D.C. THOMSON ENTERPRISE FINANCE LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
SC478269 · ltd · incorporated 2014-05-23
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
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Turnover
not disclosed
Net worth
book net assets
Opportunity
73/100
Strong
🔔
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What this business does
Primary activity: Other publishing activities
Sector: Information & communication
Investor take
Pursue
Strong opportunity: active trading company with strong profile and bankable structure.

Opportunity 73/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. High owner-dependency — earn-out structure likely required for clean transition. 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: strategic trade sale (65/100).

Data confidence

Overall: medium (58/100)

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
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
10 connected companies via shared directors
75
Filing history
39 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
73/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

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

Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
50
Some acquirability indicators.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.

Recent activity

Last 30 days
2
filings
  • 2 officers
Last 90 days
2
filings
  • 2 officers
Last 180 days
4
filings
  • 2 officers
  • 2 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (30 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-04-01
    MCCALL, Peter appointed
    secretary
  2. 2026-04-01
    📄
    appoint-person-secretary-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP03
  3. 2026-04-01
    📄
    termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM02
  4. 2026-03-31
    EVANS, Susannah resigned
    secretary
  5. 2025-12-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-audit-exemption-subsiduary
    accounts · AA
  6. 2025-12-21
    📄
    legacy
    accounts · PARENT_ACC
  7. 2025-10-20
    📄
    legacy
    other · GUARANTEE2
  8. 2025-10-20
    📄
    legacy
    other · AGREEMENT2
  9. 2024-12-03
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  10. 2024-01-11
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-audit-exemption-subsiduary
    accounts · AA
  11. 2024-01-11
    📄
    legacy
    accounts · PARENT_ACC
  12. 2023-12-19
    📄
    legacy
    other · AGREEMENT2
  13. 2023-12-19
    📄
    legacy
    other · GUARANTEE2
  14. 2023-12-15
    📄
    legacy
    other · AGREEMENT2
  15. 2023-12-15
    📄
    legacy
    other · GUARANTEE2
  16. 2022-11-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-small
    accounts · AA
  17. 2022-01-14
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  18. 2021-12-31
    THOMSON, David Howard Eric appointed
    director
  19. 2021-12-31
    WATSON, Michael resigned
    director
  20. 2021-12-31
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  21. 2021-12-13
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-small
    accounts · AA
  22. 2021-04-01
    WATSON, Ellis Alan Nicholas resigned
    director
  23. 2021-04-01
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  24. 2020-12-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-small
    accounts · AA
  25. 2019-03-05
    DOUGLAS, Irene resigned
    secretary
  26. 2019-03-05
    EVANS, Susannah appointed
    secretary
  27. 2014-05-23
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As D.C. THOMSON ENTERPRISE FINANCE LIMITED
  28. 2014-05-23
    DOUGLAS, Irene appointed
    secretary
  29. 2014-05-23
    WATSON, Ellis Alan Nicholas appointed
    director
  30. 2014-05-23
    WATSON, Michael appointed
    director

Owner dependency

90/100
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 "THOMSON" — strong identity link between founder and business.

Succession & seller-readiness

45/100
Moderate signal

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

SIGNALS
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.

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

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

🏛️
Dc Thomson & Company Limited
Corporate parent · holds 75-100% shares
ultimate parent
D.C. THOMSON ENTERPRISE FINANCE LIMITED
This company · SC478269

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%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Dc Thomson & Company Limited
Corporate entity
75100%
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.

🔒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

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.

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Company details

Statusactive
Typeltd
Incorporated2014-05-23
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC58190 — Other publishing activities

Registered office

Courier Buildings
2 Albert Square
Dundee
DD1 9QJ

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-06-06
Last: 2025-05-23

Officers (2 active · 4 resigned)

MCCALL, Peter
secretary · appointed 2026-04-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
THOMSON, David Howard Eric
director · ~53y · appointed 2021-12-31
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
DOUGLAS, Irene
secretary · appointed 2014-05-23 · resigned 2019-03-05
Resigned
EVANS, Susannah
secretary · appointed 2019-03-05 · resigned 2026-03-31
Resigned
WATSON, Ellis Alan Nicholas
director · ~59y · appointed 2014-05-23 · resigned 2021-04-01
Resigned
WATSON, Michael
director · ~53y · appointed 2014-05-23 · resigned 2021-12-31
Resigned

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

Recent filings (39 total)

appoint-person-secretary-company-with-name-date
officers · AP03
2026-04-01
termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM02
2026-04-01
accounts-with-accounts-type-audit-exemption-subsiduary
accounts · AA
2025-12-21
legacy
accounts · PARENT_ACC
2025-12-21
legacy
other · GUARANTEE2
2025-10-20
legacy
other · AGREEMENT2
2025-10-20
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-05-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2024-12-03
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-05-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-audit-exemption-subsiduary
accounts · AA
2024-01-11
legacy
accounts · PARENT_ACC
2024-01-11
legacy
other · AGREEMENT2
2023-12-19
legacy
other · GUARANTEE2
2023-12-19
legacy
other · AGREEMENT2
2023-12-15
legacy
other · GUARANTEE2
2023-12-15