A7 ENTERPRISES LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
04944389 · ltd · incorporated 2003-10-27
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 Oct 2024
Net worth
£3.7k
book net assets
Opportunity
77/100
Strong
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What this business does
Primary activity: Business and domestic software development
Sector: Information & communication
ALSO REGISTERED FOR
  • 63110Data processing, hosting and related activities
  • 63120Web portals
Investor take
Pursue
Strong opportunity: asset-holding vehicle with strong profile and bankable structure.

Opportunity 77/100 (strong), bankability 85/100. High owner-dependency — earn-out structure likely required for clean transition. 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: strategic trade sale (65/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

1 live charge · oldest 17.0y

45/100
under pressure

Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.

  • · Oldest live charge is 17.0 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
  • · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.

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, 3 SIC codes, incorporation date
100
Financials
2 years of iXBRL accounts extracted (YoY deltas available) + narrative notes parsed
75
Lenders & charges
1 charges (1/1 with lender, 1/1 with type)
90
Directors & officers
5 officers (1 active, 5 linked, 1 with DOB)
74
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
76 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
77/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

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

Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
60
Some acquirability indicators.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
100
Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 105 (micro)
Positive net assets
Net assets £3,661

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
£4k
↑ 1945% YoY
Current Assets
£126k
↑ 26% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£25k£50k£75k£100k£126kOct 2023Oct 2024

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 105 (micro)
Metric2024-10-312023-10-31
Total assets£33.0k£39.3k
Current assets£125.6k£99.5k
Net assets£3.7k£179

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
0
filings
Last 180 days
1
filing
  • • 1 address
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (27 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-12-18
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  2. 2025-07-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-07-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  4. 2023-10-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  5. 2023-07-31
    📄
    change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortened
    accounts · AA01
  6. 2022-11-12
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  7. 2022-07-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  8. 2021-07-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  9. 2020-07-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  10. 2019-05-16
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  11. 2019-05-16
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  12. 2019-01-11
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  13. 2018-07-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  14. 2018-02-05
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  15. 2017-07-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  16. 2011-03-08
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #1
  17. 2010-04-01
    ➖
    JOHNSTONE, Petra resigned
    secretary
  18. 2009-06-16
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: Bibby Financial Services Limited as Security Trustee
  19. 2006-06-19
    ➕
    JOHNSTONE, Petra appointed
    secretary
  20. 2006-06-19
    ➖
    ORTON, Daisy resigned
    secretary
  21. 2003-10-27
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As A7 ENTERPRISES LIMITED
  22. 2003-10-27
    ➕
    JOHNSTONE, James appointed
    director
  23. 2003-10-27
    ➕
    ORTON, Daisy appointed
    secretary
  24. 2003-10-27
    ➕
    GRANT SECRETARIES LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  25. 2003-10-27
    ➖
    GRANT SECRETARIES LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  26. 2003-10-27
    ➕
    GRANT DIRECTORS LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-director
  27. 2003-10-27
    ➖
    GRANT DIRECTORS LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-director

Owner dependency

85/100
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 23 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.

Succession & seller-readiness

75/100
Likely off-market candidate

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

SIGNALS
  • 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

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 James Johnstone
Individual · British · DOB 01/1983 · age 43
75–100%
75–100%75-100% shares · 75-100% voting06/04/2016

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
Incorporated2003-10-27
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC62012 — Business and domestic software development

Registered office

Markham House
20 Broad Street
Wokingham
Berkshire
RG40 1AH
England

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-07-30
Last made up to: 2024-10-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-11-10
Last: 2025-10-27

Officers (1 active · 4 resigned)

JOHNSTONE, James→
director · ~43y · appointed 2003-10-27
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
JOHNSTONE, Petra→
secretary · appointed 2006-06-19 · resigned 2010-04-01
Resigned
ORTON, Daisy→
secretary · appointed 2003-10-27 · resigned 2006-06-19
Resigned
GRANT SECRETARIES LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2003-10-27 · resigned 2003-10-27
Resigned
GRANT DIRECTORS LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2003-10-27 · resigned 2003-10-27
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

1
Total charges
0
Outstanding
0
Active lenders
Status:Lender:1 of 1 shown
TypeProperties
satisfied
Bibby Financial Services
Bibby Financial Services Limited as Security Trustee
Debenture1 property16/06/200908/03/2011

Recent filings (76 total)

change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2025-12-18
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-10-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-07-17
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-10-30
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-07-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-10-27
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-10-27
change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortened
accounts · AA01
2023-07-31
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2022-11-12
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-11-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-07-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-10-28
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-07-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-12-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-07-31