THE SOCIAL NEWS COMPANY LIMITED

🌳Matureactive
SC532497 · ltd · incorporated 2016-04-13
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.
Opportunity decay
hardening · 12-months
Already tight — no obvious softening catalysts on the horizon.
  • · Thesis: well-run, low negotiation leverage
🔒Estimated value
—
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Turnover
—
year to Apr 2025
Net worth
£203
book net assets
Opportunity
79/100
Strong
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What this business does
Primary activity: News agency activities
Sector: Information & communication
Investor take
Pursue
Strong opportunity: asset-holding vehicle with strong profile and bankable structure.

Opportunity 79/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. 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 (76/100)

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
3 officers (3 active, 3 linked, 2 with DOB)
83
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
26 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
79/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.

Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
75
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declared
Positive net assets
Net assets £203
Net assets shrinking
Down £45 YoY

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
£203
↓ 18% YoY
Current Assets
£248
~ YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£50£99£149£198£248Apr 2024Apr 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2025-04-302024-04-30
Total assets£248£248
Current assets£248£248
Net assets£203£248

Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.

Recent activity

Last 30 days
1
filing
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 90 days
1
filing
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
2
filings
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
  • • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (19 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-01-25
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-01-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-06-18
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  4. 2024-01-25
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  5. 2023-03-06
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  6. 2023-01-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  7. 2022-01-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  8. 2021-01-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  9. 2020-01-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  10. 2019-01-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  11. 2018-01-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  12. 2016-06-02
    📄
    change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH03
  13. 2016-06-02
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  14. 2016-06-02
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  15. 2016-05-09
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  16. 2016-04-13
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As THE SOCIAL NEWS COMPANY LIMITED
  17. 2016-04-13
    ➕
    DEVLIN, Mark appointed
    secretary
  18. 2016-04-13
    ➕
    DEVLIN, Mark appointed
    director
  19. 2016-04-13
    ➕
    DEVLIN, Mary appointed
    director

Owner dependency

74/100
High — earn-out structure required

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

FACTORS
  • +Two-director setup: Only two active directors — typical of owner-managed SMEs but limits succession.
  • +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 60 — approaching natural succession window.
  • +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.

Succession & seller-readiness

51/100
Moderate signal

Some succession indicators present. Worth watching; approach if sector/strategy fits.

SIGNALS
  • secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 60. Early succession window.
  • secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
  • 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
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Mark Devlin
Individual · British · DOB 12/1966 · age 60
25–50%
25–50%board control25-50% shares · 25-50% voting · board control13/04/2016
Mrs Mary Devlin
Individual · British · DOB 06/1966 · age 60
25–50%
25–50%board control25-50% shares · 25-50% voting · board control13/04/2016

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 →
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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.

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Company details

Statusactive
Typeltd
Incorporated2016-04-13
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC63910 — News agency activities

Registered office

11 Hamilton Park South
Hamilton
ML3 0FH
Scotland

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-01-31
Last made up to: 2025-04-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-04-26
Last: 2026-04-12

Officers (3 active · 0 resigned)

DEVLIN, Mark→
secretary · appointed 2016-04-13
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
DEVLIN, Mark→
director · ~60y · appointed 2016-04-13
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
DEVLIN, Mary→
director · ~60y · appointed 2016-04-13
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active

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

Recent filings (26 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-04-19
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2026-01-25
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-04-25
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-01-29
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2024-06-18
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-04-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-01-25
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-04-18
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2023-03-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-01-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-04-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-01-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-04-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-01-21
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-04-23