5M BOOKS LTD
🏛️Establishedactive
12750778 · ltd · incorporated 2020-07-17
Investment thesis
Established operating company — standard diligence applies, no dominant angle.
Why interesting: Live, filing, normal profile.
Why risky: No standout signals in either direction.
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Dec 2024
Net worth
£-57.6k
book net assets
Opportunity
71/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Book publishing
Sector: Information & communication
Investor take
Pass (distressed without resilience)Distressed active trading company — structural issues outweigh the discount.
Opportunity 71/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: strategic trade sale (73/100).
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
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
4 officers (3 active, 4 linked, 3 with DOB)
85
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
15 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
71/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Business quality
65
Adequate — check latest filings for context.
Acquirability
50
Some acquirability indicators.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declaredNegative net assets
Liabilities exceed assets by £57,560
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
-£58k
↓ 53% YoY
Current Assets
£139k
↓ 15% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2024-12-31 | 2023-12-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £-56.3k | £-36.3k |
| Current assets | £139.5k | £164.8k |
| Net assets | £-57.6k | £-37.6k |
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 (15 events)Click to expand
- 2025-08-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-09-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-09-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-07-13📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-08-24📄change-account-reference-date-company-current-extendedaccounts · AA01
- 2021-05-07➖BALMFORTH, Nigel John resigneddirector
- 2021-05-07📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2020-09-09📄appoint-person-director-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP01
- 2020-09-09📄appoint-person-director-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP01
- 2020-08-14➕HULBERT, Sarah Joanna Dorothy appointeddirector
- 2020-08-14➕BALMFORTH, Nigel John appointeddirector
- 2020-07-17🏢Company incorporatedAs 5M BOOKS LTD
- 2020-07-17➕TOYNBEE, Helen Sarah appointedsecretary
- 2020-07-17➕TOYNBEE, Jeremy Giles appointeddirector
- 2020-07-17📄incorporation-companyincorporation · NEWINC
Owner dependency
58/100
Moderate — manageable with handoverSome founder dependency, but not acute. A structured handover period should cover most risk.
FACTORS
- +Two-director setup: Only two active directors — typical of owner-managed SMEs but limits succession.
Succession & seller-readiness
36/100
Weak signalLimited succession signal. Not a near-term off-market candidate.
SIGNALS
- secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
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
1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Jeremy Giles Toynbee Individual · British · DOB 05/1976 · age 50 | 75–100% | 75–100% | board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control | 17/07/2020 |
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 · CM postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.1618 SOLUTIONS & CONSULTANCY LTD→ 16281532 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| 166 MANAGEMENT LTD→ 17052828 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 19SEVENTYONE LTD→ 14957851 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| 2020 DESIGN LTD→ 12209165 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| 231 STUDIOS LIMITED→ 15772225 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| 2E CONSULTANCY LTD→ 13998395 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| 2TO1 CONSULTING LIMITED→ 13465602 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| 360 PRODUCTIONS GROUP UK LTD→ 15677525 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| 360 VIDPRO LTD→ 15329605 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| 3SIXTEEN RECORDS LIMITED→ 16234116 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| 4M TECH CONSULTANCY SERVICES LIMITED→ 15842823 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| 5S DATALABS LIMITED→ 11185066 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions
6 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
Incorporated2020-07-17
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC58110 — Book publishing
Registered office
Lings Cottage
Great Easton
Dunmow
CM6 2HH
England
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last made up to: 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-01-22
Last: 2026-01-08
Officers (3 active · 1 resigned)
TOYNBEE, Helen Sarah→
Activesecretary · appointed 2020-07-17
View their other companies + combined net worth →
HULBERT, Sarah Joanna Dorothy→
Activedirector · ~49y · appointed 2020-08-14
View their other companies + combined net worth →
TOYNBEE, Jeremy Giles→
Activedirector · ~50y · appointed 2020-07-17
View their other companies + combined net worth →
BALMFORTH, Nigel John→
Resigneddirector · ~69y · appointed 2020-08-14 · resigned 2021-05-07
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (15 total)
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-01-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-08-29
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-01-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-09-25
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-01-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-09-30
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-01-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-07-13
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-01-11
change-account-reference-date-company-current-extended
accounts · AA01
2021-08-24
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2021-05-07
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-01-08
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2020-09-09
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2020-09-09
incorporation-company
incorporation · NEWINC
2020-07-17