ELF MUSIC LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
SC341862 · ltd · incorporated 2008-04-24
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
—
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: Business and domestic software development
Sector: Information & communication
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company 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 (75/100)

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
5 officers (1 active, 5 linked, 1 with DOB)
74
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
49 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.

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
£0£0£0£0£0£0Apr 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

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 (26 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-08-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-01-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  3. 2023-09-20
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  4. 2023-09-05
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  5. 2022-07-02
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  6. 2021-05-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  7. 2020-11-11
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  8. 2019-12-19
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  9. 2019-05-10
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  10. 2019-01-05
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  11. 2018-07-02
    📄
    termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM02
  12. 2018-07-01
    ➖
    SCOTT, Ryan resigned
    secretary
  13. 2018-01-20
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  14. 2016-12-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  15. 2016-05-06
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  16. 2015-11-08
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  17. 2015-06-04
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  18. 2011-09-17
    ➕
    SCOTT, Ryan appointed
    secretary
  19. 2011-09-17
    ➖
    TIBBETT, Marianne resigned
    secretary
  20. 2008-04-24
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As ELF MUSIC LIMITED
  21. 2008-04-24
    ➕
    ILLINGWORTH, Kevin appointed
    director
  22. 2008-04-24
    ➕
    TIBBETT, Marianne appointed
    secretary
  23. 2008-04-24
    ➕
    BRIAN REID LTD. appointed
    corporate-secretary
  24. 2008-04-24
    ➖
    BRIAN REID LTD. resigned
    corporate-secretary
  25. 2008-04-24
    ➕
    STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD. appointed
    corporate-director
  26. 2008-04-24
    ➖
    STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD. resigned
    corporate-director

Owner dependency

93/100
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.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 18 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 63 — approaching natural succession window.

Succession & seller-readiness

88/100
Likely off-market candidate

Strong 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 18 years.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 18 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

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 · dominant holder ≥75%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Kevin Illingworth
Individual · British · DOB 11/1963 · age 63
75–100%
—75-100% shares24/04/2017

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
Incorporated2008-04-24
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC62012 — Business and domestic software development

Registered office

10/13 Salamander Street
Edinburgh
EH6 7HR
Scotland

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-01-31
Last made up to: 2025-04-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-05-08
Last: 2025-04-24

Officers (1 active · 4 resigned)

ILLINGWORTH, Kevin→
director · ~63y · appointed 2008-04-24
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
SCOTT, Ryan→
secretary · appointed 2011-09-17 · resigned 2018-07-01
Resigned
TIBBETT, Marianne→
secretary · appointed 2008-04-24 · resigned 2011-09-17
Resigned
BRIAN REID LTD.→
corporate-secretary · appointed 2008-04-24 · resigned 2008-04-24
Resigned
STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD.→
corporate-director · appointed 2008-04-24 · resigned 2008-04-24
Resigned

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

Recent filings (49 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2025-08-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-05-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2025-01-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-04-25
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2023-09-20
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2023-09-05
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-05-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2022-07-02
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-04-25
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2021-05-17
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-05-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2020-11-11
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-04-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2019-12-19
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2019-05-10