | — |
| NORTH EAST CUSTOM COATINGS LIMITED→ SC738283 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| PETERHEAD MOTORS LIMITED→ SC113777 · est 1988 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 37y | — | — |
| PITSTOP (ABERDEEN) LIMITED→ SC279770 · est 2005 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 21y | — | — |
| PRECISION AUTOGLASS ABERDEEN LIMITED→ SC879984 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| PREMNAY GARAGE LIMITED→ SC553025 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| RJ AUTOTECH LTD→ SC884099 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| RJRM ENGINEERING LTD→ SC833016 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| ROBIX CAR SERVICES & RECOVERY LTD→ SC882029 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ROSEBANK GARAGE LTD→ SC838355 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| RUXTON'S GARAGE LIMITED→ SC240213 · est 2002 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 23y | — | — |
| RWRMOTORS LTD→ SC694869 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
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
Incorporated1996-11-29
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC45200 — SIC 45200
Registered office
17 Kirkhill Place
Kirkhill Industrial Estate
Dyce
Aberdeen
AB21 0GU
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-08-31
Last made up to: 2024-11-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-11-07
Last: 2025-10-24
Officers (1 active · 6 resigned)
WHEELER, John Leslie→
Activedirector · ~65y · appointed 1996-12-02
View their other companies + combined net worth →
BOTHWELL, Robert William→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 2002-11-20 · resigned 2014-12-05
FOOT, Leigh→
Resignednominee-secretary · appointed 1996-11-29 · resigned 1996-11-29
HENDERSON, Lorna→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 2006-02-01 · resigned 2014-09-26
HENDERSON, Lorna Conn→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 1996-12-02 · resigned 2002-10-25
MCINTOSH, Susan→
Resignednominee-director · ~56y · appointed 1996-11-29 · resigned 1996-11-29
TRAINER, Peter→
Resignednominee-director · ~74y · appointed 1996-11-29 · resigned 1996-11-29
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
2
Total charges
0
Outstanding
0
Active lenders
Status:Lender:2 of 2 shown
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| satisfied | Lloyds Banking Group The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC | Bond & floating charge | 1 property | 02/11/2005 | 25/11/2025 | |
| satisfied | Lloyds Banking Group The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC | Standard security | 1 property | 17/11/2000 | 22/12/2025 |
Recent filings (85 total)
mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
mortgage · MR04
2025-12-22
mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
mortgage · MR04
2025-11-25
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-10-30
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-08-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-10-24
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-08-01
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-11-24
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-08-24
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-11-25
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-11-24
capital-allotment-shares
capital · SH01
2022-03-22
memorandum-articles
incorporation · MA
2022-02-21
resolution
resolution · RESOLUTIONS
2022-02-21
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-11-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-09-08