Sign in

Private company

Bloomsbury Publishing

Logo: ™/®Bloomsbury Publishing plc, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons4

British worldwide publishing house

Bloomsbury Publishing plc is a British worldwide publishing house of fiction and non-fiction. Bloomsbury's head office is located on Bedford Square in Bloomsbury, an area of the London Borough of Camden. It has a US publishing office located in New York City, an India publishing office in New Delhi, an Australian sales office in Sydney CBD, and other publishing offices in the UK, including in Oxford.2 It was founded by Nigel Newton.1 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

  • Industrypublishing1
  • HeadquartersLondon1
  • Websitewww.bloomsbury.com
  • Legal formpublic limited company1
  • Listed onLondon Stock Exchange (BMY)1
  • LEI213800ZL2PEC4C6UOQ533
  • StatusActive3
  • LEI statusIssued and current3
  • Registered address50 BEDFORD SQUARE, WC1B 3DP London, United Kingdom3
  • Registered withCompanies House, 019843363

See how the biggest companies compare on our leaderboards

Holborn (Bloomsbury) Bedford Square (S) (28025939342)
Photo: Paul The Archivist, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons6

Bloomsbury Publishing plc is a British worldwide publishing house of fiction and non-fiction. Bloomsbury's head office is located on Bedford Square in Bloomsbury, an area of the London Borough of Camden. It has a US publishing office located in New York City, an India publishing office in New Delhi, an Australian sales office in Sydney CBD, and other publishing offices in the UK, including in Oxford. The company is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.2

Corporate structure

Bloomsbury Publishing sits at the top of its group. 31 entities, 4 countries on record. Switch between the flow chart and the network, and select any entity to see its details.

  • Bloomsbury Publishing London, United Kingdom
    • A & C Black Subsidiary · London
    • ABC-CLIO Subsidiary · Santa Barbara
    • Berg Publishers Subsidiary · Oxford
    • Bloomsbury India Subsidiary · New Delhi, India
    • Head of Zeus Subsidiary
    • Oberon Books Subsidiary · Islington
    • Osprey Publishing Subsidiary · London
    • Scarecrow Press Subsidiary
    • Backbeat Books Subsidiary · United States
    • Berg Fashion Library Limited Subsidiary · United Kingdom
    • Bloomsbury Academic Subsidiary · United Kingdom
    • Bloomsbury Book Publishing Company Limited Subsidiary
    • Bloomsbury Information Limited Subsidiary
    • Bloomsbury Media Limited Subsidiary
    • Bloomsbury Professional Limited Subsidiary
    • BLOOMSBURY PUBLISHING INC. Subsidiary · New York, New York, United States
    • Bloomsbury Publishing Ireland Limited Subsidiary · Ireland
    • Christopher Helm Publishers Subsidiary
    • Featherstone Education Limited Subsidiary · United Kingdom
    • Hart Publishing Limited Subsidiary
    • I.B. Tauris & Co. Limited Subsidiary
    • John Wisden (Holdings) Limited Subsidiary · United Kingdom
    • Oxford International Publishers Limited Subsidiary · United Kingdom
    • Reed's Almanac Limited Subsidiary · United Kingdom
    • Rowman & Littlefield Subsidiary · United States
    • and 30 more

Built from parent and subsidiary links from GLEIF, the Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation (CC0); subsidiaries, stakes and holdings from Wikidata (CC0). Each entity in the chart links to its source.

What it owns

What Bloomsbury Publishing reports owning in its annual reports to the SEC: buildings, land and equipment, real estate and locations, investments, intangible assets and inventory, at the end of its latest fiscal year and a year before.

Stakes and holdings (Wikidata)

  • A & C Black
  • ABC-CLIO
  • Academic General
  • Adlard Coles
  • Adlard Coles Nautical
  • Berg Publishers
  • Bloomsbury Absolute
  • Bloomsbury Academic
  • Bloomsbury Business
  • Bloomsbury Caravel
  • Bloomsbury Children's Books
  • Bloomsbury Circus
  • Bloomsbury Continuum
  • Bloomsbury Education
  • Bloomsbury Publishing
  • Bloomsbury Reader
  • Bloomsbury Sigma
  • Bloomsbury Sport
  • Bloomsbury Visual Arts
  • Bloomsbury Wildlife
  • Bloomsbury YA
  • Bloomsbury Yearbooks
  • British Film Institute
  • Featherstone
All 34 holdings
  • Green Tree
  • I.B. Tauris
  • Methuen Drama
  • Raven Books
  • Red Globe Press
  • Scarecrow Press
  • Tauris Parke
  • The Arden Shakespeare
  • Wisden
  • Zed Books

Things Wikidata records the company as owning, with the share when stated.1

The story

Founded by Nigel Newton.1

The company was founded in 1986 by Nigel Newton, who had previously been employed by other publishing companies. It was floated on the London Stock Exchange with a valuation of £9 million in 1994.

For much of its existence, Bloomsbury was a minor player in the British publishing scene. In 1997, Bloomsbury took a chance on publishing the Harry Potter series after it had been rejected by multiple publishers.

