Plimsoll
Plimsoll is a UK-based business intelligence SaaS firm providing company financial-health benchmarking, business valuations, and M&A target identification via its proprietary Plimsoll Model and TALAT platform, serving enterprise executives, M&A professionals, and SME owners across 2,000+ markets.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1987
- HeadquartersBillingham, United Kingdom
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Plimsoll does
Plimsoll Publishing Limited is a UK-based business intelligence SaaS company founded in 1987 by Don Turkington in Stockton-on-Tees, operating as a privately held, bootstrapped firm with 11–50 employees (a team of 12 analysts is referenced for bespoke work). The company's core offering is built around the proprietary "Plimsoll Model," a graphical analytical framework that synthesizes five financial ratios — Return on Capital Employed, Gearing, Current Asset Cover, Sales per £ of Capital, and Equity Ratio — into a single visual line indicating company financial strength and five-year momentum. This model is delivered through the TALAT SaaS platform (launched 2012), which provides searchable, continuously updated financial intelligence across approximately 2,000 markets.
The product portfolio comprises five analytical services layered on the Plimsoll Model and platform: Industry Analysis (subscription-based market and company benchmarking at £499 Starter / £699 Executive per package), Valuation Service (one-time independent business valuations priced £799–£1,999), Acquisition Finder (bespoke M&A target matching from £999), Board Reports (custom KPI reports for board meetings from £499), and Bespoke Analysis (tailor-made reports). Plimsoll serves enterprise executives, M&A and corporate finance professionals, SME business owners, and commercial teams across the UK, France, Spain, Italy, Japan, and the Nordics, claiming 40,000+ cumulative customers and coverage of up to 200 countries.
Commercially, Plimsoll operates a hybrid subscription and professional-services revenue model. Recurring revenue comes from auto-renewing Industry Analysis subscriptions (bi-annual or annual cadence), while transactional revenue is generated through one-off valuations, acquisition searches, and bespoke engagements. Distribution is primarily direct and digital — self-serve TALAT portal, multilingual websites with localized EUR pricing, and a consultative inside-sales motion with bookable analyst consultations. The company carries named enterprise references across travel, food & drink, oil & gas, medical devices, and corporate finance, and displays a marquee logo wall on its homepage that includes IBM, Toyota, BASF, Pandora, ArcelorMittal, Burger King, Bombardier, PwC, and Siemens.
Plimsoll firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Plimsoll
- Legal name
- Plimsoll Publishing Limited
- Website
- https://plimsoll.co.uk
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1987
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Plimsoll is a UK-based business intelligence SaaS firm providing company financial-health benchmarking, business valuations, and M&A target identification via its proprietary Plimsoll Model and TALAT platform, serving enterprise executives, M&A professionals, and SME owners across 2,000+ markets.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where Plimsoll is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Billingham
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Plimsoll business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Industry Analysis Subscriptions: Recurring subscription revenue from industry analysis portal access. Two tiers: Starter (6 months, 3 users at £499) and Executive (12 months, 5 users at £699, includes Annual Intelligence Insight Consultation). Both auto-renew bi-annually or annually unless cancelled.
- Business Valuation Service: One-time fees for confidential business valuations. Standard (£799, 3-5 business days), Express (£999, 24-hour turnaround), and Group Valuations (£1,999, 3-5 days for up to 5 entities).
- Acquisition Finder Service: One-time fees for bespoke M&A target matching service based on customer criteria. Prices depend on criteria complexity, starting from £999.
- Board Reports: Custom-built strategic reports for board meetings available annually, quarterly, or monthly. Delivered in PDF and PowerPoint formats, starting from £499.
- Bespoke Analysis: Custom tailor-made reports and insights built to exact customer specifications by expert analysts.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Pay-as-you-go | Starter: 6 months access for 3 users at £499 |
| Subscription | Annual | Executive: 12 months access for 5 users at £699 |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Standard Valuation: 3-5 business days at £799 |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Express Valuation: 24-hour turnaround at £999 |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Group Valuations: 3-5 days at £1,999 |
| Subscription | Multi-year contract | Board Reports: From £499 |
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | Acquisition Finder: From £999 |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels6 records
Plimsoll product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Plimsoll provides subscription-based industry analysis, independent business valuations, M&A target identification, and executive board reports built on its proprietary Plimsoll Model — a graphical framework synthesizing five financial ratios into a single visual indicator of company health. Core offerings are delivered via the TALAT SaaS platform and complemented by analyst-led bespoke services for enterprise customers across 2,000+ markets.
Product overview
Plimsoll is a business intelligence SaaS platform built around the proprietary Plimsoll Model — a graphical framework that synthesizes five financial ratios into a single visual indicator of company health over time. The product portfolio consists of the Plimsoll Portal (TALAT) as the core interactive platform, flanked by five distinct analytical services: Industry Analysis (market-wide company benchmarking), Valuation Service (independent business valuations in three tiers), Acquisition Finder (bespoke M&A target matching), Board Reports (custom KPI reports for leadership), and Bespoke Analysis / Plimsoll On Demand (fully tailor-made analysis). The Plimsoll Model underpins all offerings. Pricing is offered in GBP, EUR, and localized formats across UK, French, Italian, and Spanish market sites. The company serves approximately 40,000 clients, covers 200 countries and 2,000 markets, and has been operating since 1987.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Industry Analysis Subscription-based access to market intelligence and company insights delivering competitive benchmarking and financial performance analysis across thousands of industries, powered by the proprietary Plimsoll Model. Available in Starter (3 users, 6 months, £499) and Executive (5 users, 12 months, £699, includes annual insight consultation) tiers. Designed for enterprise executives, owners, and commercial teams needing actionable industry intelligence.
