Press Release
Piatkus Books joins Little, Brown Book Group23/07/2007
Ursula Mackenzie, CEO and Publisher of Little, Brown, is delighted to announce that Piatkus Books will join Little, Brown Book Group with immediate effect. This follows the signing and completion of an agreement between Judy Piatkus and Little, Brown Book Group on 20 July 2007.
Piatkus Books will become an independent imprint within Little, Brown Book Group, thus strengthening Little, Brown Book Group’s position in consumer publishing in the UK, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and its other markets.
Piatkus Books has turnover of approximately £10 million and it employs 28 people. It specialises in popular fiction and practical non-fiction. Its authors include the internationally bestselling novelist Nora Roberts, who also writes as J D Robb, and such distinguished and successful non-fiction writers as Patrick Holford, author of important books on health and nutrition, including The New Optimum Nutrition Bible; David Allen, business guru and bestselling author of Getting Things Done; Jon Kabat-Zinn, world-renowned author of Full Catastrophe Living and Wherever You Go, There You Are; Susan Nolen-Hoeksema, author of Women Who Think Too Much; and Sylvia Browne and Brian L Weiss, whose spiritual books have delighted millions of readers.
Piatkus Books will continue trading as usual at its current premises until the end of October, after which the Piatkus Books team will be welcomed to Little, Brown’s attractive new Thames-side offices at 100 Victoria Embankment. Judy Piatkus will continue as Managing Director until the end of the year, when she intends to retire from publishing.
The transaction has been structured as a purchase by Little, Brown of a 100 percent shareholding in the business, which remains intact as a company. All its contracts remain valid and will of course be honoured. There should be no disruption whatsoever for authors and all arrangements with customers, freelancers, distribution partners, suppliers and other contacts of the house stand as they are at least until fully discussed with the parties concerned.
Piatkus Books’ physical distribution in the UK is through Grantham Book Services/TBS; and its main overseas distributors are Penguin South Africa and Hachette Livre Australia and New Zealand. In all these cases, the distributors named are the same as Little, Brown’s, further assisting us in making a smooth transition.
Founded by Judy Piatkus in 1979, Piatkus Books has built up a formidable reputation for buying wisely and for responding quickly to ideas and trends. In the 1980s Piatkus became a pioneer in books on alternative health and in the 1990s it exploited the upsurge of interest in mind, body, spirit and business and self-development titles. Piatkus has always been known for publishing good commercial fiction, finding gaps in the market that no one else was covering, a fact borne out by its success with many of the world’s bestselling authors. Piatkus Books has doubled its global turnover to £10 million in the last five years and substantial further growth is planned for the future.
The shareholders of Piatkus Books were represented by The van Tulleken Company.
Little, Brown Book Group has turnover of over £50 million. Since being founded in the UK in its present form in 1992, Little, Brown has twice won the KPMG Publisher of the Year Award. It has a proven history of success with three consecutive record years in 2003, 2004 and 2005, including such notable autumn bestsellers as Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman’s Long Way Round and Sharon Osbourne’s Extreme. In 2006 it had 24 Sunday Times bestsellers, including four Sunday Times Paperbacks of the Year. Its bestselling authors include Mitch Albom, Margaret Atwood, Iain Banks, Mark Billingham, Trudi Canavan, Patricia Cornwell, Dorothy Koomson, Alexander McCall Smith, Anita Shreve and Sarah Waters. At the beginning of 2006 Little, Brown Book Group became part of the Hachette Livre UK (HLUK) group. Hachette Livre has become Britain’s market-leading and largest publishing group through the organic growth of its business and by a number of successful acquisitions. Hachette Livre’s acquisitions have been characterised by its policy of supporting existing managements and showing the utmost respect to authors and members of staff, so that publishing businesses have been able to thrive undisturbed in its ownership.
Little, Brown pursues a strategy of focused publishing: in fiction or non-fiction it publishes a limited number but a broad range of titles. It aims to select the best titles in any category and to publish them with flair and enthusiasm, focusing on getting the most out of each book through detailed attention to every stage of the process, from editorial to design, the marketing and publicity campaigns and the retail strategy with customers. From 2002–06 Little, Brown Book Group grew its turnover by 33 percent. It intends to maintain this ambitious annual growth by broadening its editorial and acquisition teams; by growing its publishing programmes in specified areas; and by increasing its average revenues per title.
Ursula Mackenzie, CEO and Publisher of Little, Brown Book Group, commented: ‘The moment we heard that Judy Piatkus was ready for a change after 28 years at the helm of her own company, we knew that Little, Brown would provide the perfect home for the wonderful list that Judy and her team have built so successfully. We are delighted to be welcoming Piatkus Books to Little, Brown Book Group, where it will flourish as a fully independent imprint, while benefiting from the additional market reach and financial strength of Little, Brown.’
Judy Piatkus, Managing Director of Piatkus Books, commented: ‘It was important to find the right buyer for Piatkus and to keep its name and its personality intact. When Little, Brown heard that we were for sale, they were immediately interested to work with us. We could not have hoped for a better home. Their publishing ethos and their attitude towards their books, their authors and their staff are so similar to ours.’
Tim Hely Hutchinson, CEO of Hachette Livre UK commented: ‘My colleagues and I have long tremendously admired Judy Piatkus and all that she and her team have achieved. I always hoped that she would approach us when she was ready to retire from publishing and I am delighted that she did. We are excited about the prospect of working with Piatkus Books’ authors to continue building their sales and public profiles to the highest levels, both in the UK and internationally. It is less than 18 months since Little, Brown joined our group. I am proud that we have not only kept the promises we made at that time to Little, Brown’s talented team of professional publishers, and all its authors, but have now also been able to provide the house with the necessary support to complete this good quality transaction, in a very short time from handshake to announcement. I am confident that both Little, Brown’s and Piatkus Books’ success will continue in spectacular style, as they work together, and they both carry all my best wishes.’