Welcome to our
2026 Annual
Report and
Accounts
for the year ended 28 February 2026
Bloomsbury 2030 Vision:
Growth, Portfolio, People
Our Mission
Our mission is to be an entrepreneurial,
independent publisher of works of excellence
and originality.
Our Purpose
Our purpose is to inform, educate, entertain
and inspire readers of all ages.
What we do
We champion a life-long love of reading and
learning to help build a reading culture with
all the benefits that brings to society.
Contents
Overview
Bloomsbury 2030 Vision: Growth,
Portfolio and People
02
Group Highlights 06
Our Investment Case 08
Chairman’s Statement 09
Strategic Report
Chief Executive Review 11
Key Performance Indicators 16
Business Model 18
Marketplace Trends 20
Our Divisional and Geographic
Overview
23
– Consumer Division 24
www.bloomsbury.com
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Strategic Report (continued)
– Academic & Professional Division 26
– Our International Offices 28
Financial Review 32
Section 172 Directors’ Duties
Statement
37
Materiality Assessment 38
Engagement with Stakeholders 39
Corporate Social Responsibility 46
Bloomsbury’s People and Culture 48
Belonging and Inclusion at
Bloomsbury
52
Bloomsbury’s Commitment to the
Literary Ecosystem, Community and
Society
56
Task Force on Climate-Related
Financial Disclosures (TCFD)
59
Our Environment 76
Principal Risks and Risk Management 83
Governance
Chairman’s Introduction to Corporate
Governance
94
Members of the Board
96
Executive Committee
99
Governance at a glance
102
Directors’ Report
103
Corporate Governance Report
108
Nomination Committee Report
115
Audit Committee Report
120
Directors’ Remuneration Report
125
Financial Statements
Independent Auditor’s Report
147
Consolidated Income Statement
151
Consolidated Statement of
Comprehensive Income
152
Consolidated Statement of Financial
Position
153
Consolidated Statement of Changes
in Equity
154
Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows
155
Notes to the Financial Statements
156
Company Statement of Financial Position
193
Company Statement of Changes
in Equity
194
Company Statement of Cash Flows
195
Notes to the Company Financial
Statements
196
Additional Information
Five Year Financial Summary
211
Company Information
212
Legal Notice
213
OverviewOverview
Stock code: BMY
Annual Report and Accounts 2026
01
Ambition
Bloomsbury 2030 is the next stage in our
ambitious and entrepreneurial growth
strategy. We have previously delivered on
our One Global Bloomsbury vision and the
Bloomsbury 2020 vision. In order to achieve
further success, we have launched our
Bloomsbury 2030 vision, focusing on our
growth, our portfolio and our people.
In Consumer we aim to continue building
more brand authors and discover, nurture,
champion and retain high-quality authors
and illustrators. Within our portfolio,
we aim to become the most successful
independent Academic publisher in
Humanities and Social Sciences, focusing
on digital publishing and resources. Our
people goal is to be the best place to
work in publishing through an industry-
leading focus on professional development
programmes, training, systems and work
practices.
Evolution
of Successful Strategy
Bloomsbury will continue to focus on
investing in high-value intellectual
property and digital channels, publish
works of excellence and originality and
grow our diversified portfolio of content
and services across our Consumer and
Academic & Professional Divisions
alongside international market expansion
to build quality revenues and earnings. Our
investment in diversified content continues
to build our portfolio of portfolios to
drive strong customer demand, in turn
generating cash to fund further investment.
The evolution of Bloomsbury’s strategy has
been one of diversifying the business from
a UK consumer-focused publisher to one
with the majority of revenues from outside
of the UK, an academic business and digital
delivery, a portfolio of portfolios.
Bloomsbury Publishing
founded by Nigel
Newton together with
three other publishers
1986
Our Journey
Harry Potter and the
Philosopher’s Stone
published, starting
29 years in bestseller
lists. The books have
sold over 600m copies
worldwide, been
distributed in over
200 territories and
translated into 85
languages
1997
Flotation to become
Bloomsbury Publishing
Plc (LSE:BMY)
raised
£5.5m
1994
B
LSM photo source: https://www.londonstockexchange.com/discover/lseg/our-history
www.bloomsbury.com
02
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Bloomsbury 2030 Vision:
Growth, Portfolio and People
Launched One Global Bloomsbury vision
Created Bloomsbury Digital Resources (BDR)
Launched Bloomsbury Australia
2011
Diversified into
Academic
Publishing
2007
Bloomsbury voted
Publisher of the
Year 2025 at the
British Book Awards
Launched
Bloomsbury
Singapore
2025
Launch of the
next stage in our
ambitious growth
plan Bloomsbury
2030 Vision:
Growth Portfolio
& People
Acquired Rowman
& Littlefield in
May 2024
2024
1998
Launched
Bloomsbury 2020
vision with BDR
target of £15m
revenue and £5m
profit and ambition
to see the company
re-rated reflecting
subscription income
and higher margins
of academic digital
resources
2016
Bloomsbury raised
£6.1m
and started Bloomsbury USA
OverviewOverview
Stock code: BMY
Annual Report and Accounts 2026
03
GrowthPortfolio
Goal
Use our strong financial position to fund
further acquisitions focused on Academic
and opportunities with digital potential.
Achieved 2025/2026:
Integration of the acquisition of Rowman
& Littlefield, made in May 2024, is largely
complete, adding 41,000 titles and
significantly strengthening our Academic
publishing in North America.
Goal
Continue our international growth and take
advantage of the biggest academic and
consumer markets in the US.
Achieved 2025/2026:
Opened Bloomsbury Singapore to
benefit from growth in the region.
Revenue outside of the UK represents
74% of Group revenue.
Goal
Implement dynamic new UK distribution
and warehousing arrangement, providing
greater distribution capability and speed to
market.
Achieved 2025/2026:
At the start of 2025/2026 Bloomsbury
completed its move to Hachette UK
Distribution.
Goal
Implement new technology infrastructure
including a new global royalties system to
increase efficiency and ability to scale.
Achieved 2025/2026:
Implementation plan on track.
Link to KPIs
01 02 03
04
Goal
Become the most successful independent
Academic publisher in Humanities and
Social Sciences, focusing on digital
publishing and resources.
Achieved 2025/2026:
Achieved £107.7m of Academic &
Professional revenue including an AI
licensing partnership, the integration
of Rowman & Littlefield and building
broader and deeper subject verticals.
Goal
Build on our strong literary backlist which
provides ongoing strength to our Consumer
portfolio, build more brand authors and
continue to discover, nurture, champion and
retain high-quality authors and illustrators.
Achieved 2025/2026:
Expanded our Consumer offering and
contributed to building brands such as
Katherine Rundell.
Goal
Ensure the ongoing success of J.K.
Rowling’s Harry Potter series and IP, so that
new generations of readers discover and
read them for pleasure every year.
Achieved 2025/2026:
Harry Potter novels remain in bestseller
lists 29 years after first publication.
www.bloomsbury.com
04
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Bloomsbury 2030 Vision:
Growth, Portfolio and People
continued
People Portfolio
continued
Goal
Maximise our use of sustainable resources
while seeking to reduce carbon emissions in
line with our science-based targets.
Achieved 2025/2026:
Bloomsbury reduced Scope 1 and 2
emissions by 48% in 2025/2026 and has
a CDP climate change score of B and
Forest of B-.
Link to KPIs
01 02 03 04 08
Goal
Be the best place to work in publishing
through an industry-leading focus on
professional development programmes,
training, systems and work practices.
Achieved 2025/2026:
We are proud to have earned the Great
Place To Work Certification
TM
for the
second year running following a survey
of our employees in which Bloomsbury
achieved above the benchmark >65%
Trust Index
TM
Survey score.
Goal
Continue to build on the breadth and talent
of our existing wider leadership population
creating a strong pipeline of leaders for
succession and encouraging internal
progression opportunities.
Achieved 2025/2026:
Bloomsbury continues to attract some
of the very best talent from across the
industry at all levels.
Goal
Build on our thriving culture of innovation
and creativity, constantly adapting to
developments in markets, keeping our
people at the centre of everything we do.
Achieved 2025/2026:
Enhanced the Senior Leadership Team
with representation from every area
of the business. These senior leaders
are helping to shape the future of
Bloomsbury and are an essential part of
helping to transform our people strategy.
Link to KPIs
05 06 07
01
Revenue
02
Adjusted Profit
03
Digital resources revenue growth
04
Adjusted operating profit margin
05
Employee engagement
06
Gender diversity
07
Ethnic and racial diversity
08
Environmental performance
Key to KPIs:
OverviewOverview
Stock code: BMY
Annual Report and Accounts 2026
05
Group Highlights
Revenue Adjusted Profit
1
Adjusted
Profit margin
2
Profit
before tax
£325.9m
-10%
£44.9m
+7%
13.8%
+210bps
£34.2m
+5%
142.6m
161.5m
162.7m
162.8m
185.1m
230.1m
264.1m
342.7m
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025
2026
361.0m
325.9m
12.0m
13.2m
14.4m
15.7m
19.2m
26.7m
31.1m
48.8m
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025
2026
42.1m
44.9m
8.4%
8.2%
8.8%
9.6%
10.3%
11.6%
11.8%
14.2%
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025
2026
11.7%
13.8%
9.4m
11.6m
12.0m
13.2m
17.3m
22.2m
25.4m
41.5m
32.5m
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025
2026
34.2m
Adjusted diluted
earnings
3
(pence
per share)
Diluted earnings
(pence per share)
Total dividend
(pence per share)
Net cash
4
44.57p
+8%
32.80p
+7%
16.2p
+5%
£29.2m
+72%
12.22p
13.47p
14.48p
16.23p
18.68p
25.94p
30.56p
46.62p
41.45p
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025
2026
44.57p
9.49p
11.67p
11.85p
13.40p
16.71p
20.33p
24.54p
39.11p
30.71p
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025
2026
32.80p
6.70p
7.51p
7.96p
8.17p
8.86p
10.74p
11.75p
14.69p
15.43p
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025
2026
16.20p
15.5m
25.4m
27.6m
31.3m
54.5m
41.2m
51.5m
65.8m
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025
2026
17.0m
29.2m
1
Adjusted Profit is profit before taxation and highlighted items. Highlighted items comprise amortisation of acquired intangible assets and legal
and other professional costs relating to ongoing and completed acquisitions and restructuring costs.
2
Adjusted Profit margin is Adjusted Profit divided by revenue.
3
Adjusted diluted earnings per share is calculated from profit before tax and highlighted items with taxation on profit before tax and
highlighted items deducted.
4
Net cash is defined as cash and cash equivalents less outstanding borrowings, not including lease liabilities.
Financial Highlights
www.bloomsbury.com
06
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Revenue split by division
33%
67%
Consumer
Academic & Professional
Revenue split by destination
11%
51%
6%
5%
1%
26%
Revenue split by format
32%
62%
6%
Print
Digital
Rights and services
UK
North America
Continental Europe
Australasia
Middle East and Asia
ROW
Revenue Breakdown
Awards
A
British Book Awards – Bloomsbury won
Publisher of the Year 2025 for Adult
A
British Book Awards – Bloomsbury won Publicity
Campaign of the Year 2025 for
Gillian Anderson’s Want
A
IPG Awards – Bloomsbury won the Audio Award
for the production of Want in April 2025
A
Renée Watson won the prestigious Newbery
Medal for All the Blues in the Sky
OverviewOverview
Stock code: BMY
Annual Report and Accounts 2026
07
Stock code: BMY
Bloomsbury’s strategy of diversification has forged a portfolio of portfolios spanning consumer and academic publishing.
This is a resilient model delivering long-term success, protecting the Company from the vicissitudes of individual areas.
Bloomsbury invests in valuable IP from high-calibre authors to drive strong demand, then utilises the cash generated to
reinvest in our authors and people to build future success, make acquisitions and provide Shareholders with a dividend.
Bloomsbury’s 2030 vision is based on the pillars of growth, portfolio and people, evolving our successful strategy.
Portfolio of publishing portfolios
Portfolio of portfolios
Bloomsbury has diversified its
operations across consumer and
academic publishing markets,
establishing a more balanced
portfolio. We have demonstrated
the extraordinary upside potential
of consumer publishing and our
expertise in identifying and acquiring
talented authors through our range of
bestsellers. We are unique in balancing
this with academic publishing, creating
a more resilient business model.
