CANONGATE BOOKS LIMITED

📈Growthactive

SC152259 · ltd · incorporated 1994-08-02

Investment thesis

Growth-phase business — story-led; valuation sensitive to momentum.

Why interesting: Trading is scaling; acquirers paying for trajectory get disproportionate leverage.

Why risky: Price often leads fundamentals; dependency on founder often high.

🔒Estimated value

—

Upgrade to see

Turnover

—

year to Mar 2025

Net worth

—

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

Conservative operator with a 65-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 67/100. Strong seller-intent signal (73/100, director aged 65). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Consolidate lender relationships. 4 distinct lenders creates friction — refinance into single-lender structure for cleaner diligence. Most likely exit: strategic trade sale (88/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

5 live charges · 4 lenders · oldest 30.5y

45/100

clean up first

Refinance viable after a tidy-up — address the highlighted items first.

· Oldest live charge is 30.5 years old — likely at or near maturity.
· 4 lenders named — inter-creditor friction likely.
· Legal-friction score 30/100 — workable, but lender will want more DD.
· Profitable and stable/growing — lender coverage supportable.

Data confidence

Overall: high (82/100)

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

Lenders & charges

5 charges (5/5 with lender, 5/5 with type)

Directors & officers

28 officers (8 active, 28 linked, 25 with DOB)

Ownership & PSC

1 active PSC(s) of 4 total, 4 with control declared

Director network

10 connected companies via shared directors

Filing history

184 filings on record

Gazette notices

No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)

🔒Estimated company valuation

Sector-multiple EBITDA, turnover, and NAV-proxy valuation range with confidence tier — derived from extracted iXBRL financials.

Available from the Pro tier upwards.

See pricing →

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

100

Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 102

Profitable

Profit before tax £1,319,606

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts

Cash

—

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
Profit before tax	£1.32M	£677.9k
Average employees	64	6600

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

filings

Last 90 days

filings

• 2 mortgage
• 2 capital
• 1 persons-with-significant-control

Last 180 days

filings

• 2 mortgage
• 2 capital
• 1 persons-with-significant-control

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (80 events)Click to expand

2026-04-07
📄
mortgage-charge-part-both-with-charge-number
mortgage · MR05
2026-04-01
📄
capital-return-purchase-own-shares
capital · SH03
2026-03-24
📄
mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
mortgage · MR04
2026-03-24
🔓
Charge satisfied #4
2026-02-26
📄
capital-cancellation-shares
capital · SH06
2026-02-25
📄
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2025-11-14
📄
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2025-11-06
➖
YOUNG, David John resigned
director
2025-10-10
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-full
accounts · AA
2025-07-31
📄
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2025-07-29
📄
memorandum-articles
incorporation · MA
2025-07-28
📄
resolution
resolution · RESOLUTIONS
2025-04-09
📄
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2025-04-09
📄
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2025-04-09
📄
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2024-11-08
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-full
accounts · AA
2023-11-03
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-full
accounts · AA
2023-10-24
📄
statement-of-companys-objects
change-of-constitution · CC04
2023-10-24
📄
memorandum-articles
incorporation · MA
2023-10-24
📄
resolution
resolution · RESOLUTIONS
2023-06-13
📄
capital-allotment-shares
capital · SH01
2023-03-21
📄
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2023-03-21
📄
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2023-03-01
➕
OLLARD, Anna Marie Leontia appointed
director
2023-03-01
➕
OLUSOGA, David Adetayo appointed
director
2022-09-12
📄
capital-cancellation-shares
capital · SH06
2022-07-29
➖
MCVEIGH, Charles Senff resigned
director
2021-11-11
➖
BLAND, Jennifer Mary, Lady resigned
director
2020-02-26
➕
MCVEIGH, Charles Senff appointed
director
2019-12-19
➖
MCVEIGH, Charles resigned
director
2017-12-14
➕
BICKMORE, Francis Giles appointed
director
2017-12-14
➕
FRY, Jennifer Izumi appointed
director
2017-12-14
➕
BLAND, Jennifer Mary, Lady appointed
director
2017-09-14
🔒
Charge registered #4
Lender: Svenska Handelsbanken Ab (Publ)
2017-09-12
🔒
Charge registered #5
Lender: Svenska Handelsbanken Ab (Publ)
2017-07-13
➖
TODD, Jennifer Jane resigned
director
2017-07-05
🔓
Charge satisfied #3
2017-07-05
🔓
Charge satisfied #2
2017-01-28
➖
BLAND, Francis Christopher Buchan, Sir resigned
director
2016-10-10
➕
YOUNG, David John appointed
director
2014-10-29
➕
GIBB, Kathleen Lorna appointed
director
2014-07-14
➕
GIBB, Kathleen appointed
secretary
2014-04-30
➖
TASTARD, Susannah Jane resigned
director
2012-12-31
➖
DAVIES, Nicholas resigned
director
2012-11-06
🔒
Charge registered #3
Lender: The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
2012-06-27
➖
COLLINGRIDGE, Polly Alexandra resigned
director
2012-04-30
➖
SEROTA, Anya resigned
director
2012-01-01
➕
TASTARD, Susannah Jane appointed
director
2010-09-30
➖
ANDERSON, Kathleen Elizabeth resigned
director
2009-04-29
➖
MCAINSH, Sheila Alexander resigned
secretary

