1ST CALL ENTERTAINMENT LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
07158526 · ltd · incorporated 2010-02-16
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 2025
Net worth
£145.9k
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: Other amusement and recreation activities n.e.c.
Sector: Arts, entertainment & recreation
Investor take
PursueAsset-holding vehicle with a 63-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 63). 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, 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
1 officers (1 active, 1 linked, 1 with DOB)
90
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
1 connected companies via shared directors
48
Filing history
36 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 · FRS 102Positive net assets
Net assets £145,863
Cash YoY
+2%
Year on year
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
£172k
↑ 1.8% YoY
Net Worth
£146k
↑ 7.0% YoY
Current Assets
£172k
↑ 1.8% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102| Metric | 2025-12-31 | 2024-12-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £145.9k | £152.3k |
| Current assets | £171.8k | £168.8k |
| Cash | £171.8k | £168.8k |
| Net assets | £145.9k | £136.4k |
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 accounts
Last 90 days
2
filings
- • 1 accounts
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
2
filings
- • 1 accounts
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (17 events)Click to expand
- 2026-05-02📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2025-07-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-09-05📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-10-02📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-09-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-09-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-09-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-09-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-09-08📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-09-20📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2017-07-27📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2016-09-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2016-02-22📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2015-09-24📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2015-03-26📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2010-02-16🏢Company incorporatedAs 1ST CALL ENTERTAINMENT LIMITED
- 2010-02-16➕FRANKS, Julian Malcolm appointeddirector
Owner dependency
98/100
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 16 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 63 — approaching natural succession window.
- +No director turnover: Company is 16 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.
Succession & seller-readiness
88/100
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 63. 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 16 years.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 16 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 Julian Malcolm Franks Individual · British · DOB 08/1963 · age 63 | 75–100% | 75–100% | board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control | 06/04/2016 |
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 →Similar companies
Active · Leisure & entertainment · BS postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 142 MANAGEMENT LIMITED→ 11751495 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| 150 STONEYGATE LIMITED→ 08390354 · est 2013 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 13y | — | — |
| 2 J'S TRAVEL LIMITED→ 05523510 · est 2005 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 20y | — | — |
| 2BU PRODUCTIONS LIMITED→ 06833927 · est 2009 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 17y | — | — |
| 2T SPORTS MANAGEMENT LTD→ 13597171 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| 3 DEGREES PRODUCTION LTD→ 15993074 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| 56ENTERTAINMENTS LIMITED→ 15677373 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| A. D. GITTINS LTD→ 05232228 · est 2004 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 21y | — | — |
| A1DECOY LIMITED→ 08578226 · est 2013 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 12y | — | — |
| ABDOMIMAX LTD→ 09868335 · est 2015 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 10y | — | — |
| ABERTAWE CLIMBING LTD→ 13383720 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| ACADEMY OF GYMNASTICS CLUB LIMITED→ 04454506 · est 2002 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 23y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2010-02-16
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC93290 — Other amusement and recreation activities n.e.c.
Registered office
Elizabeth House 30-32 The Boulevard
Office 7u
Weston-Super-Mare
BS23 1NF
England
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-09-30
Last made up to: 2025-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-03-02
Last: 2026-02-16
Officers (1 active · 0 resigned)
FRANKS, Julian Malcolm→
Activedirector · ~63y · appointed 2010-02-16
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (36 total)
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2026-05-02
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-03-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-07-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-02-25
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-09-05
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-03-19
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-10-02
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-02-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-09-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-03-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-09-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-03-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-09-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-02-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-09-23