CITY BROADBAND LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
04247162 · ltd · incorporated 2001-07-05
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 Dec 2024
Net worth
£-14.3k
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 99999
Sector: Extraterritorial bodies
Investor take
Pass (distressed without resilience)Distressed active trading company — structural issues outweigh the discount.
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 (77/100)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, 1 with DOB)
73
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 3 total, 3 with control declared
90
Director network
1 connected companies via shared directors
48
Filing history
72 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 declaredNegative net assets
Liabilities exceed assets by £14,255
Cash YoY
+0%
Year on year
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
£676
~ YoY
Net Worth
-£14k
~ YoY
Current Assets
£3k
~ YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2024-12-31 | 2023-12-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £-14.3k | £-14.3k |
| Current assets | £2.5k | £2.5k |
| Cash | £676 | £676 |
| Debtors | £1.9k | £1.9k |
| Net assets | £-14.3k | £-14.3k |
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
1
filing
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 90 days
1
filing
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
1
filing
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (26 events)Click to expand
- 2025-06-19📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2024-08-20📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-09-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2022-09-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-10-07📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-06-17📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2020-12-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-12-04📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2019-12-04📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2019-09-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-09-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-09-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-07-11📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2017-07-11📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2016-09-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2008-01-25➕PI BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT LIMITED appointedcorporate-secretary
- 2008-01-25➖HOWARD, Catherine resignedsecretary
- 2003-06-19➕HOWARD, Catherine appointedsecretary
- 2003-06-18➖BEARE, Kevin Leslie resignedsecretary
- 2001-07-05🏢Company incorporatedAs CITY BROADBAND LIMITED
- 2001-07-05➕HOWARD, Nicholas Anthony appointeddirector
- 2001-07-05➕BEARE, Kevin Leslie appointedsecretary
- 2001-07-05➕SAME-DAY COMPANY SERVICES LIMITED appointedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 2001-07-05➖SAME-DAY COMPANY SERVICES LIMITED resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 2001-07-05➕WILDMAN & BATTELL LIMITED appointedcorporate-nominee-director
- 2001-07-05➖WILDMAN & BATTELL LIMITED resignedcorporate-nominee-director
Owner dependency
93/100
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 25 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 candidateStrong 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 25 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 25 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 Nicholas Anthony Howard Individual · British · DOB 10/1962 · age 64 | — | — | sig. influencesignificant influence | 06/07/2016 |
2 historic (ceased) PSCs
- Mr Nicholas Anthony Howardceased 06/07/2016· significant influence
- Mr Nicholas Anthony Howardceased 06/07/2016· 75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control · significant influence
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 →Similar companies
Active · Other · SN postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BLUE PENGUIN TELEVISION LIMITED→ 10514441 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| C P FIRE CONSULTANTS LTD→ 05764933 · est 2006 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 20y | — | — |
| CEDARWOOD ENTERPRISES LTD→ 11478421 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| CHIAZU HEALTHCARE LIMITED→ 14422125 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| CLAYCOURT LIMITED→ 10530218 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| CLERICAL CODE LIMITED→ 14791954 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| COALFIELD CLOSE MANAGEMENT COMPANY LIMITED→ 16454247 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| COCHRAN PIPING SOLUTIONS LTD→ 08409904 · est 2013 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 13y | — | — |
| CODIUN RAIL LIMITED→ 14335021 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| COLBURN ESTATES LTD→ 08816306 · est 2013 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 12y | — | — |
| COMMERCIAL AND CONTRACT LLP→ OC431286 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| COMPTON AGGREGATES LIMITED→ 01378481 · est 1978 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 47y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2001-07-05
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC99999 — SIC 99999
Registered office
29 Devizes Road
Swindon
Wiltshire
SN1 4BG
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last made up to: 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-07-19
Last: 2026-07-05
Officers (2 active · 4 resigned)
PI BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT LIMITED→
Activecorporate-secretary · appointed 2008-01-25
View their other companies + combined net worth →
HOWARD, Nicholas Anthony→
Activedirector · ~64y · appointed 2001-07-05
View their other companies + combined net worth →
BEARE, Kevin Leslie→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 2001-07-05 · resigned 2003-06-18
HOWARD, Catherine→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 2003-06-19 · resigned 2008-01-25
SAME-DAY COMPANY SERVICES LIMITED→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2001-07-05 · resigned 2001-07-05
WILDMAN & BATTELL LIMITED→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-director · appointed 2001-07-05 · resigned 2001-07-05
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (72 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-07-08
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-07-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2025-06-19
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-08-20
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-07-19
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2023-09-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-07-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-09-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-07-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-10-07
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-07-13
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2021-06-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-12-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-07-08
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2019-12-04