Diversied across formats, territories
and subject areas
Diversifying between and
within consumer and
academic publishing
Bloomsbury is platform agnostic in
delivery of its IP; our content is made
available in all formats, including
print (hardback and paperback),
digital (ebook and Bloomsbury Digital
Resources) and audio alongside
innovative visual resources. During
2025/2026, Bloomsbury also undertook
its first non-exclusive AI licensing
agreement to train large language
models. Bloomsbury is diversified
across territories as a worldwide
publisher. In subject areas, our
Academic & Professional Division
offers resources across disciplines in
the Humanities and Social Sciences,
including Visual and Performing Arts.
Our Consumer Division has significant
non-fiction lists as well as bestselling
award-winning fiction lists for adults
and children.
Valuable catalogue of IP from high
calibre authors
Deriving value from the
backlist: Valuable IP from
high-calibre authors
Bloomsbury’s turnover is derived from
its backlist titles, first published over
a year ago, and new frontlist titles.
Bloomsbury retains the copyright for
the majority of these books until 70–75
years after the death of the author.
Bloomsbury is home to diversified
authors with strong frontlist (new) and
backlist (previous) title sales.
Reinvest in the Company
Reinvesting in the Company
Bloomsbury’s investment in and
development of content and author
brands drives strong demand,
generating cash to fund further
investment. We reinvest in the
Company, authors and colleagues.
Our Consumer publishing is known for
its high production and design values
and our Academic list for its scholarly
excellence and focus on digital delivery
to the modern scholar and student
alongside educators, librarians and
lecturers. This all contributes to building
our brand reputation for excellence and
originality and is recognised worldwide.
Reinvest through focused acquisitions
Reinvest through focused
acquisitions
Bloomsbury has used its strong
financial position to fund selective
and strategic acquisitions, with 34
acquisitions completed since the
inception of the Company, the latest
and largest of which was Rowman
& Littlefield in May 2024. We are
actively targeting and assessing further
acquisition opportunities in line with
our long-term growth strategy. Our
focused acquisitions strategy supports
long-term growth, strengthening
existing areas of publishing, allowing
us to expand into new areas, and
accelerating our digital offering.
Strong balance sheet and dividend
Reinvest through focused acquisitions
Dividend underpinned by
robust balance sheet
Bloomsbury retains a robust balance
sheet while also paying Shareholders
a dividend which reflects the
achievements in the financial year and
confidence in the future.
www.bloomsbury.com
08
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Our Investment Case
In 2025/2026 Bloomsbury achieved revenue of £325.9m, against
a strong comparative, and profit growth of 7% to £44.9m with a
strong margin of 13.8%.
In our Academic & Professional business, growth was driven both
by the contribution from the first AI licensing partnership and the
further contribution from the acquisition of Rowman & Littlefield
made in the prior year.
Our Consumer business standout bestseller was the paperback
of Want by Gillian Anderson and our teams and authors have
been recognised with awards that span both categories and
global markets. Looking forward, our publishing list for 2026/2027
is strong with titles from our major bestselling authors including
Sarah J. Maas, Katherine Rundell and J.K. Rowling.
Bloomsbury is an entrepreneurial, independent publisher of
works of excellence and originality, and has the benefit of being
diversified both across academic and consumer publishing
and internationally. We provide books to readers for escapism,
entertainment and education with a strong value perception.
The value of our content for our customers arising from the
talent of our authors and colleagues underpins the resilience of
Bloomsbury and its future growth.
The Board has recommended a final dividend of 12.12 pence
which gives us a total dividend of 16.20 pence for the year, an
increase of 5% over last year. This dividend increase reflects both
the achievements of this financial year and our confidence that the
Company is well positioned for further development. This dividend
growth continues our unbroken record of dividend growth.
Board changes
Further to the Board changes during the financial year, we
announced the appointment of Jenny Ridout to Bloomsbury’s
Board as an Executive Director. Jenny will continue leading our
Academic & Professional Division.
Baroness Lola Young will retire from the Board at the conclusion
of the 2026 Annual General Meeting. Baroness Young’s presence
on our Board for the past five years has been the most enormous
good fortune for Bloomsbury. She has helped guide us through
one of the most challenging periods in cultural relations, and
wearing her literary hat as former Chair of the Judges of the
Booker Prize and as an author, she has supported us in the
success of our literary mission. We will miss her and are very
grateful to her.
We were pleased to announce the appointment of Chris
Blatchford to the Board as a Non-Executive Director with effect
from 19 May 2026. In Chris Blatchford, we have appointed a
Director with an exceptional track record in artificial intelligence,
computer information systems, and the application of technology
to academic publishing. He is Chief Technology Officer at
Kingfisher plc, and was formerly Chief Technology Officer for
Research at Elsevier. We look forward to benefitting from his
experience, combined with his innovative, commercial approach.
John Bason
Non-Executive Chairman
OverviewOverview
Stock code: BMY
Annual Report and Accounts 2026
09
Chairman’s Statement
John Bason - Non-Executive Chairman
Chief Executive Review 11
Key Performance Indicators 16
Business Model 18
Marketplace Trends 20
Our Divisional and Geographic Overview 23
– Consumer Division 24
– Academic & Professional Division 26
– Our International Offices 28
Financial Review 32
Section 172 Directors’ Duties Statement 37
Materiality Assessment 38
Engagement with Stakeholders 39
Corporate Social Responsibility 46
Bloomsbury’s People and Culture 48
Belonging and Inclusion at Bloomsbury 52
Bloomsbury’s Commitment to the Literary
Ecosystem, Community and Society
56
Task Force on Climate-Related Financial
Disclosures (TCFD)
59
Our Environment 76
Principal Risks and Risk management 83
Strategic Report
10
www.bloomsbury.com
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Bloomsbury is pleased to report revenue of £325.9m with profit
1
of £44.9m, up 7% year on year, with our strategy of combining
general and academic publishing, unusual in our industry,
delivering success.
Bloomsbury was voted Publisher of the Year 2025. Our Consumer
Division has a particularly strong
pipeline for 2026/2027 including two
hugely anticipated new novels in her
bestselling series by Sarah J. Maas;
Gillian Anderson’s More, the follow-up
to her bestseller Want; and remarkable
new books from our stable of bestselling
authors Katherine Rundell, Samantha
Shannon, Louise Kennedy, Dan Jones
and Peter Frankopan. The launch of J.K.
Rowling’s Harry Potter series on television
by HBO Max at Christmas will bring
the series to a dramatically expanded
readership of the new generations of
readers since the launch of the books 29
years ago.
In Academic and Professional, we grew
in print, digital and rights revenue in
the second half and see encouraging
signs of recovery with good growth in all territories in the current
financial year. We announced our first participation in AI licensing
for academic content in July 2025, and saw the outperformance
of our Academic and Professional Division over the past year.
Bloomsbury is benefitting from ongoing AI licensing revenue
into the future in 2026/2027. In addition, we have established
Bloomsbury Singapore to spearhead growth in the expanding
Asian markets.
In April 2026, we announced a streamlining and simplification
of our structure. This has enhanced agility, accountability and
financial performance. Separately, we announced a strategic
collaboration with Google, focused on technology innovation,
AI-powered learning and core publishing infrastructure which is
being rolled out across the Company.
In recognition of the achievements of this
financial year and our confidence in the
outlook, the Board recommends a final
dividend of 12.12 pence which contributes
to a full year dividend of 16.20 pence per
share, an increase of 5% year on year.
Bloomsbury has an unbroken 31 year track
record of dividend growth every year since
flotation in 1994.
Sarah J. Maas recently announced the
publication dates of her next two titles,
which combined with the strength of our
upcoming wider publishing list, led to
a trading update upgrading our profit
expectations for 2026/2027. Pre-orders
of our major titles are exceptional. The
Board looks to the current year with strong
confidence in delivering results in line with
these recently upgraded expectations.
Nigel Newton
Founder & Chief Executive
The Board looks to
the current year with
strong confidence in
delivering results in line
with recently upgraded
expectations.
B
Bloomsbury
Board Retreat,
July 2025
1
Profit before taxation and highlighted items.
OverviewOverview
Stock code: BMY
Annual Report and Accounts 2026
11
Stock code: BMY
11
OverviewStrategic Report
Chief Executive Review
Nigel Newton - Founder & Chief Executive
Chief Executive Review
continued
Overview
Bloomsbury achieved 2025/2026 Group revenue of £325.9m and
profit up 7% year on year to £44.9m with a margin of 13.8%. We
have successfully pursued our long-term strategy of combining
consumer and academic publishing which has created a portfolio
of portfolios - a model that continues to provide Bloomsbury with
diversification and resilient success.
The Consumer Division had a strong comparative given its strength
last year. Our bestselling and award-
winning fiction lists resulted in Bloomsbury
being voted Publisher of the Year at the
British Book Awards in May 2025. Gillian
Anderson’s Want remained in the Top 10 of
the Sunday Times paperback bestseller list
for 22 weeks. The frontlist for 2026/2027 is
strong and includes many of our bestselling
authors such as Sarah J. Maas, Gillian
Anderson, Katherine Rundell, Samantha
Shannon, Louise Kennedy, Dan Jones, Peter
Frankopan alongside the launch of J.K.
Rowling’s new Harry Potter TV series that will
help introduce it to a generation of readers.
In the Academic & Professional Division,
we achieved strong revenue growth,
with print, digital and rights and services
revenues all growing in the second half
and see encouraging signs of recovery with
good growth in all territories in the current
financial year. The intellectual property
value and quality of our academic list
enabled us to sign our first non-exclusive
AI licensing agreement which is ongoing
in 2026/2027. We opened Bloomsbury
Singapore to capitalise on the forecast
growth in the student population in the
region.
In December 2025, we announced a
strategic collaboration with Google. This
is focused on technology innovation,
AI-powered learning and core publishing
infrastructure. With an advanced AI
infrastructure, Bloomsbury will benefit
from data-driven and semantic search insights to improve
trend analysis and drive book sales across Bloomsbury’s
entire catalogue, while custom sales forecasting and print-run
optimisation models can improve inventory management. In
Academic & Professional we can transform engagement with
content through personalisation to improve learning outcomes.
We are progressing with key operational changes to support
growth and enhance profitability through financial efficiencies.
In April 2026, we announced a restructuring with which we have
taken the first steps to simplify and streamline our structure.
This has enhanced agility, accountability and positions us for
continued expansion.
Group Financials
Bloomsbury’s revenue was £325.9m (2024/2025: 361.0m).
Group profit before taxation and highlighted items was
£44.9m (2024/2025: £42.1m). Profit before taxation was £34.2m
(2024/2025: £32.5m).
Highlighted items totalled £10.7m (2024/2025: £9.6m) comprising
amortisation of acquired intangible assets of £9.0m (2024/2025:
£8.4m) and one-off integration and restructuring costs of £1.7m
(2024/2025: £1.2m).
The effective rate of tax for the year was 21.1% (2024/2025: 21.9%),
with an adjusted effective rate of tax, excluding highlighted items,
of 18.5% (2024/2025: 18.8%).
Diluted earnings per share, excluding
highlighted items, were 44.57 pence
(2024/2025: 41.45 pence). Including
highlighted items, profit before tax was
£34.2m (2024/2025: £32.5m) and diluted
earnings per share 32.80 pence (2024/2025:
30.71 pence).
The Board recommends a 5% increase in
the final dividend to 12.12 pence per share,
taking the total full year dividend to 16.20
pence per share, an increase of 5% year
on year.
Bloomsbury has a net cash position of
£29.2m. In the first half we paid down an
additional $10.0m of the debt following the
acquisition of Rowman & Littlefield, taking
the total repaid to $17.5m. The remaining
loan of $20.0m matures in May 2027.
Consumer Division
The Consumer Division now consists
of Adult, Young Adult and Children’s
publishing and Special Interest. From
the first half of 2025/2026, Special
Interest results have been reported
within Consumer, following management
alignment with the wider Consumer teams;
prior period results have been restated. As
announced in April 2026, Ian Hudson plans
to retire and Kathleen Farrar, previously
Managing Director of Group Sales and
Marketing, will become the Managing
Director of UK Consumer.