Showing most recent 50 of 80 events

Owner dependency

65/100

High — earn-out structure required

Material founder dependency. Consider a 2-3 year earn-out and build in a handover plan before completion.

FACTORS

-7 active directors: Broader management team in place — suggests transferable governance.
+Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 32 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
+Founder age: Director aged approximately 65 — succession pressure is live.

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 63+: Senior director is approximately 65. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 32 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 32 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 med ·

Charge satisfaction-then-recreation pattern

medium

Multiple instances where a charge was satisfied and a new charge created within 6 months. Suggests active refinancing cycle.

Shareholders & ownership

1 active beneficial owner

Name	Shares	Voting rights	Nature of control	Notified
Mr James Edmund Byng Individual · British · DOB 06/1969 · age 57	25–50%	25–50%	25-50% shares · 25-50% voting	02/04/2025

3 historic (ceased) PSCs

Lady Jennifer Mary Blandceased 02/04/2025· 25-50% shares
The Executors Of The Estate Of Sir Christopher Buchan Blandceased 01/05/2018· 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting · trust interest
Mr Charles Mcveighceased 15/09/2017· 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting · significant influence

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 · EH postcode area

Company	Est. value	Turnover	Net worth	Staff	Age	Opp	Director
SEEBYTE LIMITED→ SC194014 · est 1999	£6.84M £4.88M–£8.79M	£10.82M	—	8800	27y	84	61y
EXTRAORDINARY MANAGED SERVICES LIMITED→ SC214448 · est 2001 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	25y	83	58y
INFOGISTICS LIMITED→ SC208321 · est 2000	—	—	—	700	25y	83	60y
INTELLIGENT MOBILE LIMITED→ SC266060 · est 2004	—	—	—	—	22y	83	66y
MICROSYS SOLUTIONS LIMITED→ SC185715 · est 1998	—	—	£140.2k	—	28y	83	59y
NDI TECHNOLOGIES LTD.→ SC173002 · est 1997 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	29y	83	93y
NETWORK ROI LTD→ SC299422 · est 2006	—	—	£161.9k	—	20y	83	71y
YAMAL PRODUCTIONS LTD.→ SC156613 · est 1995 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	31y	—	—
YELLOW TREE FILMS LTD→ SC863325 · est 2025 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
YOUR AI MORTGAGE MENTOR LTD→ SC847622 · est 2025 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
YPLAN? LIMITED→ SC591532 · est 2018 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	8y	—	—
YUAN YANG LIMITED→ SC373375 · est 2010 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	16y	—	—

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

Incorporated1994-08-02

Jurisdictionscotland

Primary SIC58110 — Book publishing

Registered office

14 High Street

Edinburgh

EH1 1TE

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: 2026-12-31

Last made up to: 2025-03-31

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2026-08-08

Last: 2025-07-25