AIR PILOT PUBLISHING LIMITED
🌳Matureactive
04711356 · ltd · incorporated 2003-03-26
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 17.1y old — refinance window within 12 months
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Mar 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: Book publishing
Sector: Information & communication
Investor take
PursueActive trading company with a 91-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 85/100. Strong seller-intent signal (63/100, director aged 91). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: strategic trade sale (73/100).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
1 live charge · oldest 17.1y
85/100
ready
Refinance conversation should be productive — structure clean and timing right.
- · Oldest live charge is 17.1 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
- · Legal-friction score 15/100 — clean.
Data confidence
Overall: high (81/100)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
1 charges (1/1 with lender, 1/1 with type)
90
Directors & officers
8 officers (4 active, 8 linked, 4 with DOB)
80
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
10 connected companies via shared directors
75
Filing history
71 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
82/100Exceptional
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
100
Good data coverage for analysis.
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102| Metric | 2025-03-31 | 2024-03-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Average employees | 0 | 0 |
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
🔒Filing-note intelligence
1 signal 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
0
filings
Last 90 days
0
filings
Last 180 days
1
filing
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (30 events)Click to expand
- 2025-12-18📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-12-19📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-08-09📄mortgage-satisfy-charge-fullmortgage · MR04
- 2024-08-09🔓Charge satisfied #1
- 2023-12-08📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-12-16📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-11-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-12-18📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-03-26📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2020-03-26📄change-person-secretary-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH03
- 2019-09-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-12-10📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-12-04📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2016-11-10📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2016-04-22📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2015-11-02📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2011-04-29➕POOLEY, Sebastian Robert John appointeddirector
- 2009-06-23🔒Charge registered #1Lender: Hsbc Bank PLC
- 2004-02-18➕SAUL-POOLEY, Dorothy Jane appointedsecretary
- 2004-02-18➕SAUL-POOLEY, Dorothy Jane appointeddirector
- 2004-02-18➖RUTHERFORD, William Lindsay resignedsecretary
- 2004-02-17➖SIMPSON, Elizabeth Annabelle resigneddirector
- 2003-03-26🏢Company incorporatedAs AIR PILOT PUBLISHING LIMITED
- 2003-03-26➕POOLEY, Robert John appointeddirector
- 2003-03-26➕RUTHERFORD, William Lindsay appointedsecretary
- 2003-03-26➕FORMATION SECRETARIES LIMITED appointedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 2003-03-26➖FORMATION SECRETARIES LIMITED resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 2003-03-26➕SIMPSON, Elizabeth Annabelle appointeddirector
- 2003-03-26➕FORMATION NOMINEES LIMITED appointedcorporate-nominee-director
- 2003-03-26➖FORMATION NOMINEES LIMITED resignedcorporate-nominee-director
Owner dependency
83/100
Critical — business is the founderThe 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 23 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 91 — 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 candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 91 years old. Natural succession window is now.
- primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 23 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 23 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
cleanNo red flags detected from available public data. (This is not a clean bill of health — detailed accounts review still recommended.)
Shareholders & ownership
2 active beneficial owners| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Robert John Pooley Individual · British · DOB 02/1935 · age 91 | 50–75% | 50–75% | board control50-75% shares · 50-75% voting · board control | 06/04/2016 |
Ms Dorothy Jane Saul-Pooley Individual · British · DOB 05/1957 · age 69 | 25–50% | 25–50% | board control25-50% shares · 25-50% voting · board control | 06/04/2016 |
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 →Similar companies
Active · Technology · OX postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AGENTIC AUTONOMY LTD→ 16863317 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| AGGIA IT SERVICES LTD→ 15766477 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| AGILYSIS LIMITED→ 10548841 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| AGLOW RECORDS LIMITED→ 13349566 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| AGORA SYSTEMS LTD→ 16467514 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| AI BTOB MARKETING LTD→ 15234273 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| AI METAGOVERNANCE LTD→ 16069000 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| AI2 SOLUTIONS LTD→ 13463613 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| AIPHORIA LIMITED→ 14968896 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| AIRBOX AEROSPACE LIMITED→ 10298260 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| AIRCHARGE LTD→ 08815123 · est 2013 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 12y | — | — |
| AIRDROP LTD→ 07847249 · est 2011 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 14y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2003-03-26
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC58110 — Book publishing
Registered office
2 Michaels Court Hanney Road
Southmoor
Abingdon
Oxfordshire
OX13 5HR
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-04-09
Last: 2026-03-26
Officers (4 active · 4 resigned)
SAUL-POOLEY, Dorothy Jane→
Activesecretary · appointed 2004-02-18
View their other companies + combined net worth →
POOLEY, Robert John→
Activedirector · ~91y · appointed 2003-03-26
View their other companies + combined net worth →
POOLEY, Sebastian Robert John→
Activedirector · ~47y · appointed 2011-04-29
View their other companies + combined net worth →
SAUL-POOLEY, Dorothy Jane→
Activedirector · ~69y · appointed 2004-02-18
View their other companies + combined net worth →
RUTHERFORD, William Lindsay→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 2003-03-26 · resigned 2004-02-18
FORMATION SECRETARIES LIMITED→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2003-03-26 · resigned 2003-03-26
SIMPSON, Elizabeth Annabelle→
Resigneddirector · ~79y · appointed 2003-03-26 · resigned 2004-02-17
FORMATION NOMINEES LIMITED→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-director · appointed 2003-03-26 · resigned 2003-03-26
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
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| satisfied | HSBC Hsbc Bank PLC | Debenture | 1 property | 23/06/2009 | 09/08/2024 |
Recent filings (71 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-03-31
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-12-18
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-04-01
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-12-19
mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
mortgage · MR04
2024-08-09
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-04-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-12-08
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-03-31
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-12-16
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-05-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-11-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-04-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-12-18
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-04-03
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2020-03-26