D.C. THOMSON & COMPANY LIMITED

🌳Matureactive

SC005830 · ltd · incorporated 1905-03-27

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.

Why now

Window closing · high confidence

Getting harder to buy — profile has hardened into "well run hard buy" recently.

· Investment thesis: unclassified → well_run_hard_buy
· Deal-killer verdict: complicated → clean
· PSC count: 0 → 1

Opportunity decay

hardening · 6-months

Hardening — profile is tightening. If you want to act, do it before the window closes further.

· 4 recent signals strengthening vs 0 weakening

What changed my view

Last 30 days

Picture improved over the last 30 days — 2 positive signals vs 0 negative.

·Investment thesis: unclassified → well_run_hard_buy
↑Deal-killer verdict: complicated → clean
↑PSC count: 0 → 1

Last 90 days

Picture improved over the last 90 days — 2 positive signals vs 0 negative.

·Investment thesis: unclassified → well_run_hard_buy
↑Deal-killer verdict: complicated → clean
↑PSC count: 0 → 1

Last 180 days

No snapshot from 180 days ago — start tracking from today.

🔒Estimated value

—

Upgrade to see

Turnover

—

not disclosed

Net worth

—

book net assets

Opportunity

80/100

Exceptional

🔒Generate AI memo →🔒Outreach pack →🔒Corporate story →📑 Reports →Sign in to watch

What this business does

Primary activity: Publishing of newspapers

Sector: Information & communication

Investor take

Pursue

Strong opportunity: active trading company with exceptional profile and acceptable with review structure.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 70/100. High owner-dependency — earn-out structure likely required for clean transition. Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: strategic trade sale (73/100).

Data confidence

Overall: medium (60/100)

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

No iXBRL financials extracted

Lenders & charges

Confirmed no charges registered

Directors & officers

14 officers (6 active, 14 linked, 10 with DOB)

Ownership & PSC

1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared

Director network

38 connected companies via shared directors

Filing history

127 filings on record

Gazette notices

No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)

Opportunity Score

80/100Exceptional

PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional

Strong composite across quality, acquirability, and risk. High-priority target — progress to serious diligence.

Business quality

Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.

Acquirability

Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.

Risk profile

Few red flags.

Signal strength

Good data coverage for analysis.

Recent activity

Last 30 days

filings

Last 90 days

filings

• 4 capital
• 2 persons-with-significant-control

Last 180 days

filings

• 4 capital
• 2 persons-with-significant-control
• 2 officers

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (36 events)Click to expand

2026-06-19
📄
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC02
2026-06-09
📄
withdrawal-of-a-person-with-significant-control-statement
persons-with-significant-control · PSC09
2026-05-19
📄
capital-allotment-shares
capital · SH01
2026-05-07
📄
capital-statement-capital-company-with-date-currency-figure
capital · SH19
2026-05-07
📄
legacy
capital · OC425
2026-05-07
📄
certificate-capital-reduction-issued-capital
capital · CERT15
2026-04-01
➕
MCCALL, Peter appointed
secretary
2026-04-01
📄
appoint-person-secretary-company-with-name-date
officers · AP03
2026-04-01
📄
termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM02
2026-03-31
➖
EVANS, Susannah resigned
secretary
2026-03-09
📄
memorandum-articles
incorporation · MA
2026-03-09
📄
resolution
resolution · RESOLUTIONS
2025-12-21
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-group
accounts · AA
2024-12-31
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-group
accounts · AA
2024-01-09
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-group
accounts · AA
2023-01-10
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-group
accounts · AA
2022-04-01
➕
GRAY, Benjamin John Howard appointed
director
2022-04-01
➕
THOMSON, John Sidney appointed
director
2022-04-01
📄
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2022-04-01
📄
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2022-04-01
📄
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2022-03-31
➖
THOMSON, Andrew Francis resigned
director
2021-12-24
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-group
accounts · AA
2021-01-15
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-group
accounts · AA
2019-03-05
➖
DOUGLAS, Irene resigned
secretary
2019-03-05
➕
EVANS, Susannah appointed
secretary
2014-05-30
➖
THOMSON, Lewis Murray resigned
director
2014-04-01
➕
THOMSON, David Howard Eric appointed
director
2011-05-02
➕
HALL, Alan Richard Finden appointed
director
2006-11-07
➖
THOMSON, Brian Harold resigned
director
2004-07-16
➖
THOMSON, Alastair Gordon resigned
director
2002-01-17
➖
THOMSON, Derek Ballance resigned
director
1995-10-27
➖
MCDOUGALL, Allister resigned
secretary
1995-10-11
➕
DOUGLAS, Irene appointed
secretary
1995-10-01
➕
THOMSON, Christopher Harold William appointed
director
1905-03-27
🏢
Company incorporated
As D.C. THOMSON & COMPANY LIMITED

Owner dependency

88/100

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

-5 active directors: Broader management team in place — suggests transferable governance.
+Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "THOMSON" — strong identity link between founder and business.
+Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 31 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
+Founder age: Director aged approximately 76 — succession pressure is live.
+Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.

Succession & seller-readiness

80/100

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 76 years old. Natural succession window is now.
primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 31 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
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

D.C. Thomson & Company Holdings Limited is the ultimate parent — holding 75%+ shares. This company sits inside their group.

🏛️

D.C. Thomson & Company Holdings Limited

Corporate parent · holds 75-100% shares · board control

ultimate parent

⬇

D.C. THOMSON & COMPANY LIMITED

This company · SC005830

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%

Name	Shares	Voting rights	Nature of control	Notified
D.C. Thomson & Company Holdings Limited Corporate entity	75–100%	75–100%	board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control	20/03/2026

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

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ANGUS CARERS ASSOCIATION→ SC212062 · est 2000	—	—	—	24	25y	81	71y
ASBESTOS ACTION (TAYSIDE)→ SC231615 · est 2002 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	24y	81	79y
ARBROATH AERIALS LTD→ SC325256 · est 2007	—	—	£7.7k	—	19y	80	59y
AVD COMPUTING LTD.→ SC206963 · est 2000	—	—	—	3	26y	80	71y
CORNERSTONE INFORMATICS LTD→ SC360193 · est 2009	—	—	—	0	17y	80	64y
CRE CONSULTANCY LIMITED→ SC336621 · est 2008	—	—	—	2	18y	80	65y
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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

Incorporated1905-03-27

Jurisdictionscotland

Primary SIC58130 — Publishing of newspapers

Registered office

Courier Buildings

2 Albert Square

Dundee

DD1 9QJ

Scotland

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: 2026-12-31

Last made up to: 2025-03-31

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2026-12-23

Last: 2025-12-09