- Valuation Service Independent and confidential business valuations delivered by expert analysts. Available in three tiers: Standard (£799, 3-5 business days), Express (£999, 24-hour turnaround), and Group Valuations (£1,999, up to 5 entities, 3-5 days). Used by business owners for sales, succession planning, shareholder disputes, divorce, and HMRC/tax planning.
- Acquisition Finder Bespoke M&A target matching service where expert analysts curate a tailored list of acquisition targets based on customer-specified criteria across sector, size, geography, and financial profile. Priced from £999 depending on criteria complexity. Designed for corporate development teams, M&A advisors, private equity firms, and investment bankers.
- Board Reports Custom-built strategic reports providing concise KPI analysis and decision-ready insight for board meetings, AGMs, and other C-Suite sessions. Delivered in PDF and PowerPoint formats on annual, quarterly, or monthly cadence from £499. Designed for leadership and decision-makers needing strategy-ready board materials.
- Bespoke Analysis (Plimsoll On Demand) Tailor-made analysis and reports built to exact customer specifications for businesses with interests spanning multiple industries or seeking data on specific subsets. Delivered by a team of 12 analysts covering 200 countries and 2,000 markets. Designed for clients needing unique, custom insights beyond standard products.
- Plimsoll Portal / TALAT Platform SaaS-based interactive business intelligence platform delivering the Plimsoll Model analysis, company search, and portfolio monitoring with live-feed financial data updated constantly. Accessed via talat.plimsoll.co.uk. Provides the underlying infrastructure for Industry Analysis subscriptions and serves as the self-serve portal for enterprise clients.
Quantifiable outcome
- 38% of British businesses rated as being in financial Danger (up from 34% year prior) - Plimsoll analysis of 1,600 UK industries
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use Plimsoll
Customer profileNamed customers10 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Plimsoll technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
Plimsoll partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators6 records
Recent moves9 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Plimsoll competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- MarketLine: Market research and industry analysis provider covering thousands of companies and sectors. Comparable product format to Plimsoll's Industry Analysis reports and subscription model.
- IBISWorld: Industry research and market analysis reports across thousands of sectors worldwide. Closely comparable to Plimsoll's Industry Analysis subscriptions in product structure and buyer use cases.
- Dun & Bradstreet: Global leader in business credit reports, company financial data, and M&A intelligence. Directly comparable to Plimsoll's Industry Analysis and Acquisition Finder offerings, but operating at vastly greater scale and with proprietary global datasets.
- Mergermarket (Acuris): M&A intelligence and deal data platform serving corporate development and PE professionals. Directly overlaps with Plimsoll's Acquisition Finder service, but with stronger global deal-sourcing infrastructure.
- Bureau van Dijk (Moody's Orbis): Provides company information and financial data on private and public firms globally via the Orbis platform. Closest like-for-like to Plimsoll's company benchmarking product, with substantially broader geographic coverage and data depth.
- DueDil: UK-focused business intelligence and company data platform. Direct peer on UK private company analysis, with comparable SME and enterprise target segments and Companies House-derived data foundation.
- Creditsafe: Business credit reports and financial benchmarking for SMEs and enterprises. Direct overlap with Plimsoll's company health and benchmarking data, with similar UK/European SMB customer base.
- Research and Markets: Aggregator and distributor of market research reports across thousands of industries. Similar subscription and one-off report monetisation model to Plimsoll's Industry Analysis offerings.
Broad incumbents
- S&P Capital IQ: S&P Global's flagship financial data, analytics, and research platform. Provides company financials, comparables, and M&A intelligence as part of a broader data suite, competing with Plimsoll at the enterprise end.
Emerging players
- PitchBook: Private market data, M&A intelligence, and deal-sourcing platform. Partial overlap with Plimsoll's Acquisition Finder for corporate finance and PE buyers, with deeper VC/PE coverage.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Plimsoll social profiles
Digital presencePlimsoll financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Plimsoll leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles8 records
Plimsoll funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Plimsoll M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Plimsoll
What does Plimsoll do?
Plimsoll provides subscription-based industry analysis, independent business valuations, M&A target identification, and executive board reports built on its proprietary Plimsoll Model — a graphical framework synthesizing five financial ratios into a single visual indicator of company health. Core offerings are delivered via the TALAT SaaS platform and complemented by analyst-led bespoke services for enterprise customers across 2,000+ markets.
Is Plimsoll a public or private company?
Plimsoll is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Plimsoll founded?
Plimsoll was founded in 1987. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Plimsoll based?
Plimsoll is headquartered in Billingham, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Plimsoll make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Industry Analysis Subscriptions are the primary driver. The others are business Valuation Service, acquisition Finder Service, board Reports and bespoke Analysis.
Who are Plimsoll's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are MarketLine, IBISWorld, Dun & Bradstreet, Mergermarket (Acuris), Bureau van Dijk (Moody's Orbis), DueDil, Creditsafe and Research and Markets. S&P Capital IQ is listed as a broad incumbent. PitchBook is listed as an emerging player.
Does Plimsoll have an API?
No public API is recorded for Plimsoll.