AFRICAN MEDIA INVESTMENTS LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
03577106 · ltd · incorporated 1998-06-05
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 Jun 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
78/100
Strong
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What this business does
Primary activity: News agency activities
Sector: Information & communication
ALSO REGISTERED FOR
  • 70229Management consultancy activities other than financial management
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company with a 77-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 78/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 77). 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 (79/100)

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
2 years of iXBRL accounts extracted (YoY deltas available) + narrative notes parsed
75
Lenders & charges
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
8 officers (1 active, 8 linked, 5 with DOB)
83
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
2 connected companies via shared directors
51
Filing history
81 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
78/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.

Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
80
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
77
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£0Jun 2024Jun 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2025-06-302024-06-30
Average employees300300

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
1
filing
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
4
filings
  • • 2 officers
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
  • • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (31 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-02-26
    ➖
    CROSS, Peter Henry resigned
    director
  2. 2026-02-26
    ➖
    SMITH, Nicholas George Stanley resigned
    director
  3. 2026-02-26
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  4. 2026-02-26
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  5. 2026-02-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  6. 2025-03-14
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  7. 2024-02-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2022-11-12
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2022-11-11
    ➖
    MURRAY, Mary Mitchell resigned
    secretary
  10. 2022-11-11
    📄
    termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM02
  11. 2021-11-11
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  12. 2021-01-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  13. 2020-02-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  14. 2019-01-03
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  15. 2018-06-06
    📄
    change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH03
  16. 2018-06-06
    📄
    change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH03
  17. 2018-06-05
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
  18. 2017-12-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  19. 2004-12-31
    ➖
    DOWNIE, George Waddell resigned
    secretary
  20. 2004-12-31
    ➕
    MURRAY, Mary Mitchell appointed
    secretary
  21. 2004-04-30
    ➖
    STENT, Michael George Elliott resigned
    director
  22. 1998-06-30
    ➕
    CROSS, Peter Henry appointed
    director
  23. 1998-06-30
    ➕
    SMITH, Nicholas George Stanley appointed
    director
  24. 1998-06-05
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As AFRICAN MEDIA INVESTMENTS LIMITED
  25. 1998-06-05
    ➕
    SMAIL, Derek James Richardson appointed
    director
  26. 1998-06-05
    ➕
    DOWNIE, George Waddell appointed
    secretary
  27. 1998-06-05
    ➕
    REID, Brian appointed
    nominee-secretary
  28. 1998-06-05
    ➖
    REID, Brian resigned
    nominee-secretary
  29. 1998-06-05
    ➕
    MABBOTT, Stephen appointed
    nominee-director
  30. 1998-06-05
    ➖
    MABBOTT, Stephen resigned
    nominee-director
  31. 1998-06-05
    ➕
    STENT, Michael George Elliott appointed
    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 28 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 77 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

100/100
Likely off-market candidate

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

SIGNALS
  • primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 77 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 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

1 med ·
2 director resignations in last 12 months
medium

Multiple recent departures can indicate governance disagreement, succession event, or preparation for sale/stress.

Evidence: CROSS, Peter Henry resigned 2026-02-26; SMITH, Nicholas George Stanley resigned 2026-02-26

Shareholders & ownership

1 active beneficial owner
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Derek James Richardson Smail
Individual · British · DOB 06/1949 · age 77
25–50%
—25-50% shares10/06/2016

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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ETTRICK COMPUTER SERVICES LIMITED→
SC122555 · est 1990
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IQX LIMITED→
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AND WE DO THIS LTD→
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———10019y8059y
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02773739 · est 1992
——£307.0k—33y8083y
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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
Incorporated1998-06-05
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC63910 — News agency activities

Registered office

C/O Sanderson Mccreath & Edney
4 Quay Walls
Berwick Upon Tweed
TD15 1HD
England

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-03-31
Last made up to: 2025-06-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-06-19
Last: 2026-06-05

Officers (1 active · 7 resigned)

SMAIL, Derek James Richardson→
director · ~77y · appointed 1998-06-05
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
DOWNIE, George Waddell→
secretary · appointed 1998-06-05 · resigned 2004-12-31
Resigned
MURRAY, Mary Mitchell→
secretary · appointed 2004-12-31 · resigned 2022-11-11
Resigned
REID, Brian→
nominee-secretary · appointed 1998-06-05 · resigned 1998-06-05
Resigned
CROSS, Peter Henry→
director · ~88y · appointed 1998-06-30 · resigned 2026-02-26
Resigned
MABBOTT, Stephen→
nominee-director · ~76y · appointed 1998-06-05 · resigned 1998-06-05
Resigned
SMITH, Nicholas George Stanley→
director · ~80y · appointed 1998-06-30 · resigned 2026-02-26
Resigned
STENT, Michael George Elliott→
director · ~74y · appointed 1998-06-05 · resigned 2004-04-30
Resigned

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

Recent filings (81 total)

confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-06-09
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2026-02-26
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2026-02-26
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2026-02-21
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-06-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-03-14
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-06-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-02-17
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-06-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-11-12
termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM02
2022-11-11
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-06-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-11-11
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-06-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-01-21