A. & C. BLACK LIMITED

🌳Matureactive
00137664 · ltd · incorporated 1915-03-05
Investment thesis
Well-run mature business — low negotiation leverage; premium likely.
Why interesting: Textbook target; clean filings, stable trading.
Why risky: No pressure on seller; any deal likely at full price.
Opportunity decay
approaching window · 12-months
Approaching a transaction window — refinance or sale event plausible in the next 12 months.
  • · Oldest live charge 62.5y old — refinance window within 12 months
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
not disclosed
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
74/100
Strong
🔔
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What this business does
Primary activity: Book publishing
Sector: Information & communication
Investor take
Pursue
Strong opportunity: active trading company with strong profile and bankable structure.

Opportunity 74/100 (strong), bankability 80/100. Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: strategic trade sale (73/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

1 live charge · oldest 62.5y

85/100
ready

Refinance conversation should be productive — structure clean and timing right.

  • · Oldest live charge is 62.5 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
  • · Legal-friction score 20/100 — clean.

Data confidence

Overall: medium (60/100)

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
No iXBRL financials extracted
0
Lenders & charges
1 charges (1/1 with lender, 1/1 with type)
90
Directors & officers
21 officers (3 active, 21 linked, 14 with DOB)
83
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
11 connected companies via shared directors
78
Filing history
141 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
74/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

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

Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
50
Some acquirability indicators.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
100
Good data coverage for analysis.

Recent activity

Last 30 days
0
filings
Last 90 days
1
filing
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
3
filings
  • • 2 officers
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (52 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-02-02
    ➕
    UNDERWOOD, Keith Robert appointed
    director
  2. 2026-02-02
    ➖
    SCOTT-BAYFIELD, Penelope Samantha Juliette resigned
    director
  3. 2026-02-02
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  4. 2026-02-02
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  5. 2025-11-10
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  6. 2024-09-06
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  7. 2023-09-25
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  8. 2022-09-02
    ➕
    RIDOUT, Jenny appointed
    director
  9. 2022-09-02
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  10. 2022-07-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  11. 2021-12-06
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  12. 2021-02-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  13. 2019-11-27
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  14. 2019-08-15
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  15. 2019-02-12
    📄
    appoint-person-secretary-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP03
  16. 2019-02-12
    📄
    termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM02
  17. 2019-01-21
    ➕
    ABU-DEEB, Maya Margaret appointed
    secretary
  18. 2019-01-18
    ➖
    DAYKIN, Michael Richard resigned
    secretary
  19. 2018-09-18
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  20. 2018-08-01
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  21. 2018-07-31
    ➖
    NEWTON, John Nigel resigned
    director
  22. 2018-07-18
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  23. 2018-07-18
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  24. 2018-07-16
    ➖
    PALLOT, Wendy Monica resigned
    director
  25. 2018-07-16
    ➕
    SCOTT-BAYFIELD, Penelope Samantha Juliette appointed
    director
  26. 2018-02-28
    ➖
    CHARKIN, Richard Denis Paul resigned
    director
  27. 2011-09-22
    ➕
    CHARKIN, Richard Denis Paul appointed
    director
  28. 2011-09-22
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #1
  29. 2011-04-08
    ➕
    PALLOT, Wendy Monica appointed
    director
  30. 2011-03-25
    ➖
    COLEMAN, Diana Jill, Ms. resigned
    director
  31. 2011-02-23
    ➕
    DAYKIN, Michael Richard appointed
    secretary
  32. 2011-02-23
    ➖
    PORTAL, Ian resigned
    secretary
  33. 2007-12-20
    ➖
    CORDESCHI, Richard resigned
    secretary
  34. 2007-12-20
    ➕
    PORTAL, Ian appointed
    secretary
  35. 2005-12-31
    ➖
    LANGRIDGE, Paul resigned
    director
  36. 2005-12-31
    ➕
    NEWTON, John Nigel appointed
    director
  37. 2005-04-04
    ➕
    CORDESCHI, Richard appointed
    secretary
  38. 2005-04-04
    ➖
    FACEY, Christopher resigned
    secretary
  39. 2004-09-30
    ➖
    ASPINALL, Jenny resigned
    secretary
  40. 2004-09-30
    ➕
    FACEY, Christopher appointed
    secretary
  41. 2004-04-30
    ➖
    ROUELETT, Terence Edward David resigned
    director
  42. 2003-12-31
    ➖
    BLACK, Charles Archibald Adam resigned
    director
  43. 2000-07-03
    ➖
    GADSBY, David Edward resigned
    director
  44. 2000-07-03
    ➖
    MARSH, Leonard George, Professor resigned
    director
  45. 1994-04-08
    ➕
    ASPINALL, Jenny appointed
    secretary
  46. 1994-04-08
    ➖
    STILL, William resigned
    secretary
  47. 1994-04-08
    ➖
    STILL, William resigned
    director
  48. 1994-04-01
    ➕
    MARSH, Leonard George, Professor appointed
    director
  49. 1994-01-01
    ➕
    ROUELETT, Terence Edward David appointed
    director
  50. 1992-04-02
    ➖
    BROWN, Leonard Henry resigned
    director
Showing most recent 50 of 52 events

