JOHN MCDONOUGH EDITORIAL SERVICES LIMITED
Opportunity 63/100 (worth a look), bankability 70/100. Strong seller-intent signal (65/100, director aged 64). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Resolve: Company dissolved. Company has been dissolved — it no longer legally exists. Any diligence here is historical only. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).
Data confidence
Overall: medium (55/100)Adequate coverage. AI outputs are reliable for the sections scored high; verify the rest in diligence.
Mixed signal. Worth opening the full target workup before deciding to pursue.
Recent activity
Corporate timeline (21 events)Click to expand
- 2024-05-14📄gazette-dissolved-voluntarygazette · GAZ2(A)
- 2024-05-14🏁Company dissolved
- 2024-02-27📄gazette-notice-voluntarygazette · GAZ1(A)
- 2024-02-18📄dissolution-application-strike-off-companydissolution · DS01
- 2023-12-14📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-12-08📄change-account-reference-date-company-previous-extendedaccounts · AA01
- 2022-11-20📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-08-04📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2020-12-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2019-10-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2019-10-15📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2019-10-15📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2018-09-20📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2018-03-14📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2018-03-13📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2018-03-13📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2017-11-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2017-03-30📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2016-11-16📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2010-03-26🏢Company incorporatedAs JOHN MCDONOUGH EDITORIAL SERVICES LIMITED
- 2010-03-26➕MCDONOUGH, John Warren appointeddirector
Owner dependency
The business appears inseparable from the founder. Acquisition without a serious earn-out or meaningful transition period would likely destroy value.
- +Sole director: Only one active director — all governance concentrated on one person.
- +Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "MCDONOUGH" — strong identity link between founder and business.
- +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 16 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 64 — approaching natural succession window.
- +No director turnover: Company is 16 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.
Succession & seller-readiness
Strong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
- primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 64. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
- secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 16 years.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 16 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 high ·Company has been dissolved — it no longer legally exists. Any diligence here is historical only.
Evidence: Dissolved on 2024-05-14
Shareholders & ownership
1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr John Warren Mcdonough Individual · British · DOB 02/1962 · age 64 | 75–100% | 75–100% | 75-100% shares · 75-100% voting | 06/04/2016 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
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8 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 →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.
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