FRANKS AUTO CENTRE LTD

💤Zombieactive
SC274026 · ltd · incorporated 2004-09-29
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 Sept 2024
Net worth
£363.1k
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 45200
Sector: Wholesale & retail
Investor take
Pursue
Asset-holding vehicle with a 71-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 71). 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
4 officers (2 active, 4 linked, 1 with DOB)
75
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
74 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.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 102
Positive net assets
Net assets £363,068
Cash YoY
+36%
Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£356k
↑ 36% YoY
Net Worth
£363k
↑ 16% YoY
Current Assets
£411k
↑ 17% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£82k£165k£247k£329k£411kSept 2023Sept 2024

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2024-09-302023-09-30
Total assets£363.1k£313.8k
Current assets£411.3k£350.3k
Cash£355.7k£261.3k
Debtors£55.7k£89.0k
Net assets£363.1k£313.8k

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
0
filings
Last 180 days
1
filing
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (24 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-01-20
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-06-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2023-06-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2023-06-26
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  5. 2023-06-01
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  6. 2022-10-13
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  7. 2022-10-11
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  8. 2021-10-13
    📄
    gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
    gazette · DISS40
  9. 2021-01-12
    📄
    dissolved-compulsory-strike-off-suspended
    dissolution · DISS16(SOAS)
  10. 2020-12-01
    📄
    gazette-notice-compulsory
    gazette · GAZ1
  11. 2019-08-02
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  12. 2019-03-13
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  13. 2019-03-13
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  14. 2019-03-13
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  15. 2019-03-13
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  16. 2018-10-13
    📄
    gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
    gazette · DISS40
  17. 2018-08-11
    📄
    dissolved-compulsory-strike-off-suspended
    dissolution · DISS16(SOAS)
  18. 2004-10-11
    ➕
    NICHOLSON, Judith Francis appointed
    secretary
  19. 2004-10-11
    ➕
    NICHOLSON, Frank William appointed
    director
  20. 2004-10-05
    ➖
    FORM 10 SECRETARIES FD LTD resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  21. 2004-10-05
    ➖
    FORM 10 DIRECTORS FD LTD resigned
    corporate-nominee-director
  22. 2004-09-29
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As FRANKS AUTO CENTRE LTD
  23. 2004-09-29
    ➕
    FORM 10 SECRETARIES FD LTD appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  24. 2004-09-29
    ➕
    FORM 10 DIRECTORS FD LTD appointed
    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.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 22 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 71 — 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 71 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 22 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 22 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 · dominant holder ≥75%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Frank Nicolson
Individual · British · DOB 06/1955 · age 71
75–100%
—75-100% shares01/01/2018

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

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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
Incorporated2004-09-29
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC45200 — SIC 45200

Registered office

Riverview Business Centre, 40
North Ellen Street
Dundee
DD3 7DH
Scotland

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-06-30
Last made up to: 2024-09-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-10-13
Last: 2025-09-29

Officers (2 active · 2 resigned)

NICHOLSON, Judith Francis→
secretary · appointed 2004-10-11
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
NICHOLSON, Frank William→
director · ~71y · appointed 2004-10-11
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
FORM 10 SECRETARIES FD LTD→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2004-09-29 · resigned 2004-10-05
Resigned
FORM 10 DIRECTORS FD LTD→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2004-09-29 · resigned 2004-10-05
Resigned

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

Recent filings (74 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-10-27
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-01-20
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-11-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-06-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-11-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-06-28
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2023-06-26
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-06-01
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-10-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-10-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-10-11
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-11-24
gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
gazette · DISS40
2021-10-13
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-10-12
dissolved-compulsory-strike-off-suspended
dissolution · DISS16(SOAS)
2021-01-12