21CPHOTOS LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
06584010 · ltd · incorporated 2008-05-02
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 May 2025
Net worth
£1.7k
book net assets
Opportunity
72/100
Strong
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What this business does
Primary activity: Retail sale via mail order houses or via Internet
Sector: Wholesale & retail
Investor take
Special-situation opportunity
Distressed retail with salvageable qualities — special-situations priority.

Opportunity 72/100 (strong), bankability 65/100. Strong seller-intent signal (78/100, director aged 68). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Resolve: Confirmation statement overdue. Annual confirmation statement not filed on time. Required statutory filing — overdue is a strong discipline signal. 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, 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
3 officers (2 active, 3 linked, 2 with DOB)
83
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
2 connected companies via shared directors
51
Filing history
46 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
72/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

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

Business quality
60
Adequate — check latest filings for context.
Acquirability
80
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
67
Some moderate concerns — review flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declared
Positive net assets
Net assets £1,653

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
Net Worth
£2k
↑ 112% YoY
Current Assets
£4k
↓ 37% YoY
Current Liabilities
-£14k-£10k-£6k-£2k£3k£7kMay 2024May 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2025-05-312024-05-31
Total assets£4.3k£6.9k
Current assets£4.3k£6.9k
Net assets£1.7k£-14.1k

Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.

Recent activity

Last 30 days
1
filing
  • 1 dissolution
Last 90 days
1
filing
  • 1 dissolution
Last 180 days
2
filings
  • 1 dissolution
  • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (21 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-07-11
    📄
    dissolution-application-strike-off-company
    dissolution · DS01
  2. 2026-02-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  3. 2025-11-03
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  4. 2025-11-03
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  5. 2025-11-01
    BROWN, Richard Edwin resigned
    director
  6. 2025-01-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  7. 2024-02-11
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  8. 2023-02-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  9. 2022-02-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  10. 2021-02-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  11. 2019-10-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  12. 2019-01-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  13. 2018-06-25
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  14. 2018-02-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  15. 2016-09-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  16. 2016-05-05
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  17. 2016-02-05
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  18. 2008-05-02
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As 21CPHOTOS LIMITED
  19. 2008-05-02
    HOWARD, Robert appointed
    secretary
  20. 2008-05-02
    HOWARD, Robert appointed
    director
  21. 2008-05-02
    BROWN, Richard Edwin 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 18 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 68 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

83/100
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 68. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
  • secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 18 years.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 18 years old and no new directors in the last 3 years — succession not yet being planned internally.

Red flags

1 high ·
Confirmation statement overdue
high

Annual confirmation statement not filed on time. Required statutory filing — overdue is a strong discipline signal.

Evidence: Next due: 2026-05-13

Shareholders & ownership

1 active beneficial owner
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Robert Howard
Individual · British · DOB 11/1958 · age 68
2550%
25–50%25-50% shares · 25-50% voting06/04/2016
1 historic (ceased) PSC
  • Mr Richard Edwin Brownceased 03/11/2025· 25-50% shares · firm interest

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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Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions

9 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.

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Company details

Statusactive
Typeltd
Incorporated2008-05-02
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC47910 — Retail sale via mail order houses or via Internet

Registered office

19 Hinckley Road
Stoney Stanton
Leicestershire
LE9 4LJ
United Kingdom

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-02-28
Last made up to: 2025-05-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-05-13OVERDUE
Last: 2025-04-29

Officers (2 active · 1 resigned)

HOWARD, Robert
secretary · appointed 2008-05-02
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
HOWARD, Robert
director · ~68y · appointed 2008-05-02
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
BROWN, Richard Edwin
director · ~60y · appointed 2008-05-02 · resigned 2025-11-01
Resigned

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

Recent filings (46 total)

dissolution-application-strike-off-company
dissolution · DS01
2026-07-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2026-02-26
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2025-11-03
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2025-11-03
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-06-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-01-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-05-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-02-11
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-05-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-02-21
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-04-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-02-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-05-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-02-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-05-04