AUTOPARTS OF THURSO

💤Zombieactive
SC509909 · private-unlimited · incorporated 2015-07-02
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.
Why now
Window steady · low confidence
Steady and stalled — no momentum either way. Needs an approach trigger.
What changed my view
Last 30 days

No material changes in the last 30 days.

Last 90 days

No snapshot from 90 days ago — start tracking from today.

Last 180 days

No snapshot from 180 days ago — start tracking from today.

🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
not disclosed
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
75/100
Strong
🔔
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What this business does
Primary activity: Retail trade of motor vehicle parts and accessories
Sector: Wholesale & retail
Investor take
Pursue
Strong opportunity: active trading company with strong profile and bankable structure.

Opportunity 75/100 (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 (58/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

2 live charges · oldest 10.9y

45/100
under pressure

Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.

  • · Oldest live charge is 10.9 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
  • · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.

Data confidence

Overall: medium (56/100)

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
No iXBRL financials extracted
0
Lenders & charges
2 charges (2/2 with lender, 2/2 with type)
90
Directors & officers
2 officers (1 active, 2 linked, 2 with DOB)
90
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
21 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
75/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

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

Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
55
Some acquirability indicators.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
100
Good data coverage for analysis.

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 (17 events)Click to expand
  1. 2023-07-10
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  2. 2023-07-10
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  3. 2022-08-05
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  4. 2022-05-24
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  5. 2022-05-15
    ➖
    GUNN, Graham resigned
    director
  6. 2017-08-22
    📄
    mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
    mortgage · MR01
  7. 2017-08-09
    🔒
    Charge registered #2
    Lender: The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
  8. 2015-08-17
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  9. 2015-07-24
    📄
    mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
    mortgage · MR01
  10. 2015-07-23
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
  11. 2015-07-16
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  12. 2015-07-16
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  13. 2015-07-15
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  14. 2015-07-03
    ➕
    GUNN, Graham appointed
    director
  15. 2015-07-02
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As AUTOPARTS OF THURSO
  16. 2015-07-02
    ➕
    GUNN, Angela appointed
    director
  17. 2015-07-02
    📄
    incorporation-company
    incorporation · NEWINC

Owner dependency

75/100
High — earn-out structure required

Material founder dependency. Consider a 2-3 year earn-out and build in a handover plan before completion.

FACTORS
  • +Sole director: Only one active director — all governance concentrated on one person.

Succession & seller-readiness

50/100
Moderate signal

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

SIGNALS
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
  • 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
Mrs Angela Gunn
Individual · British · DOB 03/1969 · age 57
25–50%
25–50%25-50% shares · 25-50% voting06/04/2016
1 historic (ceased) PSC
  • Mr Graham Gunnceased 15/05/2022· 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting

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

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——£940.2k—25y7751y
MEIKLEJOHNS MOT CENTRE LIMITED→
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——£10—8y7664y
HILLHEAD GARAGE LTD→
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Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions

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 →
🔒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.

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Company details

Statusactive
Typeprivate-unlimited
Incorporated2015-07-02
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC45320 — Retail trade of motor vehicle parts and accessories

Registered office

19b Neil Gunn Drive
Ormlie Industrial Estate
Thurso
Caithness
KW14 7QU
Scotland

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: —
Last made up to: —
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-07-16
Last: 2025-07-02

Officers (1 active · 1 resigned)

GUNN, Angela→
director · ~57y · appointed 2015-07-02
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
GUNN, Graham→
director · ~59y · appointed 2015-07-03 · resigned 2022-05-15
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

2
Total charges
2
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:2 of 2 shown
TypeProperties
outstanding
Lloyds Banking Group
The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
A registered charge1 property09/08/2017—
outstanding
Lloyds Banking Group
The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
A registered charge—23/07/2015—
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (21 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-07-17
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-07-18
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-08-03
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2023-07-10
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2023-07-10
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-08-05
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2022-08-05
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2022-05-24
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-08-04
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-07-06
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-07-08
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2018-07-04
mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
mortgage · MR01
2017-08-22
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2017-07-16
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2016-07-22