[ad_1]
Hachette UK has acquired the independent Welbeck Publishing Group for an undisclosed sum, with an agreement between Welbeck and Hachette UK shareholders dated 30th November 2022.
Welbeck’s gift, illustrated and adult trade publications will become part of Headline Publishing Group and Welbeck’s children’s catalog will become part of Hachette Children’s Group.
Hachette UK says the acquisition of Welbeck is part of its long-term strategy to diversify into specialist areas by acquiring publishers who are “leading in their field”; Its acquisitions in recent years include Paperblacks, Bookouter, Jessica Kingsley Publishers, Laurence King, Summersdale, John Catt Educational and Short Books.
David Shelley, CEO of Hachette UK, said: “Welbeck’s creativity, dynamism and consumer focus are inspiring, the company is exceptionally strong across a range of sectors, and we are excited to welcome him to our business.
“I’m really looking forward to learning from and working with the brilliant team at Welbeck and welcoming their fantastic list of writers. I know we will be able to help build the company even stronger in the coming years and deliver on Welbeck’s ambitious publishing vision.”
Mark Smith and Marcus Lever, who co-founded Welbeck in 2019 and are its executive directors, will step down. They said: “Both of us never imagined in March 2019 that establishing Welbeck would be such a wild and rewarding experience.
“The world has seen so much change in the last few years, it’s both daunting and exhilarating, and we’re proud of what we’ve achieved. Welbeck has transformed from a predominantly co-publishing focused business to a consumer-facing trade publisher with revenues in excess of £25m in 2022.
“We would like to thank our team, who have excelled in ways we could have imagined. And we’d also like to thank our network of writers, illustrators and suppliers who have been key partners in growing the business over the past three years. Finally, a big thank you to our customers for purchasing the wonderful books we publish. We look forward to continuing the upward trajectory of the business as part of Headline and Hatchet.”
Mary Evans, managing director of Headline Publishing Group, said she was “thrilled that we now have this unique opportunity to bring Welbeck and his expertise in illustrated and gift publishing into our divisional fold,” adding that she is “looking forward to learning from my new colleagues.” And together, seeing us become a real force to be reckoned with.”
Hilary Murray Hill, CEO of Hachette Children’s Group, commented: “I have been very impressed with the creativity and imagination of the Welbeck children’s catalog in recent years and am excited by the opportunity to collaborate with Welbeck’s new colleagues. brands, authors and illustrators – some of whom we are very proud to work with as part of the Hachette Children’s Group.”
Asked if there would be job losses as a result of the acquisition, a Hachette spokesman said: “Following the acquisition, in terms of staff absorption: Welbeck’s gift, illustrated and adult trade business will become part of the Headline Publishing Group and Welbeck’s children’s catalog. It will become part of the Hachette Children’s Group. It Plus, we’re taking the time to get to know the business and its people: it’s business as usual.”
Mental health and wellness imprint Trigger, which has been majority-owned by Welbeck since December 2020, is not part of the deal. said Soraya Nair, Publisher, Trigger Publishing Group Bookseller: “As part of the Welbeck Publishing Group’s internal restructuring of all its companies, Welbeck has decided that it is in the best interests of both the group and its authors to divest its majority shareholding in Welbeck Trigger Limited (WTL). As a result, WTL will once again become Trigger Publishing Limited. (TPL) and will be fully owned and controlled by Trigger Group (TPG).”
Nair said: “We are really excited to welcome our writers back to the Trigger family. As well as now having a trade publishing capability, TPG through its TriggerHub division has become one of the leading providers of mental health solutions in the B2B marketplace which can open many new doors for our authors beyond traditional trade channels.
According to Nielsen Bookscan UK Total Consumer Market figures, Welbeck Publishing Group is currently on 703,132 books sold for £5.92m so far in 2022. Compared to the available weeks of 2021, it is up 30% in volume and 30.7% in value. Welbeck’s bestseller for the year to date is Bruce Jones Formula One 2022 It sold 29,177 copies after its release in February.
[ad_2]
Source link