The Consumer Division had a strong comparative, with
high operational gearing on exceptional sales following the
publication of Sarah J. Maas’ House of Flame and Shadow in
January 2024. Consumer revenue was £218.2m (2024/2025:
£277.7m). Profit before taxation and highlighted items was £20.5m
(2024/2025: £30.3m) with a margin of 9%. Profit before taxation
was £19.9m (2024/2025: £29.6m).
Bloomsbury was voted Publisher of the Year at the British Book
Awards in May 2025 and also won the British Book Awards
Publicity Campaign of the Year for Gillian Anderson’s Want.
Bloomsbury author Renée Watson won the prestigious Newbery
Medal for All the Blues in the Sky.
Sarah J. Maas topped bestseller lists in the UK and US with
the paperback launch of House of Flame and Shadow in June
2025. In March 2026, Sarah J. Maas announced the publication
dates for the much anticipated next two novels in the A Court of
The frontlist for 2026/2027
is strong and includes many
of our bestselling authors
such as Sarah J. Maas,
Gillian Anderson, Katherine
Rundell, Samantha
Shannon…alongside the
launch of J.K. Rowling’s new
Harry Potter TV series.
”
Nigel Newton
Founder & Chief Executive
www.bloomsbury.com
12
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
www.bloomsbury.com
12
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Thorns and Roses (‘ACOTAR’)
series which will be published
on 27 October 2026 and
12 January 2027 respectively, an
exciting moment for her fans.
Harry Potter sales remain
robust in the 29
th
year after first
publication, demonstrating the
enduring appeal of this classic
series. The publication of J.K.
Rowling’s Pocket Potters series
began in August with three
titles – Harry Potter, Ron Weasley
and Hermione Granger – with
more to come in 2026/2027. The
forthcoming HBO Max Harry
Potter TV series will launch at
Christmas 2026 and introduce the
books to new readers.
At the start of 2026/2027, Alex
Aster’s Starside and Hugh
Fearnley-Whittingstall’s High Fibre Heroes have both been
Sunday Times bestsellers. Our publishing list for the rest of
2026/2027 is strong and includes:
A
Sarah J. Maas new titles in the A Court of Thorns and
Roses series to be published on 27 October 2026 and
12 January 2027;
A
Katherine Rundell’s The Neverfear, the third in the five
book Impossible Creatures series, to be published on
27 August 2026;
A
J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince –
Illustrated, to be published on 6 October 2026;
A
J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter Pocket Potters series continues
with Hagrid and Dobby in August 2026 and Professor
McGonagall and Fred & George Weasley in February 2027;
A
Gillian Anderson’s follow-up to Want, titled More, to be
published on 10 September 2026;
A
Samantha Shannon’s The Moth Reborn, the sixth in the Bone
Season series, to be published on 18 February 2027;
A
Poppy O’Toole’s Poppy Cooks: The Actually Delicious Batch
Cookbook to be published on 10 September 2026;
A
Stephen Graham’s Letters to Our Sons to be published
8 October 2026;
A
Ann Patchett’s Whistler to be published on 2 June 2026;
A
Louise Kennedy’s Stations to be published on
24 September 2026;
A
Dan Jones The Castles: A Fortified History of the World to be
published on 8 October 2026;
A
Sheena Dempsey’s Pablo & Splash: Viking Voyage to be
published on 4 June 2026;
A
Hugh Bonneville’s Rory Sparkes & The Spy Who Loved Tea to
be published on 8 October 2026;
A
Renée Watson’s Everything New Again to be published on
13 October 2026; and
A
Peter Frankopan’s The Earth Transformed Illustrated Edition
to be published on 22 October 2026.
Academic &
Professional Division
The Academic & Professional
Division consists of academic and
professional publishing. Special
Interest is now reported within
the Consumer Division following
management alignment with the
wider Consumer teams. Jenny
Ridout is Global Managing
Director of the Academic &
Professional Division (A&P) and
joined the Group Board in April
2026, as announced.
A&P revenue increased by 29%
to £107.7m (2024/2025: £83.3m)
driven by AI licensing, with
print, digital and rights and
service revenues all increasing
in the second half. Profit before
taxation and highlighted items increased to £25.0m (2024/2025:
£12.5m) with a margin of 23% (2024/2025: 15%). Profit before
taxation was £16.6m (2024/2025: £4.8m).
In July 2025, we announced our first non-exclusive AI licensing
agreement which is ongoing in 2026/2027. This was enabled by
the intellectual property value and quality of our academic list,
which had been enhanced with the acquisition of Rowman &
Littlefield. Bloomsbury has engaged with our A&P authors with
opt-in agreements to enable their titles to be included in AI
licensing opportunities. The non-exclusive nature of Bloomsbury’s
AI licensing enables us to reach further agreements in the future.
We made significant progress on the integration of Rowman &
Littlefield into our business systems and global warehouses. We
have released 13,000 Rowman & Littlefield titles onto Bloomsbury
Collections, one of the key opportunities for Bloomsbury of the
acquisition. We have realised the benefits of the integration
through efficiencies in distribution and overhead costs.
We have expanded our business in Asia by opening an office in
Singapore to further capitalise on the projected growth in the
student population in the region, building on the success of our
established offices in Australia and India. It is estimated that by
2040 there could be 600m higher education students globally
with over 60% of these in Asia (Calderon, UNESCO). Bloomsbury
is well placed geographically and structurally to benefit from
student growth alongside the growth of digital learning.
We are experiencing encouraging signs of recovery with good
growth in all territories in the 2026/2027 financial year.
B
Bloomsbury Publishing in Bedford Square, London
OverviewOverview
Stock code: BMY
Annual Report and Accounts 2026
13
Stock code: BMY
13
OverviewStrategic Report
Chief Executive Review
continued
Cash and Financing
Bloomsbury maintains a robust financial position with net cash at
the year-end of £29.2m (2024/2025: £17.0m). This consists of cash
of £44.0m and a term loan of £14.8m. Capital allocation priorities
are internal investment to drive organic growth, debt reduction,
dividends and bolt on acquisitions.
The Group has an unsecured term loan with Lloyds Bank Plc, used
for the acquisition of Rowman & Littlefield alongside cash. This
comprises a committed and remaining drawn term loan of £14.8m
($20.0m) (2025: £23.6m ($30.0m)) with maturity in May 2027. We
have repaid $17.5m of the debt associated with the acquisition of
Rowman & Littlefield, $10.0m of which was in H1 2025/2026.
The Group also has an unsecured revolving credit facility with
Lloyds Bank Plc of up to £30.0m. The agreement runs to March
2029. As at 28 February 2026, the Group had no draw down of this
facility (2024/2025: £nil).
Both facilities are subject to two covenants, being a maximum
net debt to EBITDA ratio of 2.5x and a minimum interest cover
covenant of 4x.
Acquisitions
Bloomsbury has a successful track record in strategic acquisitions,
with 34 completed to date. We will continue to assess further
acquisition opportunities.
Dividend
The Board is recommending a final dividend of 12.12 pence per
share. Together with the interim dividend, this makes a total
dividend for 2025/2026 of 16.20 pence per share, a 5% increase
on the 15.43 pence dividend for 2024/2025.
Subject to Shareholder approval at our AGM on 15 July 2026, the
final dividend will be paid on 21 August 2026 to Shareholders on
the register on the record date of 24 July 2026.
lncluding the proposed 2025/2026 final dividend, the dividend
per share has increased at a compound annual growth rate of
9.7% over the past ten years.
Board Changes
Keith Underwood joined Bloomsbury as Chief Financial and
Operating Officer and became a member of Bloomsbury’s Board
of Directors on 2 February 2026. Keith previously held the same
role at Guardian Media Group and Channel 4.
Following the period end, we announced the appointment of
Jenny Ridout to Bloomsbury’s Board as an Executive Director.
Jenny will continue leading our Academic & Professional Division.
Bloomsbury is pleased to announce the appointment of Chris
Blatchford to its Board as a Non-Executive Director with effect
from 19 May 2026. Chris is Chief Technology Officer at Kingfisher
plc, and was formerly as Chief Technology Officer for Research at
Elsevier.
John Bason, Bloomsbury’s Chairman, said, “In Chris Blatchford,
we have appointed a Director with an exceptional track record
in artificial intelligence, computer information systems, and the
application of technology to academic publishing. We look
forward to benefitting from his experience, combined with his
innovative, commercial approach.”
Baroness Lola Young will retire from the Board at the conclusion
of the 2026 Annual General Meeting. John Bason said, “Baroness
Young’s presence on our Board for the past five years has been
the most enormous good fortune for Bloomsbury. She has helped
guide us through one of the most challenging periods in cultural
relations, and wearing her literary hat as former Chair of the
Judges of the Booker Prize and as an author, she has supported
us in the success of our literary mission. We will miss her and are
very grateful to her.”
Current Trading and Outlook
Bloomsbury has a strong wider publishing list in 2026/2027,
including two new Sarah J. Maas novels. These led to a trading
update upgrading our profit expectations for 2026/2027. Pre-
orders of major titles are exceptional. The Board looks to the
current year with strong confidence in delivering results in line
with these recently upgraded expectations.
Bloomsbury’s portfolio of portfolios strategy, our authors,
customers and the scale and resilience of our business continue
to underpin the confidence we have in the future.
Nigel Newton
Founder & Chief Executive
The Board considers consensus market expectation (before this
publication) for the year ending 28 February 2027 to be revenue of £353.0m
and profit before taxation and highlighted items of £50.0m.
www.bloomsbury.com
14
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
www.bloomsbury.com
14
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Powerful forward publishing list for
2026/2027
OverviewOverview
Stock code: BMY
Annual Report and Accounts 2026
15
Stock code: BMY
15
OverviewStrategic Report
Adjusted Profit
1
£44.9m
+7%
12.0m
13.2m
14.4m
15.7m
19.2m
26.7m
31.1m
48.8m
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025
2026
42.1m
44.9m
Link to risks:
A
B
C
D
F
G
H
L
Adjusted Profit margin
2
£13.8%
+210bps
8.4%
8.2%
8.8%
9.6%
10.3%
11.6%
11.8%
14.2%
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025
2026
11.7%
13.8%
Link to risks:
A
B
C
D
F
H
L
13
Employee Voice Meetings
connecting employees with the
Board and senior management
(2025:10)
10
Active staff networks
(2025:10)
53%
Average attendance rate at
Town Halls
(2025:54%)
Link to risks:
I
K
Revenue
£325.9m
-10%
142.6m
161.5m
162.7m
162.8m
185.1m
230.1m
264.1m
342.7m
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025
2026
361.0m
325.9m
Link to risks:
A
B
C
D
G
H
2
3
4
1
A
Market
D
Title acquisition
G
Intellectual property
J
Legal and compliance
B
Importance of
digitalpublishing
E
Information and
technologysystems
H
Reliance on key
counterparties and supply
chain resilience
K
Reputation
C
Acquisitions
F
Financial valuations
I
Talent management
L
Cost Inflation
Key to risks:
Financial measures
Non-financial measures
1
Adjusted Profit is profit before taxation and highlighted items. Highlighted items comprise amortisation of acquired intangible assets and legal and other
professional costs relating to ongoing and completed acquisitions and restructuring costs.
2
Adjusted Profit margin is Adjusted Profit divided by revenue.
www.bloomsbury.com
16
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
www.bloomsbury.com
16
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Key Performance Indicators 2025/2026
Female Board members
2026: 50% (2025: 60%)
50%
50%
Female Executive
Committee members
2026: 44% (2025: 63%)
44%
56%
Female employees
2026: 75% (2025: 75%)
25%
75%
Bloomsbury’s UK median
gender pay gap
*
17%
(2025:19%)
Bloomsbury’s UK mean
gender pay gap
*
18%
(2025:18%)
Link to risks:
I
J
K
* Go to https://www.bloomsbury-ir.
co.uk/docs/librariesprovider16/
archives/governance/gender-pay-
gap/2025.pdf to see Bloomsbury’s
2025 Gender Pay Gap Report
(snapshot date 5 April 2025).