Owner dependency

58/100
Moderate — manageable with handover

Some founder dependency, but not acute. A structured handover period should cover most risk.

FACTORS
  • +Two-director setup: Only two active directors — typical of owner-managed SMEs but limits succession.

Succession & seller-readiness

36/100
Weak signal

Limited succession signal. Not a near-term off-market candidate.

SIGNALS
  • secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.

Red flags

clean
No red flags detected from available public data. (This is not a clean bill of health — detailed accounts review still recommended.)

Group structure

Bloomsbury Publishing Plc is the ultimate parent — holding 75%+ shares. This company sits inside their group.

🏛️
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Corporate parent · holds 75-100% shares · board control
ultimate parent
⬇
A. & C. BLACK LIMITED
This company · 00137664

Parent relationships inferred from Persons with Significant Control filings. Full subsidiary tree requires reverse-lookup (coming).

Shareholders & ownership

1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Corporate entity
75–100%
75–100%board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control06/04/2016

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 →

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Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions

6 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
Incorporated1915-03-05
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC58110 — Book publishing

Registered office

50 Bedford Square
London
WC1B 3DP

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-11-30
Last made up to: 2025-02-28
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-05-16
Last: 2026-05-02

Officers (3 active · 18 resigned)

ABU-DEEB, Maya Margaret→
secretary · appointed 2019-01-21
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
RIDOUT, Jenny→
director · ~54y · appointed 2022-09-02
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
UNDERWOOD, Keith Robert→
director · ~50y · appointed 2026-02-02
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
ASPINALL, Jenny→
secretary · appointed 1994-04-08 · resigned 2004-09-30
Resigned
CORDESCHI, Richard→
secretary · appointed 2005-04-04 · resigned 2007-12-20
Resigned
DAYKIN, Michael Richard→
secretary · appointed 2011-02-23 · resigned 2019-01-18
Resigned
FACEY, Christopher→
secretary · appointed 2004-09-30 · resigned 2005-04-04
Resigned
PORTAL, Ian→
secretary · appointed 2007-12-20 · resigned 2011-02-23
Resigned
STILL, William→
secretary · resigned 1994-04-08
Resigned
BLACK, Charles Archibald Adam→
director · ~89y · resigned 2003-12-31
Resigned
BROWN, Leonard Henry→
director · ~95y · resigned 1992-04-02
Resigned
CHARKIN, Richard Denis Paul→
director · ~77y · appointed 2011-09-22 · resigned 2018-02-28
Resigned
COLEMAN, Diana Jill, Ms.→
director · ~70y · resigned 2011-03-25
Resigned
GADSBY, David Edward→
director · ~96y · resigned 2000-07-03
Resigned
LANGRIDGE, Paul→
director · ~83y · resigned 2005-12-31
Resigned
MARSH, Leonard George, Professor→
director · ~96y · appointed 1994-04-01 · resigned 2000-07-03
Resigned
NEWTON, John Nigel→
director · ~71y · appointed 2005-12-31 · resigned 2018-07-31
Resigned
PALLOT, Wendy Monica→
director · ~61y · appointed 2011-04-08 · resigned 2018-07-16
Resigned
ROUELETT, Terence Edward David→
director · ~81y · appointed 1994-01-01 · resigned 2004-04-30
Resigned
SCOTT-BAYFIELD, Penelope Samantha Juliette→
director · ~54y · appointed 2018-07-16 · resigned 2026-02-02
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

1
Total charges
0
Outstanding
0
Active lenders
Status:Lender:1 of 1 shown
TypeProperties
satisfied
Century Insurance Co
Century Insurance Co LTD
Supplemental trust deed1 property01/01/196422/09/2011

Recent filings (141 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-05-05
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2026-02-02
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2026-02-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2025-11-10
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-05-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2024-09-06
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-05-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2023-09-25
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-05-04
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2022-09-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2022-07-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-05-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2021-12-06
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-05-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2021-02-17