Like a wallflower at an 18th century ball in Bath, Debrett's has found it hard to find a partner to lead it dancing into the 21st century.

The world's oldest blue-blood publisher - famed for Debrett's Peerage & Baronetage - has been sitting on the periphery of its modern owner's media business for years. But yesterday it found true love in the arms of a private company that believes it has snapped up "one of the great bargains of history" in a deal valuing it at slightly more than £1m in cash.