Board
2(33%)
Board member – Directors
of colour
(2025:1)
Company
16%
Ethnic minority groups: UK
(2025:16%)
24%
Ethnic minority groups: US
(2025:25%)
Link to risks:
I
J
K
45
Stationary fuel use
(2025:102)
244
Electricity use: location-
based emissions
(2025:277)
0
Electricity use: market-based
emissions
(2025:0)
20
Vehicle fuel use
(2025:23)
Link to risks:
J
K
5 6 6
FemaleMale
Gender diversity
Ethnic diversity Environmental performance
– greenhouse gas emissions
(absolute tonnes CO
2
e)
OverviewOverview
Stock code: BMY
Annual Report and Accounts 2026
17
Stock code: BMY
17
OverviewStrategic Report
Channels
Key ActivitiesKey Resources
Publishing works of
excellence and originality in
multiple formats
Leveraging existing
intellectual property
rights through innovative
publishing
Strong focus on digital
academic and professional
publishing
Strategic acquisitions in key
areas of publishing
Acquisition of rights from
authors, illustrators and
other copyright owners
Managing licensing deals
in respect of Bloomsbury’s
extensive backlist
International expansion
How we support both our divisions:
Valuable intellectualproperty
Valuable intellectualproperty
Diversied portfolio ofcontent and
services
Diversified portfolio ofcontent and
services
Authors and Illustrators
Inspirational and
high-calibreauthors
Talented people
Talented colleagues
Strong nancial position andliquidity
Strong financial position
andliquidity
Strong, globally recognisedbrand
Strong, globally recognisedbrand
Access to global markets and partners
Access to global markets and
partners
Traditional wholesalers and retailers
Traditional wholesalers
and retailers
Online retailers
Online retailers – print
and digital (ebooks and
audiobooks)
Direct to academic and educational
institutions, libraries and corporates
Direct to consumers,
academic and educational
institutions, libraries and
professionals.
Digital content aggregators
Digital content
aggregators
Academic Consumer
Bloomsbury
www.bloomsbury.com
18
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
www.bloomsbury.com
18
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Business Model
Revenue Streams
Creating value for stakeholders
Print books
Ebooks
Audiobooks
Bloomsbury Digital
Resources for academic,
educational and professional
settings
Licensing of rights to third
parties
Consumers
Publishing works of excellence and originality to inform, educate,
entertain and inspire, supporting literacy and culture and fostering a
passion for reading and learning. During the year, Bloomsbury authors
won, and were shortlisted for, literary prizes globally, recognising
established and emerging talent.
Literary Ecosystem, Community and Society
We contribute through charitable donations, partnerships and
employee time donated. Our economic and social contribution to
our communities was delivered through charitable donations and
partnerships.
Authors and Illustrators
We help our authors and illustrators to create stories and communicate
ideas to a global audience, connecting them with readers worldwide
through multiple formats and channels.
Shareholders
The opportunity to invest in a resilient publishing company with a
diversified portfolio operating in global markets. Our strategy has
delivered 31 years of dividend growth.
Employees
Creating rewarding work in a welcoming and supportive environment,
and enabling ongoing professional development. Providing the
opportunity to align with a business with a strong socially responsible
purpose, entrepreneurial spirit and compelling global opportunity in a
dynamic marketplace.
Partners
Generating business activity that creates commercial opportunity for
our authors, printers, freelancers, business partners and book trade
customers.
Stock code: BMYStock code: BMY
OverviewOverviewOverviewStrategic Report
Annual Report and Accounts 2026
1919
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Description
We consider the market trend to be increased
use of AI within our business, supply chain and
industry over time and Bloomsbury’s materiality
assessment in 2025 revealed AI as a priority
topic for stakeholders. In 2025/2026 Bloomsbury
undertook its first non-exclusive AI licensing
agreement to train large language models. Also in
the sphere of AI, Bloomsbury and Google entered
into a strategic collaboration with Google Cloud
focused on technology innovation, AI-powered
learning and core publishing infrastructure.
Increased use of AI as a mainstream tool has led
to stakeholders such as authors and Shareholders
engaging with Bloomsbury throughout 2025/2026
regarding concerns and opportunities relating to
our potential use of AI.
Our Response
To navigate this complex field, we have hired a
Head of AI Innovation, created the Bloomsbury
AI Steering Group and have a team of AI
Champions drawn from across the business. All
key recommendations, policies and strategic
decisions will be subject to approval by the
Executive Committee before implementation and
the Steering Group will play an important role
feeding into these. Bloomsbury is also playing
an active role in the UK Publishers Association
Taskforce.
Link to strategy
Regulatory Environment
Description
Our materiality assessment conducted in 2025
demonstrated that the dynamic regulatory
environment concerned stakeholders, reaching
fourth in the priority list. At the time, there was
much discussion spanning potential US tariffs
to European sustainability regulation. However,
books were exempt from US tariffs and in Europe
the anti-deforestation regulation (EUDR) that was
expected to commence at the end of 2025 has
been modified to exclude printed products.
Our Response
The regulatory environment is monitored closely
and we welcome the opportunity to enhance
sustainability. We will continue to engage with
our supply and distribution chain to improve our
traceability and sustainability even though printed
products no longer fall under EUDR. We also
maintain flexibility in our supply chain which helps
us remain agile in where we print and, in some
cases, manufacture in the country of distribution
to meet needs efficiently, such as the US.
Link to strategy
Global Supply Chain
Description
The 2025 materiality assessment revealed
sustainable supply chain and distribution as the
third most important topic to stakeholders. These
issues came into focus during 2021–2023, then
eased and were benign in 2025/2026. However,
the war in the Middle East from February 2026
brought this to the fore in conversations with
Shareholders as supply chain disruption can
impact costs of freight, paper and printing.
Our Response
The Group constantly assesses its print and
purchasing strategies to manage any supply chain
issues and ensure timely supply to market. We
are agile in where we print and in some cases
manufacture in the country of distribution to meet
needs efficiently. We have local print operations,
such as in the US, to maintain our supply of books
to retailers.
Link to strategy
www.bloomsbury.com
20
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
www.bloomsbury.com
20
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Marketplace Trends
Demand for Digital – Academic Digital Resources
Description
Demand for digital resources and learning formats
reflects the adoption of hybrid teaching methods
as digital learning habits have become embedded
in educational institutions catering to the “digital
native” generation.
Our Response
Bloomsbury continues to invest in its digital
offerings and Bloomsbury Digital Resources,
launching new products and adding content
to our existing online subject hubs. We have
expanded the offering through digitising Rowman
& Littlefield content. We continue to work with
educational institutions to ensure flexibility over
formats and choice of content that meets the
requirements of faculty and students as digital
learning continues to evolve.
Link to strategy
Growth in Digital – Audiobooks
Description
The audiobook market continues to grow, with
consumers in all age groups purchasing digital
audio, though the rate of growth is not as strong
as the market is maturing. The UK Publishers
Association reported a 10% increase in digital
audio downloads in 2025 (2024: 31%) and, in
the US, the Association of American Publishers
reported an increase of 2.1% in digital audio
downloads in 2025 (2024: +23.8%).
Our Response
Bloomsbury is investing in audio acquisition,
production and promotion to meet the increasing
demand for this format. In 2025/2026 Bloomsbury
expanded Consumer audiobooks, increasing
the number of titles available, also adding some
Academic & Professional content and creating
audiobooks in Hindi.
Link to strategy
Social Media
Description
Since mid-2020, TikTok has been one of the
driving forces of an unprecedented surge in
consumer book sales. The nature of the platform
appeals to a younger generation who can engage
with the TikTok community to discover and
recommend books. The BookTok and Instagram
communities have resurfaced many titles, bringing
them to an exciting new generation of readers.
Our Response
Bloomsbury remains the second most-followed
UK publisher on Instagram and TikTok. In 2024,
Bloomsbury further strengthened and expanded
its social media team by hiring one of the most
influential UK BookTokkers to be part of the in-
house team. In addition, the US, UK and Indian
offices have cultivated a direct relationship with
the all-important BookTok community by creating
the industry-leading influencer programme,
the Bloomsbury Creator Circle, which has 8,000
members globally. This army of ambassadors (all
with substantial TikTok and Instagram followers)
are invited to exclusive events, offered free
books and more. In 2025, posts from members
of the Bloomsbury Creator Circle generated
an estimated ten million impressions across
Instagram and TikTok, promoting our Adult and
Young Adult lists. We continue to dynamically
respond to user engagement and reader interest
in specific genres, including popular genres such
as Young Adult, fantasy and romance.
Link to strategy
OverviewOverview
Stock code: BMY
Annual Report and Accounts 2026
21
Stock code: BMY
21
OverviewStrategic Report
Genres Growing in Popularity – Romance/Fantasy
Description
The consumer interest in romance and fantasy
fiction continued in 2025/2026 with social media
in particular influencing consumer purchasing
behaviour in respect of these genres.
Our Response
Bloomsbury coined the cross-over genre term
“romantasy”, which has now been adopted by
the industry. In 2025/2026, the list Bloomsbury
Archer was launched as a new Science Fiction
and Fantasy imprint. “Archer” refers to the
existing Bloomsbury emblem, Diana, goddess of
the hunt, referencing the imprint’s pursuit of the
very best storytelling and new stars. In addition,
Sarah J. Maas was the third bestselling fiction
author of 2025 through Nielsen Bookscan UK
and the bestselling author in the science fiction
and fantasy category. In the year 2025/2026,
Bloomsbury’s Romance and Fantasy titles
achieved 17 Top Ten placements in the Nielsen
bestseller charts in the UK. In the US, in 2025,
Sarah J. Maas spent a total of 43 weeks on The
New York Times bestseller list and A Court of
Thorns and Roses paperback was the top selling
fantasy title of 2025. She has five titles in the
Fantasy Top Ten and nine titles in the Top Twenty.
Link to strategy
Sales Channel
Description
Online sales still account for the highest
proportion of retail sales of Bloomsbury’s
Consumer titles. Physical bookshops, whether
they be chains or independent bookshops, remain
an important and resilient part of the landscape.
Book subscription boxes are increasing in
popularity and reflect the growth in demand
– driven in part by social media – for exclusive
editions of published titles.
Our Response
Bloomsbury enthusiastically supports physical
retail and has invested in sales resource to
support sales into and by the independent book
sectors, as well as working with physical retail in
the UK, US and Australia on bespoke exclusive
editions for key product lines and titles to drive
sales through physical retail. At the same time, we
continue to invest in sales and marketing resource
to maximise sales through online channels. In the
US, our investment in all sales channels has been
bolstered by the creation of our in-house sales
force, which works across digital and physical
retail to increase the presence of Bloomsbury
books regardless of format.
Bloomsbury works hand in hand with the
subscription boxes to create beautifully designed
and produced exclusive editions for their
members, which serves to increase sales and
brand recognition for Bloomsbury authors, from
debut to bestselling authors.
Link to strategy
www.bloomsbury.com
22
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
www.bloomsbury.com
22
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Marketplace Trends
continued
Bloomsbury
office USA
Bloomsbury
office India
Bloomsbury
offices USA
Bloomsbury
office AUS
Bloomsbury
offices UK
Santa Barbara
Beijing
New Delhi
New York & Maryland
Sydney
London & Oxford
Bloomsbury is organised as two worldwide publishing Divisions,
Consumer and Academic & Professional, supported by global
back-office functions. In 2025/2026 Bloomsbury opened a new
office in Singapore.
The Consumer Division includes Adult and Children’s Trade
publishing globally and in 2025/2026 started to include Special
Interest. The Consumer Division publishes over 800 new titles
per year, in print, ebook and audiobook formats. The Academic
& Professional Division includes Bloomsbury Digital Resources.
The Division’s activities focus on life-long learning, and publishing
books and digital resources to support research, study and
professional careers.
Bloomsbury combines academic, educational, general fiction and
non-fiction publishing for the general reader, children, teachers,
students, libraries, researchers and professionals.
Bloomsbury has offices in London, Oxford, New York, Maryland,
Santa Barbara, Sydney and New Delhi, and a joint venture
in China. In 2025/2026 Bloomsbury opened a new office in
Singapore to benefit from growth in the region.
Bloomsbury
office
Singapore
Singapore
China joint
venture
Beijing
OverviewOverview
Stock code: BMY
Annual Report and Accounts 2026
23
Stock code: BMY
23
OverviewStrategic Report
Our Divisional and Geographic Overview
2025/2026 Highlights
Consumer Division revenue was £218.2m
(2024/2025: £277.7m). Profit before
tax and highlighted items was £20.5m
(2024/2025: £30.3m). In 2025/2026, the
Division’s revenue accounted for 67% of
Group turnover.
