ATOM PUBLISHING LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
03213356 · ltd · incorporated 1996-06-18
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
£569.0k
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: Publishing of consumer and business journals and periodicals
Sector: Information & communication
Investor take
Pursue
Asset-holding vehicle with a 67-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 67). 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 (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
6 officers (2 active, 6 linked, 3 with DOB)
80
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
1 connected companies via shared directors
48
Filing history
90 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 · accounting standard not declared
Positive net assets
Net assets £569,050
Net assets shrinking
Down £26,628 YoY

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
£569k
↓ 4.5% YoY
Current Assets
£583k
↓ 3.5% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£121k£242k£363k£483k£604kApr 2024Apr 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2025-04-302024-04-30
Total assets£572.6k£599.3k
Current assets£583.0k£604.4k
Net assets£569.0k£595.7k

Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.

Recent activity

Last 30 days
2
filings
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
  • • 1 persons-with-significant-control
Last 90 days
2
filings
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
  • • 1 persons-with-significant-control
Last 180 days
2
filings
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
  • • 1 persons-with-significant-control
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (26 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-06-25
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
  2. 2025-12-12
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  3. 2025-07-24
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  4. 2025-01-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  5. 2024-01-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  6. 2023-01-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  7. 2022-01-11
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  8. 2020-12-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  9. 2020-11-10
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  10. 2019-07-15
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  11. 2018-09-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  12. 2017-10-16
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  13. 2017-06-27
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
  14. 2016-09-26
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  15. 2016-09-22
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  16. 2015-03-23
    ➖
    ROUND, Maria Theresa resigned
    director
  17. 1998-09-28
    ➕
    ROUND, Maria Theresa appointed
    director
  18. 1998-07-08
    ➖
    QUIRKE, Ann Elizabeth resigned
    director
  19. 1996-06-18
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As ATOM PUBLISHING LIMITED
  20. 1996-06-18
    ➕
    QUIRKE, Stephen Joseph James appointed
    secretary
  21. 1996-06-18
    ➕
    QUIRKE, Stephen Joseph James appointed
    director
  22. 1996-06-18
    ➕
    JPCORS LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  23. 1996-06-18
    ➖
    JPCORS LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  24. 1996-06-18
    ➕
    QUIRKE, Ann Elizabeth appointed
    director
  25. 1996-06-18
    ➕
    JPCORD LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-director
  26. 1996-06-18
    ➖
    JPCORD LIMITED resigned
    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 30 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 67 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

95/100
Likely off-market candidate

Strong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.

SIGNALS
  • primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 67. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
  • primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 30 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 30 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

2 active beneficial owners · dominant holder ≥75%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Stephen Joseph Quirke
Individual · British · DOB 04/1959 · age 67
75–100%
—75-100% shares25/06/2026
Mr Stephen Joseph James Quirke
Individual · British · DOB 04/1959 · age 67
75–100%
—75-100% shares06/04/2016

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

🔒Co-director network graph

Radial SVG graph showing every company connected via shared directors, colour-coded by status.

Available from the Pro tier upwards.

See pricing →

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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
Incorporated1996-06-18
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC58142 — Publishing of consumer and business journals and periodicals

Registered office

C/O Loban Field Ltd The Atrium Business Centre
4 Curtis Road
Dorking
Surrey
RH4 1XA
England

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-01-31
Last made up to: 2025-04-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-06-29
Last: 2026-06-15

Officers (2 active · 4 resigned)

QUIRKE, Stephen Joseph James→
secretary · appointed 1996-06-18
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
QUIRKE, Stephen Joseph James→
director · ~67y · appointed 1996-06-18
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
JPCORS LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 1996-06-18 · resigned 1996-06-18
Resigned
QUIRKE, Ann Elizabeth→
director · ~104y · appointed 1996-06-18 · resigned 1998-07-08
Resigned
ROUND, Maria Theresa→
director · ~70y · appointed 1998-09-28 · resigned 2015-03-23
Resigned
JPCORD LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 1996-06-18 · resigned 1996-06-18
Resigned

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

Recent filings (90 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-06-26
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2026-06-25
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-12-12
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2025-07-24
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-07-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-01-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-06-24
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-01-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-06-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-01-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-06-27
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2022-01-11
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-06-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2020-12-29
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2020-11-10