C & A AUTOCENTRE LTD
🌳Matureactive
SC354918 · ltd · incorporated 2009-02-11
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 Apr 2025
Net worth
£1.21M
book net assets
Opportunity
76/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 45200
Sector: Wholesale & retail
Investor take
PursueStrong opportunity: asset-holding vehicle with strong profile and bankable structure.
Opportunity 76/100 (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 (58/100).
Data confidence
Overall: medium (78/100)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
2 officers (2 active, 2 linked, 2 with DOB)
90
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
38 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
76/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
65
Some acquirability indicators.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declaredPositive net assets
Net assets £1,213,500
Cash YoY
+5%
Year on year
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
£1.3m
↑ 5.4% YoY
Net Worth
£1.2m
↑ 4.3% YoY
Current Assets
£1.4m
↑ 4.7% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2025-04-30 | 2024-04-30 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £1.21M | £1.16M |
| Current assets | £1.42M | £1.35M |
| Cash | £1.34M | £1.27M |
| Debtors | £58.1k | £63.1k |
| Net assets | £1.21M | £1.16M |
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
2
filings
- • 1 confirmation-statement
- • 1 accounts
Last 180 days
2
filings
- • 1 confirmation-statement
- • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (18 events)Click to expand
- 2026-01-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2025-01-24📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-01-24📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-01-24📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-01-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-03-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-01-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-01-18📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-01-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-12-22📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2017-12-21📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2017-01-17📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2016-02-18📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2016-01-19📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2015-02-19📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2009-02-11🏢Company incorporatedAs C & A AUTOCENTRE LTD
- 2009-02-11➕DICKSON, Andrew Charles appointeddirector
- 2009-02-11➕JOHNSTONE, Colin appointeddirector
Owner dependency
73/100
High — earn-out structure requiredMaterial founder dependency. Consider a 2-3 year earn-out and build in a handover plan before completion.
FACTORS
- +Two-director setup: Only two active directors — typical of owner-managed SMEs but limits succession.
- +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 17 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +No director turnover: Company is 17 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.
Succession & seller-readiness
59/100
Strong succession signalMultiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.
SIGNALS
- secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
- secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 17 years.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 17 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
cleanNo 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Andrew Charles Dickson Individual · British · DOB 08/1970 · age 56 | 25–50% | — | 25-50% shares | 06/04/2016 |
Mr Colin Johnstone Individual · British · DOB 02/1974 · age 52 | 25–50% | — | 25-50% shares | 06/04/2016 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Similar companies
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ET AUTOMOTIVE LTD→ SC876376 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| FIFE POWDERCOATINGS LIMITED→ SC546544 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| FIFE SEAT LIMITED→ SC331707 · est 2007 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 18y | — | — |
| FRANK MUNRO & SONS LIMITED→ SC241429 · est 2002 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 23y | — | — |
| G DYCE AUTOS LTD→ SC879993 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| GGS FIFE LTD→ SC748889 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| LF AUTO ELECTRICAL SERVICES LTD→ SC773661 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| LOMOND CAMPERS LTD→ SC788761 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| M.A BODYSHOP LTD→ SC830802 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| MOTO MARCEL LTD→ SC806222 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| OUTDOOR LIFESTYLE COMPETITIONS LTD→ SC777826 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| OUTLANDER VEHICLES LIMITED→ SC721012 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2009-02-11
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC45200 — SIC 45200
Registered office
14 School Road
Balmullo
St. Andrews
Fife
KY16 0BD
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-01-31
Last made up to: 2025-04-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-02-25
Last: 2026-02-11
Officers (2 active · 0 resigned)
DICKSON, Andrew Charles→
Activedirector · ~56y · appointed 2009-02-11
View their other companies + combined net worth →
JOHNSTONE, Colin→
Activedirector · ~52y · appointed 2009-02-11
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (38 total)
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-02-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2026-01-27
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-02-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-01-24
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-02-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-01-24
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-02-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-01-24
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-02-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-01-25
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-03-23
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-02-11
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-02-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-01-22
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-02-14