ABBEYOAKE LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
08417118 · ltd · incorporated 2013-02-25
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 Mar 2025
Net worth
£-11.8k
book net assets
Opportunity
77/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Book publishing
Sector: Information & communication
ALSO REGISTERED FOR
- 70210Public relations and communications activities
Investor take
Pass (distressed without resilience)Distressed active trading company — structural issues outweigh the discount.
Opportunity 77/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (68/100, director aged 70). 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, 2 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 (2 active, 2 linked, 1 with DOB)
80
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
43 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
70
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
82
Few red flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declaredNegative net assets
Liabilities exceed assets by £11,770
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
-£12k
↓ 21% YoY
Current Assets
£3k
↑ 35% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2025-03-31 | 2024-03-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £-11.8k | £-9.7k |
| Current assets | £3.2k | £2.4k |
| Net assets | £-11.8k | £-9.7k |
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
6
filings
- • 2 address
- • 2 officers
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (19 events)Click to expand
- 2026-03-06📍change-sail-address-company-with-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD02
- 2026-03-06📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2026-03-06📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2026-03-06📄change-person-secretary-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH03
- 2025-12-24📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2025-08-28📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2025-07-08📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-11-06📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-11-21📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-11-08📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-12-06📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2020-11-19📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2019-12-19📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2019-12-09📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2018-12-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2017-12-19📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2013-02-25🏢Company incorporatedAs ABBEYOAKE LIMITED
- 2013-02-25➕BRANDON, James appointedsecretary
- 2013-02-25➕BRANDON, James Roderick Vivian appointeddirector
Owner dependency
95/100
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.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 70 — succession pressure is live.
- +No director turnover: Company is 13 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 70+: Senior director is approximately 70 years old. Natural succession window is now.
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
- secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 13 years.
- supportingClean filings + long tenure: Disciplined long-tenure operator — classic lifestyle-business pattern that often sells quietly.
Red flags
1 lowMultiple registered office changes
lowMultiple address changes in a short period can indicate operational instability or admin disorder.
Shareholders & ownership
1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr James Roderick Vivian Brandon Individual · British · DOB 09/1956 · age 70 | 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 · Technology · SN postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2040 INNOVATIONS LTD→ 16672601 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ACCESS TO CLIMB CIC→ 16036944 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| ACCOUNTING & LICENCE SOLUTIONS LIMITED→ 06221901 · est 2007 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 18y | — | — |
| ACTIV EDUCATE LTD→ 06343657 · est 2007 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 18y | — | — |
| ACTIVATE MAYS MEDIA LTD→ 15190088 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| ACTIVE INSIGHT LIMITED→ 14237338 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| ADRIAN AI TECHNOLOGIES LIMITED→ 15513278 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| ADVTEC LTD→ 05955458 · est 2006 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 19y | — | — |
| AEGIS ROSE LTD→ 15741879 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| AER STUDIOS LTD→ 05382212 · est 2005 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 21y | — | — |
| AEROPRO LIMITED→ 06741901 · est 2008 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 17y | — | — |
| AGAR MEDIA LTD→ 15824694 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2013-02-25
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC58110 — Book publishing
Registered office
Suite 114, 8 The Bridge
Chippenham
SN15 1FY
England
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-03-11
Last: 2026-02-25
Officers (2 active · 0 resigned)
Active
BRANDON, James Roderick Vivian→
Activedirector · ~70y · appointed 2013-02-25
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (43 total)
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-03-10
change-sail-address-company-with-old-address-new-address
address · AD02
2026-03-06
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2026-03-06
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2026-03-06
change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
officers · CH03
2026-03-06
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2025-12-24
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2025-08-28
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-07-08
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-03-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-11-06
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-03-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-11-21
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-02-27
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-11-08
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-03-05