C J TAYLOR AUTHOR LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
09959491 · ltd · incorporated 2016-01-19
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 Jan 2025
Net worth
£2.6k
book net assets
Opportunity
78/100
Strong
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What this business does
Primary activity: Artistic creation
Sector: Arts, entertainment & recreation
Investor take
Pursue
Strong opportunity: asset-holding vehicle with strong profile and bankable structure.

Opportunity 78/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. High owner-dependency — earn-out structure likely required for clean transition. 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 (76/100)

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
4 officers (2 active, 4 linked, 2 with DOB)
80
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
36 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
78/100Strong
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
85
Few red 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 £2,625

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
£3k
↑ 262% YoY
Current Assets
£2k
↑ 252% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£525£1k£2k£2k£3kJan 2024Jan 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2025-01-312024-01-31
Total assets£2.6k£725
Current assets£2.2k£625
Net assets£2.6k£725

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 (24 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-11-07
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  2. 2025-07-06
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-10-28
    📄
    appoint-person-secretary-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP03
  4. 2024-10-27
    ➖
    TAYLOR, Sarah Frances resigned
    secretary
  5. 2024-10-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  6. 2024-10-27
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  7. 2024-10-27
    📄
    termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM02
  8. 2024-10-27
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  9. 2024-10-26
    ➕
    TAYLOR, Colin appointed
    secretary
  10. 2024-10-26
    ➖
    TAYLOR, Sarah Frances resigned
    director
  11. 2023-11-12
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  12. 2023-07-02
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  13. 2022-10-31
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  14. 2022-10-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  15. 2022-08-17
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  16. 2022-08-17
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  17. 2021-10-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  18. 2021-01-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  19. 2020-12-07
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  20. 2019-11-01
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  21. 2016-01-19
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As C J TAYLOR AUTHOR LIMITED
  22. 2016-01-19
    ➕
    TAYLOR, Colin James appointed
    director
  23. 2016-01-19
    ➕
    TAYLOR, Sarah Frances appointed
    secretary
  24. 2016-01-19
    ➕
    TAYLOR, Sarah Frances appointed
    director

Owner dependency

98/100
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.
  • +Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "TAYLOR" — strong identity link between founder and business.
  • +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 60 — approaching natural succession window.

Succession & seller-readiness

60/100
Strong succession signal

Multiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.

SIGNALS
  • secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 60. Early succession window.
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
  • supportingClean filings + long tenure: Disciplined long-tenure operator — classic lifestyle-business pattern that often sells quietly.

Red flags

clean
No 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
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Colin James Taylor
Individual · British · DOB 09/1966 · age 60
25–50%
25–50%board control25-50% shares · 25-50% voting · board control06/04/2016
1 historic (ceased) PSC
  • Mrs Sarah Frances Taylorceased 10/05/2024· 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting · board control

From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.

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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 →
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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
Incorporated2016-01-19
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC90030 — Artistic creation

Registered office

18 Oak Close
Ottery St. Mary
EX11 1BB
England

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-10-31
Last made up to: 2025-01-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-11-10
Last: 2025-10-27

Officers (2 active · 2 resigned)

TAYLOR, Colin→
secretary · appointed 2024-10-26
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
TAYLOR, Colin James→
director · ~60y · appointed 2016-01-19
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
TAYLOR, Sarah Frances→
secretary · appointed 2016-01-19 · resigned 2024-10-27
Resigned
TAYLOR, Sarah Frances→
director · ~61y · appointed 2016-01-19 · resigned 2024-10-26
Resigned

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

Recent filings (36 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-11-07
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2025-11-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-07-06
appoint-person-secretary-company-with-name-date
officers · AP03
2024-10-28
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-10-27
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-10-27
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2024-10-27
termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM02
2024-10-27
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2024-10-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-11-12
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2023-11-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-07-02
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-06-28
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2022-10-31
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-10-30