A B STILL LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
04705093 · ltd · incorporated 2003-03-20
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
—
not disclosed
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: Other specialist photography
Sector: Professional, scientific & technical
Investor take
PursueActive 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: low (53/100)Sparse data coverage. Treat AI-generated outputs as preliminary. Manual diligence essential.
Company profile
address, 1 SIC codes, incorporation date
100
Financials
No iXBRL financials extracted
0
Lenders & charges
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
5 officers (2 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
57 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.
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 (24 events)Click to expand
- 2025-09-01📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-08-20📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-06-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-07-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-05-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-06-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-11-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-12-17📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-08-10📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2016-06-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2016-03-14📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2015-09-14📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2015-03-11📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2014-06-10📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2014-05-06📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2003-04-02➕BROOKES, Joanna Susan appointedsecretary
- 2003-04-02➖BROOKES, Nicholas John resignedsecretary
- 2003-03-20🏢Company incorporatedAs A B STILL LIMITED
- 2003-03-20➕BROOKES, Andrew Douglas appointeddirector
- 2003-03-20➕BROOKES, Nicholas John appointedsecretary
- 2003-03-20➕GRAEME, Dorothy May appointednominee-secretary
- 2003-03-20➖GRAEME, Dorothy May resignednominee-secretary
- 2003-03-20➕GRAEME, Lesley Joyce appointednominee-director
- 2003-03-20➖GRAEME, Lesley Joyce resignednominee-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 23 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 23 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 23 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 · dominant holder ≥75%| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Andrew Douglas Brookes Individual · British · DOB 07/1962 · age 64 | 75–100% | — | 75-100% shares | 06/04/2016 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Similar companies
Active · Professional services · HP postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A.G. EVANS HOLDINGS LIMITED→ 03674997 · est 1998 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 27y | — | — |
| ACORN PROJECT MANAGEMENT SERVICES LIMITED→ 11898758 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| ACOUSTICAL INVESTIGATION & RESEARCH ORGANISATION LIMITED→ 00603110 · est 1958 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 67y | — | — |
| AD GLOBAL PARTNERS LTD→ 11151214 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| ADALTA INTERNATIONAL SOLUTIONS LIMITED→ 03921523 · est 2000 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 26y | — | — |
| ADB ONE LTD→ 12323576 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| ADCOPIA LTD→ 16077036 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| ADDISON PLUS LTD→ 08868105 · est 2014 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 12y | — | — |
| ADEPTSTAR LIMITED→ 12043436 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| ADF RECRUITMENT LTD→ 15520700 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| ADROIT FINANCIAL CONSULTING LIMITED→ 09747182 · est 2015 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 10y | — | — |
| ADVANTAGE SOURCING LIMITED→ 15855556 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2003-03-20
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC74202 — Other specialist photography
Registered office
The Loft
Chequers Lane Cadmore End
High Wycombe
Bucks
HP14 3PH
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-03-23
Last: 2026-03-09
Officers (2 active · 3 resigned)
BROOKES, Joanna Susan→
Activesecretary · appointed 2003-04-02
View their other companies + combined net worth →
BROOKES, Andrew Douglas→
Activedirector · ~64y · appointed 2003-03-20
View their other companies + combined net worth →
BROOKES, Nicholas John→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 2003-03-20 · resigned 2003-04-02
GRAEME, Dorothy May→
Resignednominee-secretary · appointed 2003-03-20 · resigned 2003-03-20
GRAEME, Lesley Joyce→
Resignednominee-director · ~73y · appointed 2003-03-20 · resigned 2003-03-20
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (57 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-03-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-09-01
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-03-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-08-20
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-03-19
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-06-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-03-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-07-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-03-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-05-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-03-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-06-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-03-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-11-25
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-03-20