ABBOTT BARBER COMMUNICATIONS LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
07402487 · ltd · incorporated 2010-10-11
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
£53.8k
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: Public relations and communications activities
Sector: Professional, scientific & technical
Investor take
PursueAsset-holding vehicle with a 66-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 66). 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 (78/100)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
2 officers (1 active, 2 linked, 2 with DOB)
90
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
41 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 declaredPositive net assets
Net assets £53,773
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
£54k
↑ 22% YoY
Current Assets
£331
↓ 4.6% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2024-10-31 | 2023-10-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £53.8k | £347 |
| Current assets | £331 | £347 |
| Net assets | £53.8k | £44.2k |
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
Recent activity
Last 30 days
0
filings
Last 90 days
0
filings
Last 180 days
0
filings
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (19 events)Click to expand
- 2025-07-17📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-08-15📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-08-07📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-04-13📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-03-09📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-03-20📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-07-17📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2019-06-04📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2019-05-17📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-05-02➖BARBER, Penelope Jane resigneddirector
- 2018-05-03📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-06-14📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2016-08-09📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2016-06-13📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2015-10-13📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2015-07-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2014-10-20➕BARBER, Penelope Jane appointeddirector
- 2010-10-11🏢Company incorporatedAs ABBOTT BARBER COMMUNICATIONS LIMITED
- 2010-10-11➕WALTHO, Lynda Ellen appointeddirector
Owner dependency
100/100
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.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 66 — succession pressure is live.
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 66. 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| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mrs Lynda Ellen Waltho Individual · British · DOB 05/1960 · age 66 | 25–50% | 25–50% | 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting | 06/04/2016 |
1 historic (ceased) PSC
- Ms Penelope Jane Barberceased 02/05/2019· 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Similar companies
Active · Professional services · DY postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11929306 LIMITED→ 11929306 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| 2020 FUTURES LTD→ 11334847 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| 29-05 LTD→ 15223198 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| 90210 LTD→ 13679812 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| A AND C INFLATABLES LTD→ 14469209 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| A B OWEN LIMITED→ 04635991 · est 2003 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 23y | — | — |
| A1 RENTALS LIMITED→ 02994090 · est 1994 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 31y | — | — |
| AA ACCOUNTANCY (MIDLANDS) LTD→ 11331604 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| AA PROPERTIES & DEVELOPMENTS LTD→ 14912394 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| ABACUS WS HOLDING COMPANY LIMITED→ 11417028 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| ABP ACCOUNTANCY SERVICES LIMITED→ 07235533 · est 2010 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 15y | — | — |
| ABS BUSINESS SERVICES LIMITED→ 04470003 · est 2002 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 23y | — | — |
Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions
8 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
Incorporated2010-10-11
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC70210 — Public relations and communications activities
Registered office
3 Hagley Court South
Waterfront East, Level Street
Brierley Hill
West Midlands
DY5 1XE
England
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-07-31
Last made up to: 2024-10-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-07-25
Last: 2025-07-11
Officers (1 active · 1 resigned)
WALTHO, Lynda Ellen→
Activedirector · ~66y · appointed 2010-10-11
View their other companies + combined net worth →
BARBER, Penelope Jane→
Resigneddirector · ~67y · appointed 2014-10-20 · resigned 2019-05-02
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (41 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-07-28
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-07-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-08-15
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-08-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-08-07
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-07-11
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-07-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-04-13
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-07-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-03-09
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-07-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-03-20
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-07-17
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2019-07-17
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2019-06-04