As announced in April 2026, Ian Hudson
plans to retire and Kathleen Farrar,
previously Managing Director of Group
Sales and Marketing, will become the
Managing Director of UK Consumer.
Consumer overview
The Consumer Division publishes incisive,
engaging, entertaining and challenging
books for an inclusive range of audiences.
We amplify voices across a wide spectrum
and invest in authors with great stories
to tell.
Adult
Known for the quality and the prize-
winning calibre of our lists, we publish
authors such as Susanna Clarke, Ann
Patchett, Khaled Hosseini, William
Dalrymple, Peter Frankopan, Dan Jones,
Madeleine Miller, George Saunders,
Louise Kennedy, Kamila Shamsie and
Cixin Liu. In Lifestyle, we publish high-
profile chefs including Tom Kerridge,
Poppy O’Toole, Tim Siadatan, Georgina
Hayden and Matthew Ryle. We publish
a wide range of bestselling commercial
fiction and non-fiction authors including
Sarah J. Maas (three series), Samantha
Shannon, Alex Aster, Bal Khabra, Katie
Fforde and Gillian Anderson.
The Consumer Division comprises Bloomsbury Adult, Bloomsbury Children’s and
Special Interest. Our Adult lists publish fiction, non-fiction and lifestyle titles, while our
Children’s publishing comprises picture books, young fiction and non-fiction, pre-school
and illustrated non-fiction titles. Our main publishing operations are based in London
and New York.
2025/2026
Key financial figures
Revenue
£218.2m
Adjusted Profit
£20.5m
Margin
9.4%
B
Bloomsbury was voted Publisher of the Year 2025 at the British Book Awards, May 2025
www.bloomsbury.com
24
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
www.bloomsbury.com
24
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Consumer Division
Ian Hudson – Managing Director, Consumer Division
Adult core areas of publishing:
A
Bloomsbury Trade – focuses on prize-winning literary fiction
and non-fiction; bestselling crossover and book club fiction,
groundbreaking non-fiction (history/politics/science/ideas/
psychology), nature writing, culture, memoir and poetry;
A
Bloomsbury General – focuses on commercial fiction, genre
fiction (including science-fiction and fantasy), crime/thriller
and popular culture;
A
Bloomsbury Lifestyle – is the home of Bloomsbury’s cookery
publishing and illustrated non-fiction, including wellbeing
and books for the gift market; and
A
Head of Zeus – publishes genre fiction and narrative non-
fiction with an additional focus on digital publishing.
Children’s
Our Children’s division is the home of J.K Rowling’s bestselling
series Harry Potter and other household names ranging from
Katherine Rundell, Jessie Burton and Hugh Bonneville to
Benjamin Zephaniah. The division publishes pre-school and
picture books, non-fiction, fiction and graphic novels including
Sheena Dempsey’s hugely successful Pablo and Splash series.
In Children’s we also invest in growing new brands including the
bestselling The Bunnies of Hoppity Hill pre-school series. Across
the whole division we invest in new and diverse talent.
The core areas of publishing for children and young adults
include:
A
Pre-school and picture books;
A
Non-fiction; and
A
Fiction and graphic novels.
Bloomsbury Special Interest
Bloomsbury Special Interest publishes expert content for
dedicated and passionate communities, which supports hobbies
and interests, promotes health and wellbeing and encourages
curiosity and learning. We publish books, audiobooks, games
and digital reference, and core disciplines include sport and
wellbeing, military history, current affairs, nautical, science and
nature, the creative arts and games.
Key brands include Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack, Reeds Nautical
Almanac, the Writers’ and Artists’ Yearbook and partnership
publishing with the RSPB, the National Trust and the Wellcome
Collection.
Across the whole Consumer Division our strategy remains
to build on our rich literary heritage while at the same time
developing and growing our commercial publishing and
author brands.
B
Padella by Tim Siadatan was winner of Waterstones
Gift Book of the Year, 2025
B
Want by Gillian Anderson was in the Sunday Times paperback bestseller
list top 10 for 22 weeks
OverviewOverview
Stock code: BMY
Annual Report and Accounts 2026
25
Stock code: BMY
25
OverviewStrategic Report
2025/2026 Highlights
The Academic & Professional Division’s
2025/2026 revenue was £107.7m
(2024/2025: £83.3m). In 2025/2026 profit
before tax and highlighted items was
£25.0m (2024/2025: £12.5m).
In 2025/2026 digital publishing (AI, BDR,
ebooks and audio) comprised 61%
of Academic & Professional revenue,
including the contribution from our first
AI licensing partnership. Our digital
strategy supports the ongoing shift
to digital learning, our mergers and
acquisitions accelerate the breadth
and depth of our content and digital
products, while ongoing investments in
our people, platforms and infrastructure
underpin our long-term organic growth
strategy. In 2025/2026, our print revenue
stabilised with the contribution of
Rowman & Littlefield and we continued
our strategy of expanding international
revenues, including opening a new office
in Singapore.
Bloomsbury Academic & Professional
publishes content and resources to
support students in their learning and
scholarly research, help classroom
teachers discover innovative ways to
teach, and enable professionals to re-skill
and develop in their careers.
Core areas of publishing:
A
Books for students and scholars in the
Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences;
A
Digital resources and databases for
higher education and school libraries;
A
Books and digital resources for
professionals; and
A
Educational content for secondary
schools and US high schools.
The Academic & Professional Division publishes works of excellence and originality to
inspire, educate and inform its specialist audiences. Revenues are derived from Academic
& Professional publishing including Bloomsbury Digital Resources.
2025/2026
Key financial figures
Revenue
£107.7m
Adjusted Profit
£25.0m
Margin
23.2%
B
The Arden Shakespeare Fourth Series, 2026
www.bloomsbury.com
26
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
www.bloomsbury.com
26
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Academic & Professional Division
Jenny Ridout – Global Managing Director, Academic & Professional Division
The Division’s vast catalogue contains thousands of authors, with
many high-profile and highly cited scholars, and authors of prize-
winning and widely adopted academic texts.
Bloomsbury Academic &Professional strength comes from
its ability to drive audience and impact for its expert authors
across the major subject disciplines in the Arts, Humanities and
Social Sciences. These include, but are not limited to, historians,
philosophers, religious scholars and political scientists, literary
scholars (e.g., Arden Shakespeare editors), leading playwrights
(Methuen Drama), legal academics (via Hart Publishing),
education social policy and political researchers, business and
management professionals and leading practitioners in the
visual arts.
A small sample of seminal authors includes:
A
Richard Reeves – Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution,
author of bestselling book Of Boys to Men (featured in Barack
Obama’s list of recommended books in 2024);
A
Linda Elder – co-founder and president of the Foundation for
Critical Thinking, the world’s oldest association dedicated to
the teaching and scholarship of critical thinking as a stand-
alone discipline;
A
Yanis Varoufakis – political economist and former finance
minister for Greece;
A
Vandana Shiva – environmental and development scholar;
A
Nawal El Saadawi – feminist thinker, public intellectual;
A
Guy Standing – labour economist, known for work on the
The Precariat;
A
Jeremy E. Taylor – historian of modern Asia;
A
Oren Kessler – former Deputy Director for Research at the
Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, Arab affairs
correspondent and author of Palestine 1936: The Great Revolt
and the Roots of the Middle East Conflict;
A
Sir Greg Doran – former Artistic Director of the RSC and
author of My Shakespeare;
A
James Graham – multi-award-winning playwright of several
West End hits;
A
Stella Cottrell – author of Bloomsbury’s flagship Study Skills
series; and
A
Carol J Adams – pioneering feminist and animal rights
activist.
Bloomsbury Digital Resources
Bloomsbury Digital Resources (BDR) is committed to serving a
global community of students, scholars, instructors, professionals
and librarians with creative online research and learning
environments that deliver excellence and originality, leveraging
Bloomsbury’s extensive portfolio of academic and professional
content.
Established in May 2016, BDR provides innovative and award-
winning digital academic and professional resources, sold
directly to higher education institutions, schools, public libraries
and companies worldwide. Combining the division’s extensive
catalogue of books, alongside media, archive and digital content
partnerships, BDR delivers a reliable stream of recurring revenue
and digital growth.
Bloomsbury Digital Resources
Key individual resources include:
A
ABC-CLIO Schools Databases in American History and
Culture;
A
Bloomsbury Collections;
A
Drama Online;
A
Bloomsbury Fashion Central;
A
Bloomsbury Architecture Library;
A
Bloomsbury History Hub;
A
Study Skills;
A
Bloomsbury Visual Arts;
A
Theology and Religion Online;
A
Bloomsbury Professional Online; and
A
The Churchill Archive.
B
A delegation led by China International Book Trading Corporation visited the Bloomsbury Offices for an afternoon of knowledge sharing and
networking, March 2026
OverviewOverview
Stock code: BMY
Annual Report and Accounts 2026
27
Stock code: BMY
27
OverviewStrategic Report
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc is an entrepreneurial, independent publisher with offices in
London, Oxford, New York, Maryland, Santa Barbara, Sydney, New Delhi and a new office in
Singapore. We also have a joint venture in China.
Established in 1998, Bloomsbury US publishes high-quality fiction
and non-fiction for adults and children as well as cutting-edge
scholarship from a global list of renowned academic authors
within the Bloomsbury Academic imprint which has a rich
portfolio of content, in both print and digital formats, across a
broad range of disciplines within the Humanities, Social Sciences
and Law. Our extensive list of bestselling and award-winning
trade authors includes Carol Anderson, Anthony Bourdain, Roz
Chast, Susanna Clarke, Shannon Hale, Brigid Kemmerer, Sarah J.
Maas, J.K. Rowling (in Canada), Jesmyn Ward and Renée Watson.
This year, we successfully completed several transitions that set us
up for the future: the systems integration of Rowman & Littlefield;
the distribution move of Rowman & Littlefield into our main
warehouse; the acquired team in Maryland moved into an office
in Greenbelt and the New York office moved one block south
to accommodate many more people within the same square
footage. Despite all the moving pieces, the teams remained
focused on delivering strong results for the business.
As for the US market, the largest supplier of books to libraries,
Baker & Taylor, went out of business in early autumn after many
long months of not ordering Bloomsbury titles. As a result,
we were not impacted by any bad debt when they filed for
bankruptcy. Ingram Library Services successfully stepped in and
took over much of the library business they left behind. This
helped us close out the year with a boost to our library sales
across trade and academic.
The Adult Consumer Division in particular had a very successful
year with growth of 7% on print sales over prior year thanks to
strong publishing in both the non-fiction and fiction areas. In
March 2025, we announced the launch of our new science fiction/
fantasy imprint Archer, and we have an exceptionally strong list
developing with our first books publishing in fiscal 2027. As we
enter the new fiscal year, we have both a new Publisher and a new
Creative Director stepping in to lead the business after the former
predecessor stepped down and the latter retired. The team is
poised for continued growth and expansion.
Our Children’s list had an incredible year winning the Newbery
Medal for Renée Watson’s All the Blues in the Sky which ensures
long-term sales and support into bookstores, libraries and
classrooms across the US. Our in-house sales team also had
meaningful success with a big bestselling promotion of Zombie
and Brains into Barnes & Noble, and a terrific launch for Amber
Hamilton’s debut Young Adult novel, Seven Deadly Thorns. The
Children’s list had four titles hit The New York Times bestseller list
over the course of the year.
Just as the fiscal year ended, Sarah J. Maas announced the
publication of her next two books in the A Court of Thorns
and Roses Series which has generated an incredible fan and
retailer response with consumer pre-orders breaking records
and tremendous orders being placed by booksellers in North
America. The entire country is gearing up for midnight release
parties hosted by the retailers on the eve of the publications.
The accolades and awards continued throughout the year thanks
to our strong publishing across our portfolio. Among the award
winners within adult publishing:
A
A Truce that Is Not Peace by Miriam Toews – finalist for the
National Book Critics Circle Award in the autobiography
category;
A
Bog Queen by Anna North – winner of the 2026 Science and
Literature selected titles from the National Book Foundation;
A
Long Distance by Ayşegül Savas – finalist for the Story Prize
2025/2026;
A
The Golden Road by William Dalyrmple – winner of the
2026 Mark Lynton History Prize; and
A
Wild Chocolate by Rowan Jacobsen – finalist for the 2025
James Beard Foundation Awards in literary writing.
