ABRUPT MEDIA LTD

💤Zombieactive
08039406 · ltd · incorporated 2012-04-20
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
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Turnover
year to Apr 2025
Net worth
£1
book net assets
Opportunity
65/100
Strong
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What this business does
Primary activity: Other publishing activities
Sector: Information & communication
Investor take
Special-situation opportunity
Distressed technology with salvageable qualities — special-situations priority.

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

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
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
1 connected companies via shared directors
48
Filing history
44 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
65/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

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

Business quality
60
Adequate — check latest filings for context.
Acquirability
55
Some acquirability indicators.
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

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
Net Worth
£1
~ YoY
Current Assets
Current Liabilities
£0£0£0£1£1£1Apr 2024Apr 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2025-04-302024-04-30
Total assets£1£1
Net assets£1£1

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
1
filing
  • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (22 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-01-19
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-01-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-01-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  4. 2024-01-24
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  5. 2023-01-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  6. 2022-01-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  7. 2021-06-02
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  8. 2021-04-05
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  9. 2020-07-31
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  10. 2020-01-25
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  11. 2019-01-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  12. 2018-09-29
    NEWTON-DARBY, Katie Louise resigned
    director
  13. 2018-09-29
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  14. 2018-09-29
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  15. 2018-09-29
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  16. 2018-09-29
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  17. 2018-09-29
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  18. 2018-09-29
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  19. 2018-09-29
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  20. 2014-09-19
    NEWTON-DARBY, Katie Louise appointed
    director
  21. 2012-04-20
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As ABRUPT MEDIA LTD
  22. 2012-04-20
    DARBY, Carlos Fernando appointed
    director

Owner dependency

75/100
High — earn-out structure required

Material founder dependency. Consider a 2-3 year earn-out and build in a handover plan before completion.

FACTORS
  • +Sole director: Only one active director — all governance concentrated on one person.

Succession & seller-readiness

53/100
Moderate signal

Some succession indicators present. Worth watching; approach if sector/strategy fits.

SIGNALS
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
  • secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 14 years.

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: 2026-05-28

Shareholders & ownership

1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Carlos Fernando Darby
Individual · English · DOB 09/1980 · age 46
75100%
25–50%75-100% shares · 75-100% voting20/04/2016
1 historic (ceased) PSC
  • Mrs Katie Louise Newton-Darbyceased 29/09/2018· 25-50% voting

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

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
Incorporated2012-04-20
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC58190 — Other publishing activities

Registered office

297 Aragon Road
Morden
SM4 4QP
England

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-01-31
Last made up to: 2025-04-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-05-28OVERDUE
Last: 2025-05-14

Officers (1 active · 1 resigned)

DARBY, Carlos Fernando
director · ~46y · appointed 2012-04-20
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
NEWTON-DARBY, Katie Louise
director · ~47y · appointed 2014-09-19 · resigned 2018-09-29
Resigned

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

Recent filings (44 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2026-01-19
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-06-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-01-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-06-30
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-01-30
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2024-01-24
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-06-27
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-01-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-06-24
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2022-01-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-06-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-06-02
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2021-04-05
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2020-07-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-05-23