JOHN GARDNER MOTOR ENGINEERS LTD.

💤Zombieactive
SC236333 · ltd · incorporated 2002-09-04
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 Sept 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
🔔
Follow this company (free)
Email alerts on filings, charges, director changes, gazette notices. No account needed.

Unsubscribe any time from any email. GDPR-respectful.

🔒Generate AI memo →🔒Outreach pack →🔒Corporate story →📑 Reports →Sign in to watch
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 45200
Sector: Wholesale & retail
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company with a 80-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 80). 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).

Data confidence

Overall: medium (75/100)

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
5 officers (1 active, 5 linked, 1 with DOB)
74
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
59 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
80/100Exceptional
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
90
Good data coverage for analysis.

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
£0£0£0£0£0£0Sept 2024Sept 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2025-09-302024-09-30

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
0
filings
Last 90 days
1
filing
  • • 1 accounts
Last 180 days
1
filing
  • • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (25 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-03-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-06-18
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-04-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  4. 2023-02-13
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  5. 2022-07-11
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  6. 2021-09-06
    📄
    termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM02
  7. 2021-08-06
    ➖
    GARDNER, Agnes resigned
    secretary
  8. 2021-06-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  9. 2020-06-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2019-06-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  11. 2018-05-16
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  12. 2016-12-11
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  13. 2016-03-01
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  14. 2015-09-07
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  15. 2015-02-04
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  16. 2014-09-04
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  17. 2002-09-04
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As JOHN GARDNER MOTOR ENGINEERS LTD.
  18. 2002-09-04
    ➕
    GARDNER, John appointed
    director
  19. 2002-09-04
    ➕
    GARDNER, Agnes appointed
    secretary
  20. 2002-09-04
    ➕
    COSEC LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  21. 2002-09-04
    ➖
    COSEC LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  22. 2002-09-04
    ➕
    CODIR LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-director
  23. 2002-09-04
    ➖
    CODIR LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-director
  24. 2002-09-04
    ➕
    COSEC LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-director
  25. 2002-09-04
    ➖
    COSEC LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-director

Owner dependency

100/100
Critical — business is the founder

The 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.
  • +Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "GARDNER" — strong identity link between founder and business.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 24 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 80 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

100/100
Likely off-market candidate

Strong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.

SIGNALS
  • primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 80 years old. Natural succession window is now.
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
  • primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 24 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 24 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

clean
No 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
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr John Gardner
Individual · British · DOB 01/1946 · age 80
25–50%
—25-50% shares01/08/2016

From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.

Similar companies

Active · Automotive · ML postcode area
CompanyEst. valueTurnoverNet worthStaffAgeOppDirector
COOPER BROS LTD.→
SC376259 · est 2010
£994.7k
£795.8k–£1.19M
——6316y8382y
BROWNSBURN GARAGE LIMITED→
SC242933 · est 2003
———60023y8358y
GOPAL MOTORS LIMITED→
SC132600 · est 1991
——£29.5k—34y8378y
J.M.T. MANUFACTURING LIMITED→
SC099682 · est 1986
———40039y8375y
A. GRAY & SONS LTD.→
SC239040 · est 2002
——£252.5k—23y8289y
AUTO-TEK LIMITED→
SC085669 · est 1983
———642y8278y
B & B COMMERCIALS LIMITED→
SC371046 · est 2010
———60016y8270y
CANDERRIGG SERVICES LIMITED→
SC063543 · est 1977
——£60.6k—48y8261y
GRANT MILLER VEHICLES LIMITED→
SC266620 · est 2004
——£382.7k—22y8272y
HAMILTON TRACTORS (CARNWATH) LIMITED→
SC349764 · est 2008
——£568.9k—17y8267y
PARKS OF HAMILTON LIMITED→
SC103161 · est 1987
————39y8277y
PETER VARDY HOLDINGS LIMITED→
SC319442 · est 2007 · no financials extracted
————19y8279y
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
Incorporated2002-09-04
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC45200 — SIC 45200

Registered office

10 Dunrobin Road
Airdrie
North Lanarkshire
ML6 8LP

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-06-30
Last made up to: 2025-09-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-09-18
Last: 2025-09-04

Officers (1 active · 4 resigned)

GARDNER, John→
director · ~80y · appointed 2002-09-04
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
GARDNER, Agnes→
secretary · appointed 2002-09-04 · resigned 2021-08-06
Resigned
COSEC LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2002-09-04 · resigned 2002-09-04
Resigned
CODIR LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2002-09-04 · resigned 2002-09-04
Resigned
COSEC LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2002-09-04 · resigned 2002-09-04
Resigned

Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.

Recent filings (59 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2026-03-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-09-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2025-06-18
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-09-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2024-04-17
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-09-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2023-02-13
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-09-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-07-11
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-09-06
termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM02
2021-09-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2021-06-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-09-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-06-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-09-04