The children’s award winners include:
A
All the Blues in the Sky by Renée Watson – winner of the
Newbery Medal and the 2026 Audie Award for Middle Grade;
A
They Bloom at Night by Trang Thanh Tran named by NPR as a
2025 Best Book of the year;
A
The Trouble with Heroes by Kate Messner named by
Publisher’s Weekly as a Best Book 2025 for Middle Grade;
A
Devils Like Us by L.T. Thompson received a Stonewall Award
Honor for Young Adult Literature;
A
Seven Bloomsbury titles were selected as ALA Notable
Children’s Books including Nightsong by Sally Soweol Han,
The Gift of the Great Buffalo by Carole Lindstrom, The
Friendship Train by Debbie Levy and A Dangerous Idea by
Debbie Levy; and
A
They Bloom at Night by Trang Thanh Tran and The Trouble
With Heroes by Kate Messner were named to YALSA’s 2026
Best Fiction of Young Adults.
Sabrina McCarthy, President of Bloomsbury US
Bloomsbury
US
www.bloomsbury.com
28
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
www.bloomsbury.com
28
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Our International Offices
Our US Academic digital business continued its trajectory of
growth in 2025/2026, supported by a series of targeted initiatives
that helped to expand our market reach and grow our top-line
sales. By deepening our relationships with key library consortia
partners, we’ve seen an increase in both the number and size of
potential deals. And we continue to build our presence in the
Latin American market, broadening global access to our content.
Greater focus on leveraging what is now a wealth of customer
data has been a core strategy, with comprehensive analysis
uncovering new opportunities that have resulted in a higher
volume of sales. Product training has become another area of
strategic focus and we have significantly increased our webinar
schedule, helping to drive higher levels of customer engagement
and generating a meaningful pipeline of new quote requests
and confirmed sales. We have also successfully added thousands
of Rowman & Littlefield titles to the Bloomsbury Collections
platform, enhancing the value of our institutional offering.
Following Clarivate’s cessation of perpetual access sales in
February 2025, we acted quickly to capture market demand,
reinforcing our position as a preferred digital partner for
academic libraries, accelerating our direct sales and improving
our margins. In North America, in particular, we saw a substantial
increase in the adoption of new ebook models such as Evidence
Based Acquisition (EBA). At the same time, we continue to
work closely with a range of third party partners to strengthen
distribution, amplify our reach and support sustained digital
revenue growth across all channels.
Academic & Professional award highlights include:
PROSE – Humanities: European History – The Basque Witch-
Hunt (Mar 25)
International Gourmand Awards 2025 – Cooking Culture:
Women’s Culinary Agency and Everyday Creativity in Rural Mali
(Dec 25)
RUSA Outstanding Reference Sources – Genocide and
Propaganda (Jan 26)
RUSA Outstanding Reference Sources – The History of Jews
and Judaism (Jan 26)
Textbook Excellence Award – Social Media: How to Engage,
Share, and Connect, 5th edition (Mar 26)
Textbook Excellence Award – Social Media and Society: An
Introduction to the Mass Media Landscape, 2nd edition (Mar 26)
McGuffey Longevity Award – Media Ethics: Issues and Cases,
11th edition. (Mar 26)
Choice 2025 Outstanding Academic Title – Seeing Metal Music
in Latin America and the Caribbean
Each year, Bloomsbury is proud to receive recognition with
industry awards that validate our commitment to publishing
works of excellence and originality. This year’s achievements
across all Divisions are a testament to our US employees and our
ongoing focus on developing dynamic, diverse and differentiated
lists, author talent, products and channels, all grounded in our
Company purpose, mission and values.
B
The US team with Renée Watson, winner of the
prestigious Newbery Medal for All the Blues in the Sky
OverviewOverview
Stock code: BMY
Annual Report and Accounts 2026
29
Stock code: BMY
29
OverviewStrategic Report
B
loomsbury India was established in 2012 with the objective of
maximising our sales in the Indian market and building strong
Indian origin publishing programmes, offering significant and
sustainable growth. The Company has a diverse publishing
catalogue with strong publishing programmes in Adult Trade,
Children’s, and Academic books.
Rahul Srivastava joined Bloomsbury in February 2025 after 18
years at Simon & Schuster.
It has been an exceptional year for Bloomsbury India, marked
by strong commercial performance and significant strategic
milestones. This top-line momentum was complemented by a
substantial rise in profitability, reinforcing the strength of our
publishing programme and market positioning.
A major highlight of the year was the publication of It’s Easy
to be Healthy by leading Bollywood fitness influencer Malaika
Arora, released in both English and Hindi. The book went on
to achieve Nielsen Bookscan #1, marking an historic first for
Bloomsbury India.
We also launched our audiobook programme in English and
Hindi, enabling us to reach wider and more diverse audiences
across the country.
Our books continued to receive recognition and acclaim across
the industry, with the following awards:
AutHer Awards 2025
The Fall of Kabul: Despatches from Chaos by Nayanima Basu –
Best Author Debut 2025
Crossword Book Awards 2025
The Day the Earth Bloomed by Manoj Kuroor translated from
Malayalam by J. Devika – Best Translation (Jury Award)
FICCI Publishing Awards 2025
The Golden Road by William Dalrymple – Winner, Book of the
Year (English Non-Fiction)
Illuminating Words by Srinivas Reddy – Winner, Best Translation
Kalinga Literary Festival Award 2025
Digital Fortunes by Smarak Swain – Winner for best business
book (Business, English)
Wainwright Prize 2025
Intertidal: A Coast and Marsh Diary by Yuvan Aves – the first
Indian writer to make the shortlist. It was nominated for the 2025
Wainwright Prize for Nature Writing and had been judged as
“highly commended” in the category.
Rahul Srivastava, Managing Director
Bloomsbury
India
B
India team offsite, which played a meaningful role in strengthening bonds, collaboration and team spirit.
www.bloomsbury.com
30
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
www.bloomsbury.com
30
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Our International Offices
continued
Bloomsbury Australia was established in 2010, and is responsible
for Australian and New Zealand (ANZ) sales, marketing and
distribution of Bloomsbury titles commissioned and published in
the UK and US.
While the Australian book retail market grew in 2025, a narrow
group of drivers were responsible for these results and conversely
many publishers reported difficult trading conditions. Bloomsbury
continued to trade strongly in key genres, but this did not entirely
insulate from the challenging market forces and consequently
market share was 2.5%.
This belies an inherently strong foundation to the business,
supported by authors such as Sarah J. Maas and J.K. Rowling
amongst others. Both of these authors held positions in the
market’s overall top ten, with Sarah J. Maas as the second highest-
grossing author and J.K. Rowling posting the eighth highest-
grossing author in the market, according to Nielsen BookScan.
Furthermore, A Court of Thorns and Roses once again retained a
position in the adult fiction top ten bestseller list for the year; and
similarly, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone made the top
ten bestseller list for children’s fiction. J.K. Rowling was also the
No.1 author in children’s fiction.
Strong performances from other Bloomsbury authors including
Martha Mumford, Bal Khabra, Niall Williams, Shelby van Pelt,
Elizabeth Gilbert, Samantha Shannon, Anthony Bourdain and
William Dalrymple ensured a solid breadth of sales across all key
genres.
Industry acclaim reinforced the revenue performance with a
shortlisting in the Australian Book Industry Awards for Sarah J.
Maas’ House of Flame and Shadow in the International Book of
the Year category.
Following the integration of Rowman & Littlefield, the Academic
& Professional list delivered double digit year-on-year growth.
While the tertiary market continues to find its balance between
digital and print formats, the expansion of our publishing lists
through this acquisition, as well as a focus on driving market-
specific titles (with Australian subject or Australian authors) is
delivering sustainable growth for Bloomsbury Academic across
the ANZ region.
Cristina Cappelluto, Managing Director
Bloomsbury
Australia
B
Bloomsbury Australia team celebrating the 15th Anniversary in Sydney, August 2025.
OverviewOverview
Stock code: BMY
Annual Report and Accounts 2026
31
Stock code: BMY
31
OverviewStrategic Report
In 2025/2026, Group revenues were £325.9m (2024/2025: £361.0m)
with a strong comparative driven by exceptional sales in the
Consumer Division in 2024/2025.
The Consumer Division generated revenue of £218.2m (2024/2025
£277.7m). Special Interest results have been reported within
Consumer, following management alignment with the wider
Consumer teams; prior period results have been restated.
The Academic & Professional Division delivered revenue growth
of 29% to £107.7m (2024/2025: £83.3m) driven by AI licensing,
with print, digital, and other revenues increasing in the second
half of the year.
Revenue by territory
Revenues from customers outside of the UK totalled £241.7m
(2024/2025: £282.8m), representing 74% of total revenues
(2024/2025: 78%).
26%
51%
North AmericaUK
5%
7%
11%
Australasia
Other
Continental
Europe
The chart shows
where Group
revenues by
destination were
generated for the
year ended
28 February 2026.
Revenue by channel
Group Digital sales grew by 6%, benefiting from AI licensing in
the Academic & Professional Division. Print sales decreased in
Consumer and were broadly flat in Academic & Professional.
Rights and services revenues grew by 52% to £20.1m (2024/2025:
£13.2m).
The chart shows the proportion of Group revenue generated by
each channel.
Profit
Profit before tax and highlighted items was up 7% to £44.9m
(2024/2025: £42.1m). Profit before tax was up 5% to £34.2m
(2024/2025: £32.5m).
Consumer profit before taxation and highlighted items was
£20.5m (2024/2025: £30.3m). Academic & Professional profit
before taxation and highlighted items increased to £25.0m
(2024/2025: £12.5m). The Academic & Professional results
included a full year of Rowman & Littlefield which was acquired in
May 2024.
The operating profit margin was 11% (2024/2025: 9%). The
operating profit margin before highlighted items was 14%
(2024/2025: 12%). Administrative expenses, excluding highlighted
items were 3% lower.
62%
DigitalPrint
32%
6%
Rights and services
www.bloomsbury.com
32
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
www.bloomsbury.com
32
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Financial Review
Keith Underwood, Chief Financial and Operating Officer
Highlighted items in the year comprised the amortisation of
acquired intangible assets of £9.0m (2024/2025: £8.4m), one-off
integration and restructuring costs of £1.7m (2024/2025: £1.2m).
Interest
The net finance expense was £1.2m (2024/2025: expense of
£0.8m). The finance income of £0.7m mainly relates to bank
interest. The finance cost of £1.9m predominantly relates to
interest on the term loan used to fund the Rowman & Littlefield
acquisition and interest on lease liabilities.
Taxation
The tax charge of £7.2m (2024/2025: £7.1m) is a reported effective
rate of tax of 21.1%, consistent with the reported rate of 21.9%
for the prior year. Excluding the effect of highlighted items, the
effective tax rate for the Group was 18.5% (2024/2025: 18.8%).
Earnings per share
Diluted earnings per share before highlighted items was 44.57
pence (2024/2025: 41.45 pence). Diluted earnings per share, after
deducting highlighted items, was 32.80 pence (2024/2025: 30.71
pence). Information on distributable reserves can be found on
page 205. Information on the dividend can be found in the Chief
Executive’s Review on page 14.
Capital structure
Our net assets at 28 February 2026 is analysed in the table below:
2026
£’m
2025
£’m
Goodwill and acquired
intangible assets 114.4 128.5
Internally generated
intangible assets 10.9 8.9
Property, plant and equipment 2.9 2.5
Net right-of-use assets and
lease liability (2.1) (1.2)
Net deferred tax assets 12.5 14.6
Working capital 51.0 46.6
Other non-current assets and
liabilities
(2.9) (2.1)
Total net assets before net cash 186.7 197.8
Cash and cash equivalents 44.0 40.6
Borrowings (14.8) (23.6)
Total net assets
215.9 214.8
Net assets per share were 265 pence (2025: 263 pence). The main
movements on the balance sheet relate to the amortisation of
acquired intangibles and the partial repayment of the term loan.
