DRUM BOOKS LTD.

🌳Matureactive
SC244901 · ltd · incorporated 2003-03-03
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
—
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: Retail sale via mail order houses or via Internet
Sector: Wholesale & retail
ALSO REGISTERED FOR
  • 58190Other publishing activities
  • 77110Renting and leasing of cars and light motor vehicles
  • 82990Other business support service activities n.e.c.
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company with a 61-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 61). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).

Data confidence

Overall: medium (78/100)

Adequate coverage. AI outputs are reliable for the sections scored high; verify the rest in diligence.

Company profile
address, 4 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
7 officers (3 active, 7 linked, 3 with DOB)
79
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
3 connected companies via shared directors
54
Filing history
62 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.

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
£0£0£0£0£0£0Dec 2023Dec 2024

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2024-12-312023-12-31

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
0
filings
Last 90 days
0
filings
Last 180 days
0
filings
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (27 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-09-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-09-25
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-06-10
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
  4. 2023-09-25
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  5. 2022-09-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  6. 2021-09-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  7. 2020-11-19
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2019-09-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2018-09-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2017-05-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  11. 2016-09-25
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  12. 2016-03-16
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  13. 2015-09-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  14. 2015-06-29
    📄
    change-account-reference-date-company-previous-extended
    accounts · AA01
  15. 2015-03-30
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  16. 2009-03-31
    ➕
    MCCABE, Julia appointed
    director
  17. 2005-03-10
    ➕
    MCCABE, Julia appointed
    secretary
  18. 2005-03-10
    ➖
    KELLY, Louise Marie Salette resigned
    secretary
  19. 2005-03-10
    ➖
    KELLY, Louise Marie Salette resigned
    director
  20. 2003-03-03
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As DRUM BOOKS LTD.
  21. 2003-03-03
    ➕
    MCCABE, Ed appointed
    director
  22. 2003-03-03
    ➕
    KELLY, Louise Marie Salette appointed
    secretary
  23. 2003-03-03
    ➕
    BRIAN REID LTD. appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  24. 2003-03-03
    ➖
    BRIAN REID LTD. resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  25. 2003-03-03
    ➕
    KELLY, Louise Marie Salette appointed
    director
  26. 2003-03-03
    ➕
    STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD. appointed
    corporate-nominee-director
  27. 2003-03-03
    ➖
    STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD. resigned
    corporate-nominee-director

Owner dependency

84/100
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
  • +Two-director setup: Only two active directors — typical of owner-managed SMEs but limits succession.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 23 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 61 — approaching natural succession window.
  • +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.

Succession & seller-readiness

76/100
Likely off-market candidate

Strong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.

SIGNALS
  • secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 61. Early succession window.
  • secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
  • primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 23 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 23 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

2 active beneficial owners · dominant holder ≥75%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Edward Mccabe
Individual · British · DOB 08/1965 · age 61
75–100%
—75-100% shares06/04/2016
Mrs Julia Mccabe
Individual · British · DOB 02/1978 · age 48
50–75%
—50-75% shares01/10/2023

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 →

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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
Incorporated2003-03-03
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC47910 — Retail sale via mail order houses or via Internet

Registered office

606 Old Dalkeith Road
Edinburgh
EH16 4SN

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last made up to: 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-06-18
Last: 2025-06-04

Officers (3 active · 4 resigned)

MCCABE, Julia→
secretary · appointed 2005-03-10
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
MCCABE, Ed→
director · ~61y · appointed 2003-03-03
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
MCCABE, Julia→
director · ~48y · appointed 2009-03-31
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
KELLY, Louise Marie Salette→
secretary · appointed 2003-03-03 · resigned 2005-03-10
Resigned
BRIAN REID LTD.→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2003-03-03 · resigned 2003-03-03
Resigned
KELLY, Louise Marie Salette→
director · ~66y · appointed 2003-03-03 · resigned 2005-03-10
Resigned
STEPHEN MABBOTT LTD.→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2003-03-03 · resigned 2003-03-03
Resigned

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

Recent filings (62 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-09-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-06-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-09-25
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-06-10
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2024-06-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-09-25
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-06-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-09-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-06-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-09-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-06-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-11-19
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-06-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-09-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-06-11