ALDEBURGH BOOKSHOP LIMITED

🌳Matureactive
00989529 · ltd · incorporated 1970-09-17
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
hardening · 12-months
Already tight — no obvious softening catalysts on the horizon.
  • · Thesis: well-run, low negotiation leverage
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Feb 2026
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
79/100
Strong
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What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 47610
Sector: Wholesale & retail
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company with a 68-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 79/100 (strong), bankability 67/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 68). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Consolidate lender relationships. 3 distinct lenders creates friction — refinance into single-lender structure for cleaner diligence. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

5 live charges · 3 lenders · oldest 42.5y

35/100
too messy

Refinance path is blocked by complexity. Rethink structure or expect bespoke, expensive terms.

  • · Oldest live charge is 42.5 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · 3 lenders named — inter-creditor friction likely.
  • · Legal-friction score 35/100 — workable, but lender will want more DD.

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
5 charges (5/5 with lender, 5/5 with type)
90
Directors & officers
6 officers (3 active, 6 linked, 4 with DOB)
83
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
2 connected companies via shared directors
51
Filing history
97 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
79/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

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

Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
80
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
77
Few red flags.
Signal strength
100
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£0Feb 2025Feb 2026

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2026-02-282025-02-28
Average employees800800

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
2
filings
  • • 1 accounts
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
2
filings
  • • 1 accounts
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (30 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-06-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-07-14
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-08-14
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2023-07-19
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  5. 2022-09-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  6. 2021-07-09
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  7. 2020-08-10
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2019-06-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2018-04-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2017-06-10
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  11. 2016-06-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  12. 2016-05-29
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  13. 2015-06-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  14. 2015-05-19
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  15. 2014-05-13
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  16. 2000-02-29
    ➕
    JAMES, John Patrick appointed
    secretary
  17. 2000-02-29
    ➕
    JAMES, John Patrick appointed
    director
  18. 2000-02-29
    ➕
    JAMES, Mary Victoria, The Hon appointed
    director
  19. 2000-02-29
    ➖
    CATTERICK, Evelyn May resigned
    director
  20. 2000-02-29
    ➖
    CATTERICK, Michael Henry resigned
    director
  21. 2000-02-28
    ➖
    CATTERICK, Michael Henry resigned
    secretary
  22. 1995-03-01
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #3
  23. 1995-03-01
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #2
  24. 1994-11-23
    🔒
    Charge registered #5
    Lender: Midland Bank PLC
  25. 1994-09-29
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #1
  26. 1994-09-20
    🔒
    Charge registered #4
    Lender: Midland Bank PLC
  27. 1985-06-13
    🔒
    Charge registered #3
    Lender: Barclays Bank PLC
  28. 1985-06-13
    🔒
    Charge registered #2
    Lender: Barclays Bank PLC
  29. 1984-02-08
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: Book Trade Improvement Limited
  30. 1970-09-17
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As ALDEBURGH BOOKSHOP LIMITED

Owner dependency

91/100
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
  • +Two-director setup: Only two active directors — typical of owner-managed SMEs but limits succession.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 26 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 68 — succession pressure is live.
  • +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.

Succession & seller-readiness

86/100
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 68. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
  • secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
  • primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 26 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 56 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

1 med ·
Charge satisfaction-then-recreation pattern
medium

Multiple instances where a charge was satisfied and a new charge created within 6 months. Suggests active refinancing cycle.

Shareholders & ownership

2 active beneficial owners
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr John Patrick James
Individual · British · DOB 02/1958 · age 68
25–50%
—25-50% shares06/04/2016
Mrs Mary Victoria James
Individual · British · DOB 11/1962 · age 64
25–50%
—25-50% shares06/04/2016

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

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 →
🔒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
Incorporated1970-09-17
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC47610 — SIC 47610

Registered office

42 High Street
Aldeburgh
Suffolk
IP15 5AB

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-11-30
Last made up to: 2026-02-28
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-05-25
Last: 2026-05-11

Officers (3 active · 3 resigned)

JAMES, John Patrick→
secretary · appointed 2000-02-29
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
JAMES, John Patrick→
director · ~68y · appointed 2000-02-29
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
JAMES, Mary Victoria, The Hon→
director · ~64y · appointed 2000-02-29
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
CATTERICK, Michael Henry→
secretary · resigned 2000-02-28
Resigned
CATTERICK, Evelyn May→
director · ~79y · resigned 2000-02-29
Resigned
CATTERICK, Michael Henry→
director · ~83y · resigned 2000-02-29
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

5
Total charges
2
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:5 of 5 shown
TypeProperties
outstanding
Midland Bank
Midland Bank PLC
Legal charge1 property23/11/1994—
outstanding
Midland Bank
Midland Bank PLC
Fixed and floating charge1 property20/09/1994—
satisfied
Barclays
Barclays Bank PLC
Debenture1 property13/06/198501/03/1995
satisfied
Barclays
Barclays Bank PLC
Legal charge1 property13/06/198501/03/1995
satisfied
Book Trade Improvement
Book Trade Improvement Limited
Mortgage1 property08/02/198429/09/1994
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (97 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2026-06-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-05-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-07-14
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-06-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-08-14
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-05-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-07-19
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-05-22
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-09-24
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-05-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-07-09
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-05-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-08-10
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-05-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-06-21