PROTOTECH LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
03482856 · ltd · incorporated 1997-12-18
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
—
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Turnover
—
year to Dec 2024
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: Business and domestic software development
Sector: Information & communication
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company with a 64-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 64). 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 (1 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
77 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 accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
£0£0£0£0£0£0Dec 2023Dec 2024

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2024-12-312023-12-31
Average employees100100

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 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (25 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-05-15
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-03-11
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  3. 2024-03-07
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2023-05-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  5. 2022-06-10
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  6. 2021-03-10
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  7. 2020-08-07
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2020-04-14
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  9. 2019-09-04
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2018-12-18
    ➖
    CAMBRIDGE NOMINEES LIMITED resigned
    corporate-secretary
  11. 2018-12-18
    📄
    termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM02
  12. 2018-06-18
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  13. 2017-06-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  14. 2016-04-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  15. 2016-01-15
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  16. 2015-05-12
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  17. 2004-09-27
    ➖
    SKAIFE, Davina Helen resigned
    secretary
  18. 2004-09-27
    ➕
    CAMBRIDGE NOMINEES LIMITED appointed
    corporate-secretary
  19. 1997-12-18
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As PROTOTECH LIMITED
  20. 1997-12-18
    ➕
    SKAIFE, Joseph Thomas appointed
    director
  21. 1997-12-18
    ➕
    LEWIS, Joan Elizabeth appointed
    secretary
  22. 1997-12-18
    ➖
    LEWIS, Joan Elizabeth resigned
    secretary
  23. 1997-12-18
    ➕
    SKAIFE, Davina Helen appointed
    secretary
  24. 1997-12-18
    ➕
    LEWIS, Michael appointed
    director
  25. 1997-12-18
    ➖
    LEWIS, Michael resigned
    director

Owner dependency

93/100
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 28 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 64 — approaching natural succession window.

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 64. 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 28 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 28 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 Joseph Thomas Skaife
Individual · British · DOB 10/1962 · age 64
75–100%
75–100%board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control06/04/2016

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

7 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
Incorporated1997-12-18
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC62012 — Business and domestic software development

Registered office

21 Old Laundry Court
Norwich
Norfolk
NR2 4GZ
United Kingdom

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last made up to: 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-01-01
Last: 2025-12-18

Officers (1 active · 4 resigned)

SKAIFE, Joseph Thomas→
director · ~64y · appointed 1997-12-18
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
LEWIS, Joan Elizabeth→
secretary · appointed 1997-12-18 · resigned 1997-12-18
Resigned
SKAIFE, Davina Helen→
secretary · appointed 1997-12-18 · resigned 2004-09-27
Resigned
CAMBRIDGE NOMINEES LIMITED→
corporate-secretary · appointed 2004-09-27 · resigned 2018-12-18
Resigned
LEWIS, Michael→
director · ~68y · appointed 1997-12-18 · resigned 1997-12-18
Resigned

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

Recent filings (77 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-12-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-05-15
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2025-03-11
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-12-19
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-03-07
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-12-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-05-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-12-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-06-10
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-12-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-03-10
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-12-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-08-07
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2020-04-14
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-12-18