ANN ARBOR PUBLISHERS LIMITED

🌳Matureactive
02773739 · ltd · incorporated 1992-12-15
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 Dec 2024
Net worth
£307.0k
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: Book publishing
Sector: Information & communication
Investor take
Pursue
Asset-holding vehicle with a 83-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (63/100, director aged 83). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: strategic trade sale (73/100).

Data confidence

Overall: medium (78/100)

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
6 officers (4 active, 6 linked, 3 with DOB)
80
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
2 connected companies via shared directors
51
Filing history
100 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.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declared
Positive net assets
Net assets £307,015
Net assets shrinking
Down £214,555 YoY
Cash YoY
+6%
Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£216k
↑ 5.7% YoY
Net Worth
£307k
↓ 41% YoY
Current Assets
£560k
↓ 3.0% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£116k£231k£347k£462k£578kDec 2023Dec 2024

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2024-12-312023-12-31
Total assets£308.7k£523.2k
Current assets£560.4k£577.5k
Cash£216.0k£204.4k
Debtors£164.4k£217.3k
Net assets£307.0k£521.6k

Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.

🔒Filing-note intelligence

2 signals detected in this company's narrative notes — going-concern language, audit opinion, contingent liabilities, related-party transactions.

Available from the Pro tier upwards.

See pricing →

Recent activity

Last 30 days
2
filings
  • • 2 capital
Last 90 days
2
filings
  • • 2 capital
Last 180 days
2
filings
  • • 2 capital
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (30 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-06-09
    📄
    capital-allotment-shares
    capital · SH01
  2. 2026-06-09
    📄
    capital-allotment-shares
    capital · SH01
  3. 2025-09-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2025-09-22
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC05
  5. 2025-04-23
    📄
    capital-allotment-shares
    capital · SH01
  6. 2025-04-23
    📄
    capital-allotment-shares
    capital · SH01
  7. 2024-09-16
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2024-08-31
    📄
    gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
    gazette · DISS40
  9. 2024-08-28
    📄
    capital-allotment-shares
    capital · SH01
  10. 2024-08-28
    📄
    capital-allotment-shares
    capital · SH01
  11. 2024-08-28
    📄
    capital-allotment-shares
    capital · SH01
  12. 2024-08-28
    📄
    capital-allotment-shares
    capital · SH01
  13. 2024-08-27
    📄
    gazette-notice-compulsory
    gazette · GAZ1
  14. 2024-04-09
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  15. 2024-04-09
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  16. 2023-09-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  17. 2023-04-11
    📄
    capital-allotment-shares
    capital · SH01
  18. 2022-09-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  19. 2022-08-16
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  20. 2022-08-16
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  21. 2022-07-18
    ➕
    OWENS, Lynne appointed
    director
  22. 2022-07-18
    ➕
    OWENS, Steven appointed
    director
  23. 2021-12-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  24. 1992-12-15
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As ANN ARBOR PUBLISHERS LIMITED
  25. 1992-12-15
    ➕
    LAVERACK, Anita Louise appointed
    secretary
  26. 1992-12-15
    ➕
    LAVERACK, Peter Dennis appointed
    director
  27. 1992-12-15
    ➕
    LONDON LAW SECRETARIAL LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  28. 1992-12-15
    ➖
    LONDON LAW SECRETARIAL LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  29. 1992-12-15
    ➕
    LONDON LAW SERVICES LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-director
  30. 1992-12-15
    ➖
    LONDON LAW SERVICES LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-director

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
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 34 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 83 — succession pressure is live.
  • +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.

Succession & seller-readiness

90/100
Likely off-market candidate

Strong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.

SIGNALS
  • primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 83 years old. Natural succession window is now.
  • primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 34 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 34 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

Sarumcastle Limited holds majority control (50-75%). Likely parent but not wholly-owned.

🏛️
Sarumcastle Limited
Corporate parent · holds 50-75% shares
majority
⬇
ANN ARBOR PUBLISHERS LIMITED
This company · 02773739

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

Shareholders & ownership

1 active beneficial owner
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Sarumcastle Limited
Corporate entity
50–75%
50–75%50-75% shares · 50-75% voting06/04/2016

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
Incorporated1992-12-15
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC58110 — Book publishing

Registered office

Halidon House 17d Windmill Way West
Ramparts Business Park
Berwick Upon Tweed
Northumberland
TD15 1TB
England

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last made up to: 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-06-19
Last: 2025-06-05

Officers (4 active · 2 resigned)

LAVERACK, Anita Louise→
secretary · appointed 1992-12-15
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
LAVERACK, Peter Dennis→
director · ~83y · appointed 1992-12-15
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
OWENS, Lynne→
director · ~57y · appointed 2022-07-18
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
OWENS, Steven→
director · ~57y · appointed 2022-07-18
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
LONDON LAW SECRETARIAL LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 1992-12-15 · resigned 1992-12-15
Resigned
LONDON LAW SERVICES LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 1992-12-15 · resigned 1992-12-15
Resigned

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

Recent filings (100 total)

capital-allotment-shares
capital · SH01
2026-06-09
capital-allotment-shares
capital · SH01
2026-06-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-09-26
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC05
2025-09-22
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-06-13
capital-allotment-shares
capital · SH01
2025-04-23
capital-allotment-shares
capital · SH01
2025-04-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-09-16
gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
gazette · DISS40
2024-08-31
capital-allotment-shares
capital · SH01
2024-08-28
capital-allotment-shares
capital · SH01
2024-08-28
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-08-28
capital-allotment-shares
capital · SH01
2024-08-28
capital-allotment-shares
capital · SH01
2024-08-28
gazette-notice-compulsory
gazette · GAZ1
2024-08-27