Inventories were 16% lower at £39.0m (2025: £46.3m), reflecting
disciplined inventory management initiatives, including improved
demand forecasting, tighter purchasing controls, and the
ongoing focus on optimising stock levels while maintaining strong
customer service.
Total trade and other receivables reduced by 6% to £125.9m
(2025: £134.0m). Net trade receivables were 11% lower at £70.7m
(2025: £79.4m).
Trade and other liabilities were 15% lower at £113.4m (2025:
£133.0m). Trade payables reduced by 18% to £29.8m (2025:
£36.4m) due to the timing and management of printing. Accruals
were 20% lower than last year at £47.2m (2025: £58.7m).
Cash
Cash and cash equivalents were £44.0m (2025: £40.6m).
The net cash generated from operating activities, including the
effect of highlighted items, was £40.8m (2025: £41.9m). Cash
used in investing activities was principally the cost of purchasing
intangible assets. Cash used in financing activities mainly
comprised dividend payments made and a £7.4m part repayment
of the term loan facility.
Liquidity
The Group has an unsecured term loan with Lloyds Bank
Plc, which was used, alongside cash, to fund the acquisition
of Rowman & Littlefield. The facility a three-year term
maturing in May 2027 and a balance of $20.0m (£14.8m) as
at 28 February 2026. Strong cash generation during the year
enabled us to pay down $10.0m (£7.4m) of the term loan.
In addition, the Group has an unsecured committed revolving
credit facility (“RCF”) with Lloyds Bank Plc of £30.0m. On
20 March 2026, the RCF was increased from £20.0m to £30.0m
and its maturity extended to March 2029. The facility also includes
an uncommitted incremental RCF of up to £20.0m.
Both the RCF and term loan are subject to two covenants, being
a maximum net debt to EBITDA ratio of 2.5x and a minimum
interest cover of 4x.
The Group’s net cash position changes over the course of the
year as a result of the seasonality of the business, with the most
significant expenses being the payment of royalties in March
and September, and the most significant sale receipts being in
February from Christmas sales.
At 28 February 2026, the Group had £Nil drawdown (2025: £Nil)
of the revolving credit facility with £30.0m of undrawn borrowing
facilities (2025: £20.0m) available.
44.57p
Adjusted diluted EPS
(pence per share)
20.7%
ROCE
£325.9m
Group revenue
£44.9m
Group Adjusted Profit
OverviewOverview
Stock code: BMY
Annual Report and Accounts 2026
33
Stock code: BMY
33
OverviewStrategic Report
Alternative performance measures
The Board considers it helpful to provide performance measures that it uses to assess the operating performance of the Group.
The Annual Report presents non-GAAP measures alongside the standard accounting terms prescribed by IFRS and the Companies Act, as
the Board considers they would be beneficial to users.
These measures exclude Income Statement items arising from significant non-cash charges and major one-off initiatives, which are
highlighted in the Income Statement because, in the opinion of the Directors, separate disclosure is helpful in understanding the underlying
performance of the business that underpins long-term value generation. These measures also enable investors to more easily, and
consistently, track the underlying operational performance of the Group and its operating segments by separating out those items that are
not representative of underlying performance of the business. The Income Statement items that are excluded from adjusted profit measures
are referred to as highlighted items.
Alternative performance measures are used by the Board and management for planning and reporting, and have remained consistent with
the prior year. The Group’s definition of adjusted performance measures may not be comparable to other similarly titled measures that are
used by other companies.
Both adjusted profit measures and highlighted items are presented together with statutory measures on the face of the Income Statement.
Details of the charges and credits presented as highlighted items are set out in Note 4 to the financial statements. The basis for treating
these items as highlighted is as follows:
Profit before tax and highlighted items/Adjusted Profit
Profit before tax and highlighted items or Adjusted Profit is profit before tax, amortisation of acquired intangibles and other highlighted
items.
2025/2026
Consumer
£’m
Academic &
Professional
£’m
Unallocated
£’m
Total
£’m
Profit/(loss) before taxation and highlighted items 20.5 25.0 (0.6) 44.9
Amortisation of acquired intangible assets (0.6) (8.4) – (9.0)
Other highlighted items
– – (1.7)
(1.7)
Profit/(loss) before taxation
19.9 16.6 (2.3) 34.2
Operating profit before highlighted items/Adjusted operating profit
Operating profit before highlighted items or adjusted operating profit is operating profit before amortisation of acquired intangibles and
other highlighted items.
2025/2026
Consumer
£’m
Academic &
Professional
£’m
Unallocated
£’m
Total
£’m
Operating profit before highlighted items 20.9 25.2 – 46.1
Amortisation of acquired intangible assets (0.6) (8.4) – (9.0)
Other highlighted items – – (1.7) (1.7)
Operating profit/(loss)
20.3 16.8 (1.7) 35.4
Amortisation of acquired intangible assets
Charges for amortisation of acquired intangible assets arise from the purchase consideration of a number of separate acquisitions. These
acquisitions are strategic investment decisions that took place at different times over a number of years, and so the associated amortisation
does not reflect current operational performance.
Other highlighted items
Other highlighted items are recorded in accordance with the Group’s policy set out in Note 4 of the financial statements. They arise
from one-off major initiatives such that, in the opinion of the Directors, separate disclosure is helpful in understanding the underlying
performance of the business that underpins long-term value generation. Examples include major restructuring initiatives or legal and
www.bloomsbury.com
34
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
www.bloomsbury.com
34
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Financial Review
continued
professional fees arising from an acquisition. In the opinion of
the Directors, separate disclosure is helpful in understanding the
underlying performance and future profitability of the business.
Tax related to highlighted items
The elements of the overall Group tax charge relating to the
above highlighted items are also treated as adjusting. These
elements of the tax charge are calculated with reference to the
specific tax treatment of each individual highlighted item.
Adjusted diluted earnings per share/Diluted
earnings per share, excluding highlighted
items
Adjusted earnings include profit before tax and highlighted items
net of adjusted tax. Adjusted earnings is included as a non-GAAP
measure as it is used by management to evaluate performance
and by investors to more easily, and consistently, track the
underlying operational performance of the Group over time.
Adjusted earnings per share is calculated as adjusted earnings
divided by the weighted average number of shares in issue.
Tax on other highlighted items is excluded from adjusted
earnings. The Group includes the benefit of tax amortisation
of intangible assets within adjusted tax as this benefit more
accurately aligns the adjusted tax charge with the expected cash
tax payments.
2025/2026
£’m
2024/2025
£’m
Profit before taxation 34.2 32.5
Amortisation of acquired
intangible assets 9.0 8.4
Other highlighted items 1.7 1.2
Adjusted Profit 44.9 42.1
Tax expense 7.2 7.1
Deferred tax movements
on goodwill and acquired
intangible assets 0.7 0.6
Tax expense on other
highlighted items 0.4 0.2
Adjusted tax 8.3 7.9
Adjusted earnings 36.6 34.2
Diluted weighted average
shares in issue
82,143,637 82,567,563
Adjusted diluted earnings
per share
44.57p 41.45p
Return on capital employed
Return on capital employed is calculated as profit before tax
with other highlighted items and net finance costs added back,
divided by average capital employed for the last two years.
Capital employed is gross assets excluding cash and cash
equivalents, deferred tax assets and current tax receivables less
trade and other payables and lease liabilities.
2025/2026
£’m
2024/2025
£’m
Profit before taxation 34.2 32.5
Other highlighted items 1.7 1.2
Net finance cost 1.2 0.8
Return 37.1 34.5
Average Gross assets 374.9 378.5
Less: Average Cash and cash
equivalents (42.3) (53.2)
Less: Average Deferred
tax assets (15.7) (15.3)
Less: Average Current tax
receivables (2.7) (3.5)
Average Trade and other
payables (123.1) (142.5)
Average Lease liabilities (11.9) (8.8)
Capital employed 179.2 155.2
Return on capital employed
20.7% 22.2%
Cash conversion
Cash conversion shows how well the Company is converting profit
into cash. It is taken from the following GAAP measures:
2025/2026
£’m
2024/2025
£’m
Cash generated from operating
activities 44.2 58.0
Less: Purchase of property,
plant and equipment (1.4) (1.4)
Less: Purchase of
intangible assets (7.5) (4.8)
Net cash generated 35.3 51.8
Operating profit 35.4 33.3
Cash conversion
100% 156%
OverviewOverview
Stock code: BMY
Annual Report and Accounts 2026
35
Stock code: BMY
35
OverviewStrategic Report
Constant currency measures
Constant currency measures are disclosed in order to eliminate the effect of the movement in foreign exchange rates. Changes in exchange
rates used to record non-sterling businesses result in a lack of comparability between periods since equivalent local currency amounts
are recorded at different sterling amounts in different periods. Results using constant currencies are disclosed where they have a material
impact on those numbers, enabling a better understanding of the underlying performance.
We have, therefore, presented the current year revenue and profit at the prior year exchange rates below. The currency adjustment is
calculated by applying the monthly foreign exchange rates used in 2024/2025 to convert the overseas results into sterling. This has been
applied on a month-by-month basis to the 2025/2026 results. This method allows better comparability given the seasonality of the business.
Consumer
£’m
Academic &
Professional
£’m
Total
£’m
Group revenue 2025/2026 – reported 218.2 107.7 325.9
Currency adjustment 5.3 3.0 8.3
2025/2026 – currency adjusted 223.5 110.7 334.2
2024/2025 – reported
277.7 83.3 361.0
United
Kingdom
£’m
North
America
£’m
Australia
£’m
India
£’m
Total
£’m
Group revenue 2025/2026 – reported 146.4 160.3 13.0 6.2 325.9
Currency adjustment – 7.0 0.7 0.6 8.3
2025/2026 – currency adjusted 146.4 167.3 13.7 6.8 334.2
2024/2025 – reported
143.6 194.7 16.8 5.9 361.0
Consumer
£’m
Academic &
Professional
£’m
Unallocated
£’m
Total
£’m
Group operating profit/(loss) 2025/2026 – reported 20.3 16.8 (1.7) 35.4
Currency adjustment 0.8 0.6 (0.1) 1.3
2025/2026 – currency adjusted 21.1 17.4 (1.8) 36.7
2024/2025 – reported
29.8 4.8 (1.3) 33.3
Consumer
£’m
Academic &
Professional
£’m
Unallocated
£’m
Total
£’m
Group operating profit before highlighted items 2025/2026 – reported 20.9 25.2 – 46.1
Currency adjustment 0.8 0.9 – 1.7
2025/2026 – currency adjusted 21.7 26.1 – 47.8
2024/2025 – reported
30.5 12.5 (0.1) 42.9
Where no reconciliation is provided above for alternative performance measures, sufficient information is included in the narrative to be
able to perform a reconciliation.
Keith Underwood
Chief Financial and Operating Officer
www.bloomsbury.com
36
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
www.bloomsbury.com
36
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Financial Review
continued
The Directors of Bloomsbury – and those of all UK companies – must act in a manner
which complies with a set of general duties. These duties are detailed in the Companies Act
2006 and include, in s172, a duty to promote the success of the Company, as set out below.
Section 172 of the Companies Act 2006
A director of a company must act in the way he considers, in
good faith, would be most likely to promote the success of the
company for the benefit of its members as a whole, and in doing
so have regard (amongst other matters) to:
A
The likely consequences of any decisions in the long term;
A
The interests of the company’s employees;
A
The need to foster the company’s business relationships with
suppliers, customers and others;
A
The impact of the company’s operations on the community
and the environment;
A
The desirability of the company maintaining a reputation for
high standards of business conduct; and
A
The need to act fairly as between members of the company.
As part of their induction, the Directors are briefed on their
duties, including their duties under s172, and are able to access
professional advice on these, either through the Company, or
from an independent provider should they consider it necessary.
