BUCHAN NEWSPAPERS LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
SC216792 · ltd · incorporated 2001-03-13
Investment thesis
Zombie company — trading but stalled; unlikely mover.
Why interesting: Quiet, steady; could be a succession or carve-out candidate with the right conversation.
Why risky: No growth signal; thin margin for error on price.
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
not disclosed
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: Other publishing activities
Sector: Information & communication
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company with a 67-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 67). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Broaden director team. Sole director creates succession risk and reduces buyer comfort. Appoint a second director or strong #2. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).

Data confidence

Overall: low (54/100)

Sparse data coverage. Treat AI-generated outputs as preliminary. Manual diligence essential.

Company profile
address, 1 SIC codes, incorporation date
100
Financials
No iXBRL financials extracted
0
Lenders & charges
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
6 officers (2 active, 6 linked, 3 with DOB)
80
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
66 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
80/100Exceptional
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
90
Good data coverage for analysis.

Recent activity

Last 30 days
0
filings
Last 90 days
0
filings
Last 180 days
1
filing
  • • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (26 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-11-12
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-08-18
    ➖
    ANDERSON, John resigned
    director
  3. 2025-08-18
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  4. 2024-12-13
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  5. 2023-12-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  6. 2022-12-20
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  7. 2021-12-07
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2020-12-18
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2019-12-16
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2018-12-07
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  11. 2018-01-03
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  12. 2017-01-04
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  13. 2016-04-12
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  14. 2015-12-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  15. 2015-04-17
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  16. 2014-12-19
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  17. 2007-05-30
    ➕
    ANDERSON, John appointed
    director
  18. 2007-05-30
    ➖
    BUCHAN, Margaret Duncan resigned
    director
  19. 2001-03-13
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As BUCHAN NEWSPAPERS LIMITED
  20. 2001-03-13
    ➕
    BUCHAN, Alan Simpson appointed
    secretary
  21. 2001-03-13
    ➕
    BUCHAN, Alan Simpson appointed
    director
  22. 2001-03-13
    ➕
    FIRST SCOTTISH SECRETARIES LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  23. 2001-03-13
    ➖
    FIRST SCOTTISH SECRETARIES LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  24. 2001-03-13
    ➕
    BUCHAN, Margaret Duncan appointed
    director
  25. 2001-03-13
    ➕
    FIRST SCOTTISH INTERNATIONAL SERVICES LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-director
  26. 2001-03-13
    ➖
    FIRST SCOTTISH INTERNATIONAL SERVICES LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-director

Owner dependency

100/100
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
  • +Sole director: Only one active director — all governance concentrated on one person.
  • +Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "BUCHAN" — strong identity link between founder and business.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 25 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 67 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

95/100
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 67. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
  • primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 25 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 25 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

clean
No 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%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Alan Simpson Buchan
Individual · Scottish · DOB 07/1959 · age 67
75–100%
75–100%75-100% shares · 75-100% voting06/04/2016

From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.

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Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions

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 →
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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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Company details

Statusactive
Typeltd
Incorporated2001-03-13
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC58190 — Other publishing activities

Registered office

11 Victoria Road
Peterhead
Aberdeenshire
AB42 1UB

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-06-18
Last: 2025-06-04

Officers (2 active · 4 resigned)

BUCHAN, Alan Simpson→
secretary · appointed 2001-03-13
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
BUCHAN, Alan Simpson→
director · ~67y · appointed 2001-03-13
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
FIRST SCOTTISH SECRETARIES LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2001-03-13 · resigned 2001-03-13
Resigned
ANDERSON, John→
director · ~45y · appointed 2007-05-30 · resigned 2025-08-18
Resigned
BUCHAN, Margaret Duncan→
director · ~87y · appointed 2001-03-13 · resigned 2007-05-30
Resigned
FIRST SCOTTISH INTERNATIONAL SERVICES LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2001-03-13 · resigned 2001-03-13
Resigned

Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.

Recent filings (66 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-11-12
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2025-08-18
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-06-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-12-13
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-06-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-12-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-06-04
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-05-27
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-12-20
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-04-25
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-12-07
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-04-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-12-18
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-03-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-12-16