KEVIN THORNHILL MOTOR ENGINEER LTD

🌳Matureactive

SC498285 · ltd · incorporated 2015-02-19

Investment thesis

Well-run mature business — low negotiation leverage; premium likely.

Why interesting: Textbook target; clean filings, stable trading.

Why risky: No pressure on seller; any deal likely at full price.

Opportunity decay

hardening · 12-months

Already tight — no obvious softening catalysts on the horizon.

· Thesis: well-run, low negotiation leverage

🔒Estimated value

—

Upgrade to see

Turnover

—

year to Mar 2025

Net worth

—

book net assets

Opportunity

78/100

Strong

🔒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

Strong opportunity: active trading company with strong profile and bankable structure.

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. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).

Data confidence

Overall: medium (76/100)

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

Lenders & charges

Confirmed no charges registered

Directors & officers

3 officers (3 active, 3 linked, 2 with DOB)

Ownership & PSC

2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared

Director network

Network not yet resolved

Filing history

22 filings on record

Gazette notices

No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)

Opportunity Score

78/100Strong

PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional

Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.

Business quality

Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.

Acquirability

Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.

Risk profile

Few red flags.

Signal strength

Good data coverage for analysis.

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts

Cash

—

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	2025-03-31	2024-03-31
Average employees	600	500

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

filings

Last 90 days

filings

Last 180 days

filing

• 1 accounts

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (17 events)Click to expand

2025-12-15
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-12-16
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-12-21
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-01-11
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-12-21
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-10-13
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-08-15
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2018-10-02
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2017-09-12
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2016-11-08
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2016-09-21
📄
change-account-reference-date-company-previous-extended
accounts · AA01
2016-03-18
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2015-02-19
🏢
Company incorporated
As KEVIN THORNHILL MOTOR ENGINEER LTD
2015-02-19
➕
THORNHILL, Zoe Ann appointed
secretary
2015-02-19
➕
THORNHILL, Kevin Arron appointed
director
2015-02-19
➕
THORNHILL, Zoe Ann appointed
director
2015-02-19
📄
incorporation-company
incorporation · NEWINC

Owner dependency

89/100

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

+Two-director setup: Only two active directors — typical of owner-managed SMEs but limits succession.
+Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "THORNHILL" — strong identity link between founder and business.
+Senior director age: Director aged approximately 58 — approaching natural succession window.
+Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.

Succession & seller-readiness

51/100

Moderate signal

Some succession indicators present. Worth watching; approach if sector/strategy fits.

SIGNALS

secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 58. Early succession window.
secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
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

2 active beneficial owners

Name	Shares	Voting rights	Nature of control	Notified
Mrs Zoe Ann Thornhill Individual · British · DOB 02/1968 · age 58	25–50%	25–50%	board controlsig. influence25-50% shares · 25-50% voting · board control · significant influence · trust interest · firm interest	01/06/2016
Mr Kevin Arron Thornhill Individual · British · DOB 11/1970 · age 56	25–50%	25–50%	board controlsig. influence25-50% shares · 25-50% voting · board control · significant influence · trust interest · firm interest	01/06/2016

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

Similar companies

Active · Automotive · DG postcode area

Company	Est. value	Turnover	Net worth	Staff	Age	Opp	Director
EUROROUTE LIMITED→ SC110658 · est 1988	£4.11M £3.29M–£4.93M	£11.78M	—	6500	38y	83	78y
ARMSTRONG TRUCKS LIMITED→ SC302512 · est 2006 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	19y	82	70y
CAR AND TRUCK SERVICES LIMITED→ SC185954 · est 1998	—	—	£160.8k	—	27y	82	77y
HUNTINGDON GARAGE LIMITED→ SC279130 · est 2005	—	—	—	3	21y	82	62y
ARDWELL MARINE LIMITED→ SC253417 · est 2003	—	—	—	—	22y	80	72y
BRIDGE END GARAGE (DUMFRIES) LIMITED→ SC237808 · est 2002	—	—	£266.2k	—	23y	80	66y
DUMFRIES HYDRAULIC SERVICES LIMITED→ SC351503 · est 2008	—	—	—	100	17y	80	77y
G.&T.MOFFAT & CO.LIMITED→ SC060874 · est 1976	—	—	£509.3k	—	49y	80	76y
L & P MOTORS EASTRIGGS LIMITED→ SC323608 · est 2007	—	—	£172.7k	—	18y	80	59y
HAMILTON MOTOR ENGINEERING LTD→ SC464664 · est 2013	—	—	—	1000	12y	78	74y
OTB AUTOMOTIVE LIMITED→ SC669460 · est 2020 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	5y	—	—
RELIABLE AUTOMOTIVE LTD→ 14541236 · est 2022 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	3y	—	—

Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →

🔒Tailored diligence questions

6 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

Incorporated2015-02-19

Jurisdictionscotland

Primary SIC45200 — SIC 45200

Registered office

Unit 3 Biggars Mill Business Park

Port Road

Dalbeattie

DG5 4AZ

United Kingdom

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: 2026-12-31

Last made up to: 2025-03-31

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2026-05-06

Last: 2025-04-22

Officers (3 active · 0 resigned)

THORNHILL, Zoe Ann→

secretary · appointed 2015-02-19

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

THORNHILL, Kevin Arron→

director · ~56y · appointed 2015-02-19

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

THORNHILL, Zoe Ann→

director · ~58y · appointed 2015-02-19

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

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