21ST CENTURY BUSINESS PHONES LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
02826750 · ltd · incorporated 1993-06-14
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 Apr 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: Wired telecommunications activities
Sector: Information & communication
Investor take
PursueActive trading company with a 73-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 73). 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 (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
75
Lenders & charges
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
5 officers (2 active, 5 linked, 2 with DOB)
78
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
75 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.
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102| Metric | 2025-04-30 | 2024-04-30 |
|---|
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
Recent activity
Last 30 days
0
filings
Last 90 days
0
filings
Last 180 days
1
filing
- • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (25 events)Click to expand
- 2026-01-01📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2024-12-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2024-06-02📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2024-05-31➖DONNELLY, Daniel resigneddirector
- 2024-01-07📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2023-01-05📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2021-12-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2021-03-19📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2019-05-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2018-06-19📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2017-06-12📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2016-06-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2016-06-04📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2015-06-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2015-06-13📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2014-06-07📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2014-05-09📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 1993-06-18➕DONNELLY, Dan appointedsecretary
- 1993-06-18➕DONNELLY, Dan appointeddirector
- 1993-06-18➖BRIGHTON SECRETARY LIMITED resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 1993-06-18➕DONNELLY, Daniel appointeddirector
- 1993-06-18➖BRIGHTON DIRECTOR LIMITED resignedcorporate-nominee-director
- 1993-06-14🏢Company incorporatedAs 21ST CENTURY BUSINESS PHONES LIMITED
- 1993-06-14➕BRIGHTON SECRETARY LIMITED appointedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 1993-06-14➕BRIGHTON DIRECTOR LIMITED appointedcorporate-nominee-director
Owner dependency
100/100
Critical — business is the founderThe 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 33 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 73 — succession pressure is live.
Succession & seller-readiness
100/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 73 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 33 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 33 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
1 active beneficial owner| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Dan Donnelly Individual · British · DOB 10/1953 · age 73 | 25–50% | 25–50% | 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting | 31/05/2017 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 CLOUD GROUP LIMITED→ 10156949 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| 1001 AI LIMITED→ 16893514 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 12 YARD PRODUCTIONS (INVESTMENTS) LIMITED→ 04195187 · est 2001 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 25y | — | — |
| 140 FILMS LTD→ 12056579 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| 16294165 LIMITED→ 16294165 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| 1927 MEDIA LIMITED→ 08707014 · est 2013 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 12y | — | — |
| 1ST MEDIA HOSTING LTD→ 07789968 · est 2011 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 14y | — | — |
| 1STAVEMACHINEUK LTD→ 13791272 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| 2 EXCEL GEO LIMITED→ 11424191 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| 2020ENT LTD→ 11497389 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| 21ST CENTURY CORE TECHNOLOGIES LIMITED→ 09126323 · est 2014 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 11y | — | — |
| 21ST CENTURY DESIGN MANAGEMENT LTD→ 10490495 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
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
Incorporated1993-06-14
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC61100 — Wired telecommunications activities
Registered office
33 Spencer Mews
London
W6 8PB
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-01-31
Last made up to: 2025-04-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-06-15
Last: 2025-06-01
Officers (2 active · 3 resigned)
Active
DONNELLY, Dan→
Activedirector · ~73y · appointed 1993-06-18
View their other companies + combined net worth →
BRIGHTON SECRETARY LIMITED→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 1993-06-14 · resigned 1993-06-18
DONNELLY, Daniel→
Resigneddirector · ~97y · appointed 1993-06-18 · resigned 2024-05-31
BRIGHTON DIRECTOR LIMITED→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-director · appointed 1993-06-14 · resigned 1993-06-18
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (75 total)
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2026-01-01
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-06-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2024-12-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-06-02
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2024-06-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2024-01-07
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-06-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2023-01-05
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-06-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2021-12-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-06-01
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2021-03-19
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-06-15
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-06-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2019-05-31