A rights issue of shares in 1998 further raised £6.1 million, which was used to expand the company, in particular to found a U.S. branch. In 1998, Bloomsbury USA was established. Bloomsbury USA Books for Young Readers was established in 2002, and in 2005, Bloomsbury acquired Walker & Co, a small company dedicated to publishing nonfiction. The Walker brand was discontinued in 2015 and sold to Walker Publishing Company.

From Wikipedia’s article on Bloomsbury Publishing, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.5

Leadership

Who has led Bloomsbury Publishing, and when. Pick a name to see everywhere that person has worked.

Subsidiaries and ownership

Subsidiaries

  • Academic General
  • Berg Fashion Library Limited
  • Berg Publishers
  • Bloomsbury Absolute
  • Bloomsbury Academic
  • Bloomsbury Book Publishing Company Limited
  • Bloomsbury Business
  • Bloomsbury Caravel
  • Bloomsbury Children's Books
  • Bloomsbury Circus
  • Bloomsbury Continuum
  • Bloomsbury Education
  • Bloomsbury India
  • Bloomsbury Information Limited
  • Bloomsbury Media Limited
  • Bloomsbury Professional Limited
  • Bloomsbury Publishing
  • Bloomsbury Publishing Inc
  • Bloomsbury Publishing Ireland Limited
  • Bloomsbury Publishing PTY Limited
  • Bloomsbury Reader
  • Bloomsbury Sigma
  • Bloomsbury Sport
  • Bloomsbury Visual Arts
All 51 subsidiaries
  • Bloomsbury Wildlife
  • Bloomsbury YA
  • Bloomsbury Yearbooks
  • British Film Institute
  • Christopher Helm Publishers
  • Featherstone
  • Featherstone Education Limited
  • Green Tree
  • Hart Publishing Limited
  • Head of Zeus
  • I.B. Tauris
  • I.B. Tauris
  • I.B. Tauris & Co. Limited
  • John Wisden (Holdings) Limited
  • Methuen Drama
  • Oberon Books
  • Osprey Publishing
  • Oxford International Publishers Limited
  • Reed's Almanac Limited
  • Tauris Parke
  • The Continuum International Publishing Group Limited
  • Walker & Company
  • Wisden
  • Zed Books
  • A. & C. Black Limited since Jun 2000
  • Backbeat Books since 2024
  • Rowman & Littlefield since May 23, 2024

Also owns

  • Raven Books
  • Red Globe Press
  • The Arden Shakespeare
  • A & C Black since Jun 2000
  • Adlard Coles since 2003
  • Adlard Coles Nautical since 2003
  • ABC-CLIO since Dec 16, 2021
  • Scarecrow Press since May 23, 2024

From Wikidata.1

Acquisitions

  1. May 23, 2024Acquired Rowman & Littlefield1
  2. May 23, 2024Acquired Scarecrow Press1
  3. 2024Acquired Backbeat Books1
  4. Dec 16, 2021Acquired ABC-CLIO1
  5. Jun 2, 2021Head of Zeus became a subsidiary1
  6. Dec 10, 2019Oberon Books became a subsidiary1
  7. May 1, 2018I.B. Tauris became a subsidiary1
  8. Dec 2014Osprey Publishing became a subsidiary1
  9. Sep 2013Hart Publishing Limited became a subsidiary1
  10. Jul 2011The Continuum International Publishing Group Limited became a subsidiary1
  11. Jul 2009Bloomsbury Publishing Inc became a subsidiary1
  12. Sep 2008Acquired Berg Publishers1
  13. Mar 2008Acquired Featherstone1
  14. Sep 8, 2006Acquired Methuen Drama1
  15. 2003Acquired Adlard Coles1
  16. 2003Acquired Adlard Coles Nautical1
  17. Jun 2000Acquired A & C Black1
  18. Jun 2000A. & C. Black Limited became a subsidiary1

Among the companies, book lists and imprints that Bloomsbury has acquired are:

From Wikipedia’s article on Bloomsbury Publishing, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.5

Former names

  • Bloomsbury Publishing Company LimitedMay 28, 1986 to Sep 16, 19861
  • M.B.N. 1 LimitedJan 30, 1986 to May 28, 19861

Timeline

  1. Dec 16, 2021Acquisition Acquired ABC-CLIO1
  2. Sep 2008Acquisition Acquired Berg Publishers1
  3. Mar 2008Acquisition Acquired Featherstone1
  4. Sep 8, 2006Acquisition Acquired Methuen Drama1
  5. 2003Acquisition Acquired Adlard Coles1
  6. 2003Acquisition Acquired Adlard Coles Nautical1
  7. Jun 23, 1994Went public Listed on London Stock Exchange1
  8. Sep 16, 1986Renamed Name changed to Bloomsbury Publishing Plc1
  9. May 28, 1986Renamed Name changed to Bloomsbury Publishing Company Limited1
  10. Jan 30, 1986Founded Bloomsbury Publishing is founded3

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6