JAPAN AUTO PARTS DIRECT LIMITED

💤Zombieactive

SC768847 · ltd · incorporated 2023-05-10

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 · high confidence

Thesis has shifted recently — watch for confirmation.

· Lifecycle stage: early → zombie
· Investment thesis: growth_story → zombie_hold
· Filings: 5 → 6

Opportunity decay

drifting distress · 6-months

Drifting toward distress — expect more negotiability in 3–6 months, but also more friction.

· Lifecycle stage drifting downward
· Currently "zombie"

What changed my view

Last 30 days

Mixed signals in the last 30 days — 1 improved, 1 worsened.

↓Lifecycle stage: early → zombie
·Investment thesis: growth_story → zombie_hold
↑Filings: 5 → 6

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

—

year to May 2025

Net worth

—

book net assets

Opportunity

71/100

Strong

🔒Generate AI memo →🔒Outreach pack →🔒Corporate story →📑 Reports →Sign in to watch

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 acceptable with review structure.

Opportunity 71/100 (strong), bankability 70/100. 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).

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

1 officers (1 active, 1 linked, 1 with DOB)

Ownership & PSC

1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared

Director network

Network not yet resolved

Filing history

6 filings

Gazette notices

No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)

Opportunity Score

71/100Strong

PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional

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

Business quality

Adequate — check latest filings for context.

Acquirability

Some acquirability indicators.

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	2025-05-31	2024-05-31

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

filing

• 1 confirmation-statement

Last 180 days

filings

• 1 confirmation-statement
• 1 accounts

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (5 events)Click to expand

2026-02-22
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-02-09
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-05-10
🏢
Company incorporated
As JAPAN AUTO PARTS DIRECT LIMITED
2023-05-10
➕
TSANG, Shek Ming appointed
director
2023-05-10
📄
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

45/100

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.

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 · dominant holder ≥75%

Name	Shares	Voting rights	Nature of control	Notified
Mr Shek Ming Tsang Individual · British · DOB 12/1973 · age 53	75–100%	75–100%	board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control	10/05/2023

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

Similar companies

Active · Automotive · EH postcode area

Company	Est. value	Turnover	Net worth	Staff	Age	Opp	Director
LOCHRIN AUTOS (EDINBURGH) LIMITED→ SC182971 · est 1998	£271.2k £216.9k–£325.4k	—	—	9	28y	82	66y
AJM SPRAYING SERVICES LTD→ SC249637 · est 2003	—	—	£623.2k	—	23y	83	64y
DALKEITH RETAIL CENTRE LIMITED→ SC324402 · est 2007	—	—	£7.49M	—	19y	83	83y
GOGETA LIMITED→ SC292487 · est 2005 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	20y	83	69y
KAIM PARK GARAGE LTD.→ SC262902 · est 2004	—	—	£2.66M	—	22y	83	62y
LOTHIAN BRAKEWAYS LIMITED→ SC147590 · est 1993	—	—	—	700	32y	83	83y
PENTLAND COMPONENT PARTS LIMITED→ SC082096 · est 1983 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	43y	83	86y
PERTH HONDA LIMITED→ SC366689 · est 2009 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	16y	83	69y
A F NOBLE & SON (PENICUIK) LIMITED→ SC337051 · est 2008	—	—	£2.56M	—	18y	82	64y
BALERNO GARAGE LIMITED→ SC106176 · est 1987	—	—	£95.2k	—	38y	82	77y
BRADBURY MOTORS LIMITED→ SC045969 · est 1968	—	—	—	900	57y	82	64y
CSD VEHICLES LIMITED→ SC214276 · est 2000	—	—	—	0	25y	82	75y

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

Incorporated2023-05-10

Jurisdictionscotland

Primary SIC45320 — Retail trade of motor vehicle parts and accessories

Registered office

7 Maltman Street

Edinburgh

Midlothian

EH16 4XL

Scotland

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: 2027-02-28

Last made up to: 2025-05-31

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2027-05-23

Last: 2026-05-09

Officers (1 active · 0 resigned)

TSANG, Shek Ming→

director · ~53y · appointed 2023-05-10

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

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

Recent filings (6 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2026-05-19

accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity

accounts · AA

2026-02-22

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2025-05-18

accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity

accounts · AA

2025-02-09

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2024-05-15

incorporation-company

incorporation · NEWINC

2023-05-10