ADVENTIST BOOK CENTRE (SOUTH) LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
01193753 · private-limited-guarant-nsc · incorporated 1974-12-13
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 Dec 2024
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
78/100
Strong
🔔
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What this business does
Primary activity: Other retail sale in non-specialised stores
Sector: Wholesale & retail
Investor take
Pursue
Strong opportunity: active trading company 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: high (80/100)

Strong data coverage across all sections. AI outputs should be trusted with minimal caveats.

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
12 officers (2 active, 12 linked, 8 with DOB)
83
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
6 connected companies via shared directors
63
Filing history
104 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.

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
£0£0£0£0£0£0Dec 2023Dec 2024

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2024-12-312023-12-31

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 (35 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-09-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-08-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  3. 2023-09-04
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  4. 2022-08-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  5. 2021-08-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  6. 2020-09-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  7. 2020-08-13
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  8. 2020-06-30
    ➖
    PILMOOR, Victor resigned
    director
  9. 2019-04-25
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  10. 2018-10-23
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  11. 2018-10-23
    📄
    change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH03
  12. 2018-10-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  13. 2018-03-22
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  14. 2018-03-22
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  15. 2018-03-21
    ➖
    BRAMBLE, Charles Sylvester resigned
    director
  16. 2018-03-21
    ➕
    PILMOOR, Victor appointed
    director
  17. 2017-09-18
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  18. 2016-09-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  19. 2014-12-31
    ➖
    HAMMOND, Paul resigned
    director
  20. 2014-11-06
    ➕
    SANGUESA ABENIA, Elisabeth appointed
    secretary
  21. 2014-11-06
    ➕
    SANGUESA ABENIA, Elisabeth appointed
    director
  22. 2014-11-06
    ➖
    BARHAM, Graham Marcus resigned
    director
  23. 2014-11-06
    ➕
    BRAMBLE, Charles Sylvester appointed
    director
  24. 2012-10-18
    ➖
    BARHAM, Graham Marcus resigned
    secretary
  25. 2001-10-17
    ➕
    BARHAM, Graham Marcus appointed
    secretary
  26. 2001-10-17
    ➖
    JOHNSON, Edward resigned
    secretary
  27. 2001-10-17
    ➖
    JOHNSON, Edward resigned
    director
  28. 2000-10-01
    ➕
    BARHAM, Graham Marcus appointed
    director
  29. 2000-09-30
    ➖
    HAMMOND, Paul resigned
    secretary
  30. 2000-09-30
    ➖
    PEARCE, Janette Margaret resigned
    director
  31. 1996-06-18
    ➕
    JOHNSON, Edward appointed
    secretary
  32. 1996-06-18
    ➕
    JOHNSON, Edward appointed
    director
  33. 1996-06-18
    ➖
    LEICESTER, Mervyn Barnaby resigned
    director
  34. 1996-06-18
    ➕
    PEARCE, Janette Margaret appointed
    director
  35. 1974-12-13
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As ADVENTIST BOOK CENTRE (SOUTH) LIMITED

Owner dependency

83/100
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.
  • +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 59 — approaching natural succession window.

Succession & seller-readiness

70/100
Strong succession signal

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

SIGNALS
  • secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 59. Early succession window.
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 52 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.)

Group structure

Stanborough Press Ltd is the ultimate parent — holding 75%+ shares. This company sits inside their group.

🏛️
Stanborough Press Ltd
Corporate parent · board control
⬇
ADVENTIST BOOK CENTRE (SOUTH) LIMITED
This company · 01193753

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
Stanborough Press Ltd
Corporate entity
—75–100%board control75-100% 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

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
Typeprivate-limited-guarant-nsc
Incorporated1974-12-13
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC47190 — Other retail sale in non-specialised stores

Registered office

Alma Park
Grantham
Lincs
NG31 9SL

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last made up to: 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-11-07
Last: 2025-10-24

Officers (2 active · 10 resigned)

SANGUESA ABENIA, Elisabeth→
secretary · appointed 2014-11-06
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
SANGUESA ABENIA, Elisabeth→
director · ~59y · appointed 2014-11-06
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
BARHAM, Graham Marcus→
secretary · appointed 2001-10-17 · resigned 2012-10-18
Resigned
HAMMOND, Paul→
secretary · resigned 2000-09-30
Resigned
JOHNSON, Edward→
secretary · appointed 1996-06-18 · resigned 2001-10-17
Resigned
BARHAM, Graham Marcus→
director · ~75y · appointed 2000-10-01 · resigned 2014-11-06
Resigned
BRAMBLE, Charles Sylvester→
director · ~68y · appointed 2014-11-06 · resigned 2018-03-21
Resigned
HAMMOND, Paul→
director · ~84y · resigned 2014-12-31
Resigned
JOHNSON, Edward→
director · ~86y · appointed 1996-06-18 · resigned 2001-10-17
Resigned
LEICESTER, Mervyn Barnaby→
director · ~81y · resigned 1996-06-18
Resigned
PEARCE, Janette Margaret→
director · ~83y · appointed 1996-06-18 · resigned 2000-09-30
Resigned
PILMOOR, Victor→
director · ~75y · appointed 2018-03-21 · resigned 2020-06-30
Resigned

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

Recent filings (104 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-10-27
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2025-09-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-10-28
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2024-08-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-10-26
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2023-09-04
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-11-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2022-08-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-10-25
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2021-08-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-10-27
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2020-09-28
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2020-08-13
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-11-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2019-04-25