21ST CENTURY LTD
💤Zombieactive
02877863 · ltd · incorporated 1993-12-06
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 Dec 2019
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
62/100
Worth a look
What this business does
Primary activity: Other professional, scientific and technical activities n.e.c.
Sector: Professional, scientific & technical
ALSO REGISTERED FOR
- 82990Other business support service activities n.e.c.
Investor take
Pass (distressed without resilience)Distressed admin-neglect survivor — structural issues outweigh the discount.
Opportunity 62/100 (worth a look), bankability 45/100. Strong seller-intent signal (78/100, director aged 81). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: File overdue accounts. Clears statutory overdue flag — immediate bankability uplift for refinance conversations. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (53/100). Current lenders should be on monthly review.
Data confidence
Overall: medium (69/100)Adequate coverage. AI outputs are reliable for the sections scored high; verify the rest in diligence.
Company profile
address, 2 SIC codes, incorporation date
100
Financials
1 year of iXBRL accounts extracted (no YoY comparison) + narrative notes parsed
50
Lenders & charges
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
2 officers (2 active, 2 linked, 1 with DOB)
80
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
64 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
62/100Worth a look
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Mixed signal. Worth opening the full target workup before deciding to pursue.
Business quality
45
Concerning — overdue filings or status flags present.
Acquirability
80
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
49
Multiple red flags — proceed with caution.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.
Key financials
1 year extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102| Metric | 2019-12-01 |
|---|
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
0
filings
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (22 events)Click to expand
- 2021-08-20📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2020-09-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2019-08-19📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2018-08-14📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2017-08-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2017-01-09📄accounts-amended-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AAMD
- 2016-08-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2015-10-01📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2015-08-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2014-09-22📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2014-08-14📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2013-09-22📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2013-09-08📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2012-10-03📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2012-08-08📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2011-10-03📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2011-08-13📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2010-09-28📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2010-08-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 1993-12-06🏢Company incorporatedAs 21ST CENTURY LTD
- 1993-12-06➕KIDDLE, Wenda Helen appointedsecretary
- 1993-12-06➕KIDDLE, Donald George appointeddirector
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 81 — succession pressure is live.
- +No director turnover: Company is 33 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.
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 81 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.
Red flags
2 high ·Accounts overdue
highStatutory accounts have not been filed by their due date. Can indicate admin breakdown, cash preservation, or deliberate delay.
Evidence: Next due: 2022-09-01
Confirmation statement overdue
highAnnual confirmation statement not filed on time. Required statutory filing — overdue is a strong discipline signal.
Evidence: Next due: 2021-09-02
Shareholders & ownership
1 active beneficial owner| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Donald George Kiddle Individual · British · DOB 10/1945 · age 81 | — | — | sig. influencesignificant influence | 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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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AEQUIAM LIMITED→ 08146420 · est 2012 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 13y | — | — |
| AFORT CONSULTANTS LTD→ 09375570 · est 2015 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 11y | — | — |
| AFRESH HEALTHCARE LIMITED→ 13583622 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| AGILE COMPLIANCE CONSULTING LTD→ 16989293 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| AGILEIST LTD→ 10968339 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| AHAMED AND ELAHI LTD→ 11651092 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| AJFROBERTS CONSULTING LTD→ 15336746 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| AK ACCOUNTS AND TAXATION LIMITED→ 09810828 · est 2015 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 10y | — | — |
| AK ADVISORS LTD→ 15631549 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| AKACHI CONSULTANCY LTD→ 14909957 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| AKBMI DEGAULL LTD→ 16240120 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| AKKI AVIATION SERVICES LIMITED→ 12288611 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions
11 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
Incorporated1993-12-06
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC74909 — Other professional, scientific and technical activities n.e.c.
Registered office
54 Lambs Close
Dunstable
Bedfordshire
LU5 4QA
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2022-09-01OVERDUE
Last made up to: 2020-12-01
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2021-09-02OVERDUE
Last: 2020-08-19
Officers (2 active · 0 resigned)
KIDDLE, Wenda Helen→
Activesecretary · appointed 1993-12-06
View their other companies + combined net worth →
KIDDLE, Donald George→
Activedirector · ~81y · appointed 1993-12-06
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (64 total)
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2021-08-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2020-09-23
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-08-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-08-19
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2019-08-19
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2018-09-19
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2018-08-14
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2017-09-16
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2017-09-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2017-08-30
accounts-amended-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AAMD
2017-01-09
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2016-09-27
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2016-08-30
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2015-10-01
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2015-08-27