The Board believes that, individually and together, they have
acted in the way they consider, in good faith, would promote
the success of the Company for the benefit of its members as a
whole, having regard to the matters set out in s172(1)(a–f) of the
Companies Act 2006 in the decisions taken during the year ended
28 February 2026, as described in this Annual Report. In particular,
you are encouraged to read the following sections of this report
which illustrate how the Directors, with the support of the wider
business, consider these matters in the course of their duties. This
is not an exhaustive list as such matters are integrated throughout
this report:
A
Bloomsbury 2030 vision – this summarises our long-term
strategy, our goals and the progress we have made in
implementing that vision (pages 2 to 5);
A
Chief Executive’s Review – this reviews our performance
and explains how our key decisions during the year have
supported our long-term strategy (pages 11 to 15);
A
Business Model – this identifies and explains the key
resources and relationships which our business depends upon
(pages 18 to 19);
A
Stakeholder Engagement – The Board believes that the
Company can only be successful when the interests of its
key stakeholders are considered and appropriately reflected
in how the Company’s business and strategy develop. The
Board has always had regard for the potential impact of the
Group’s activities on its various stakeholders (pages 39 to 45);
A
Corporate Social Responsibility Report (pages 46 to 82) – this
summarises:
–
People and Culture – this describes our mission, purpose
and values which drive our culture, how the Directors
have engaged with employees, embedded the culture
and had regards to employee interests; and
–
the ways in which we engage in respect of, and have
regard for, social and environmental issues.
A
The Corporate Governance Report (pages 94 to 145) – this
sets out the Company’s governance framework, including
how the Directors monitor culture and support the promotion
of the desired culture necessary for the achievement of
Bloomsbury’s long-term goals.
The Directors fulfil their duties partly through a governance
framework that delegates day-to-day decision-making to
employees of the Company; details of this governance framework
are set out in the Corporate Governance section on page 102.
In delegating such decision-making, the Board is mindful of the
importance of an organisational culture that has appropriate
regard for the needs and views of its stakeholders and high
ethical standards. The Board believes that balancing the interests
of the Company’s stakeholders with the Company’s commercial
objectives and the desire to behave as an ethical and responsible
business is embedded in the way the Company operates, is
informed by the strong social purpose that underlies the Group’s
activities and is reinforced by a robust system of controls and
assurances. As set out in the Chair’s statement on page 94 to 95
and further on page 108 of the Corporate Governance Report,
the Board continues to focus on fostering a corporate culture
that is aligned with the Company’s purpose, values and strategy;
effective engagement with, and regard for the concerns of, key
stakeholders is an important aspect of promoting the Company’s
desired culture and reinforcing its values.
The Board gathers relevant information and feedback on key
stakeholder interests and concerns from information provided
by the Company’s Executive Directors, senior and functional
management and through direct engagement where appropriate.
During the course of the year, the Board maintains its oversight of
the Company’s engagement with key stakeholders by receiving
reports on the Company’s engagement mechanisms, the matters
considered during engagement and the outcomes of such
engagement. The insights, which the Board gains through the
Company’s engagement mechanisms, form an important part
of the context for the Board’s discussions and decision-making
process.
As is typical of an organisation the size of the Company,
engagement with key stakeholders in respect of day-to-day
business and operational matters is ordinarily conducted by
senior managers and other employees of the Company. By
way of example, the Board believes that engagement with the
Company’s customers and suppliers is most effectively carried out
by the operational teams that specialise in and are responsible for
these areas. The Board gains an understanding of market trends
through briefings by the Executive Directors and senior managers
and from financial reporting by the Chief Financial and Operating
Officer. The Directors enjoy engaging with colleagues directly
through attendance by senior managers at Board meetings to
report on key developments and strategic focus in their areas of
responsibility.
OverviewOverview
Stock code: BMY
Annual Report and Accounts 2026
37
Stock code: BMY
37
OverviewStrategic Report
Section 172 Directors’ Duties Statement
Impact on the Business
1
2
4
3
7
10
9
6
11
12
13
14
16
17
15
5
8
1
Author relationship
2
AI
3
Sustainable supply chain and
distribution
4
Regulatory environment
5
Data and system security
6
Demand and promoting reading
culture and education
7
Digitisation and business
transformation
8
Talent attraction and retention
9
Stakeholder engagement
10
Governance and ethics
11
Climate resilience and energy
12
Diversity, equality and inclusion
13
Creating societal impact through
content
14
Circularity and resource management
15
Nature, biodiversity and deforestation
16
Community engagement
17
Health and safety
Key Topics Reflect Bloomsbury’s Purpose
In 2025, we refreshed our materiality assessment to determine
the issues that are of greatest importance to our stakeholders.
The key material issues relating to Bloomsbury were author
relationships, AI, sustainable supply chain and distribution,
regulatory environment, data and system security, and demand
and promoting reading culture and education. Topics such
as author relationships and promoting a reading culture and
education link to our purpose: to inform, educate, entertain and
inspire readers of all ages, and to our mission: to champion a life-
long love of reading and learning to help build a reading culture
with the benefits that brings to society.
We recognise that our Corporate Social Responsibility reporting
supports Shareholders and potential Shareholders in capital
allocation decisions alongside informing all stakeholders of our
progress. The new topics that came to the fore in the materiality
assessment were AI and the evolving regulatory environment,
which we have discussed in Shareholder meetings, with authors,
across our supply chain and internally over the year. The
materiality assessment outcome is reflected in our Bloomsbury
2030 Vision (pages 4 to 5), Marketplace Trends (pages 20 to 22),
and detailed further in our Engagement with Stakeholders (pages
39 to 45).
Internally, we surveyed 54 of our Senior Leadership Team
(96%) with cross-divisional representation and externally,
Shareholders representing 26% of our share capital at the time
of the assessment. In our supply chain we have spoken with and
surveyed printers in the UK, US and China, our main distributor in
the UK and our main paper supplier. The responses varied within
and between groups given the lens through which they view the
business. We weighted the results 40% Senior Leadership Team,
40% Shareholders, and 20% suppliers, providing the ranking of
material issues in order of importance to stakeholders. Following
this, the Bloomsbury Executive Committee ranked the issues in
order of their impact on the business, resulting in the materiality
ranking below.
AI in focus
AI has been a key focus in Shareholder meetings, debate in the
author and publishing community, across the supply chain and
internally at Bloomsbury. It was therefore unsurprising that it came
high in the materiality assessment as a key issue. Bloomsbury has
appointed a Head of AI Innovation and established an AI Steering
Committee. Please also see the Chief Executive Statement
on pages 11 to 15, Marketplace Trends on page 20 to 22 and
Stakeholder Engagement on pages 39 to 45.
www.bloomsbury.com
38
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
www.bloomsbury.com
38
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Materiality Assessment
We believe that effective engagement with our key stakeholders, and consideration of their
interests, is a vital aspect of our ability to achieve our mission and purpose, drive long-term
value creation and ensure Bloomsbury’s continued success. In 2025, we gauged the issues
that are most material to our stakeholders through a materiality assessment (see page 38);
we detail what this revealed in each segment below.
Bloomsbury’s key stakeholder groups can be grouped into
seven categories. We provide an overview of their interests and
concerns, including from the materiality assessment, the ways
in which the Company and the Board (directly and through the
senior management team) engage with them, and how the
interests of these key stakeholder groups are taken into account
in our decision-making and the formulation of our strategy.
A
Shareholders
A
Authors and illustrators
A
Employees
A
Suppliers
A
Customers – wholesale, library and retail
A
Customers – academic and educational institutions,
corporate customers
A
Society (including communities and the environment)
The Board is responsible for oversight of stakeholder
engagement, ensuring that we balance the needs and
expectations of our different stakeholder groups. The insights,
which the Board gains through Bloomsbury’s engagement
mechanisms, provide essential context for the Board’s discussions
and decision-making process. Board materials and discussions
seek to appropriately consider the interests of key stakeholder
groups and the potential impact of the Board’s decisions across
these various stakeholder groups, while ensuring the need
to promote the success of the Company for the benefit of its
members as a whole. This section, in conjunction with our Section
172(1) Statement on page 37, sets out how the Directors have
taken into account the interests of material stakeholders in their
decision-making during the year.
B
Meeting with Bloomsbury Shareholders in the London Author Lounge, 2026
OverviewOverview
Stock code: BMY
Annual Report and Accounts 2026
39
Stock code: BMY
39
OverviewStrategic Report
Engagement with Stakeholders
Shareholders
Shareholders
Why they matter
Our Shareholders are the ultimate owners of Bloomsbury. They provide capital, including for growth,
while providing challenge and feedback on our business model and strategic plans. We rely on their
confidence, support and investment to deliver our strategy and Bloomsbury’s long-term sustainable
success.
What matters to them
The materiality assessment in 2025 demonstrated that Shareholders view author relationships, data and
system security, talent attraction and retention, digitisation and business transformation, stakeholder
engagement, AI, governance and ethics and sustainable supply chain and distribution as most material
to Bloomsbury.
In addition, Shareholders value:
A
Long-term value creation through a mix of
capital appreciation and dividends.
A
Timely and relevant information on
performance against expectations.
A
Dividend Policy.
A
Remuneration Policy.
A
Clear strategy to deliver long-term growth.
A
Opportunities for engagement with
management.
A
A supportive Company culture and the
wellbeing of employees.
A
ESG (environmental, social and governance)
performance.
Ways we engage
Our Group Investor Relations Director Tamsin Garrity enhances our engagement with Shareholders,
including in 2025/2026:
A
Establishing a calendar of events including conference attendance and non-results roadshows,
such as the Berenberg Discovery Conference in Mallorca and the Investec CEO Conference in
London;
A
A Shareholder event at the London Stock Exchange to celebrate our 30-year anniversary of listing;
A
An enhanced Annual General Meeting with presentations and a fireside chat with operational
management;
A
Statements and presentations given to Shareholders upon the release of financial results;
A
Meetings with current and prospective Shareholders following results and throughout the year;
A
Feedback from current and prospective Shareholders following investor engagement; and
A
Reporting to the Board on investor matters and investor feedback.
The Chair offers meetings with our top ten Shareholders and the Chief Executive and Chief Financial &
Operating Officer engage with Shareholders on a regular basis.
The Company’s Annual Report and Accounts provide information about the Company’s performance
and governance.
Key information and investor presentations are published on the Company’s investor relations website
(www.bloomsbury-ir.com).
The Company’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) provides a forum for all Shareholders to address
questions to the Board and vote on key resolutions.
Considering the
interests of our
stakeholders
The Board is kept informed of feedback received as part of Shareholder meetings and consultations.
See the Strategic Report from page 10, which explains the Company’s performance and investment
decisions during 2025/2026.
The Board recognises that Bloomsbury has a broad range of investors and aims to deliver long-term
sustainable value while recognising their diverse interests (e.g. capital appreciation vs. dividend).
The Board considers these diverse interests in approving annual budgets and longer-term strategic
planning.
Feedback received from Shareholders in response to the Annual Report and Accounts, and at the
Company’s AGM in respect of matters relating to governance, are taken into consideration by the Board
in deciding whether any revisions to its corporate framework are required.
www.bloomsbury.com
40
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
www.bloomsbury.com
40
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Engagement with Stakeholders
continued
Authors and Illustrators
Authors and Illustrators
Why they matter
Authors are the lifeblood of our Company.
What matters to them
A
Publication of the authors’ works to a high
and consistent standard, in line with the
authors’ vision for the work.
A
AI usage and protection of IP.
A
Their work is published in a format that has
the furthest reach in the relevant markets.
A
Effective sales and marketing representation
in relevant markets.
A
Appropriate compensation.
A
Timely and relevant information on the
publication process and sales and marketing
strategy for their works.
A
For academic authors, to maximise their
impact on the scholarly community,
secure tenure and promotion at academic
institutions, secure research funding and
enhance their professional reputation.
Ways we engage
Supporting authors in realising their best works and ensuring that their works are brought to market
successfully requires close collaboration throughout the entire publishing process, from editorial and
design, to sales and marketing, to production and distribution.
Frequent and ongoing engagement with authors and/or their literary agents enables us to help authors
achieve their vision and to address any concerns they may have during the publishing process.
Building strong relationships with the markets we serve, for example libraries, faculties and the student
community, enables us to help shape authors’ works for the relevant market segment.
In respect of academic publications, monthly production surveys and post-publication editorial surveys
are conducted with authors in order to monitor author satisfaction and address any issues identified.
Rigorous peer reviews are also conducted to ensure their work meets a specific standard in terms of
quality.
Authors are provided with a review and marketing update three months following publication of their
works, so that they are kept informed of relevant marketing activities.
Considering the
interests of our
stakeholders
Topics raised during the engagement process vary from author to author. A key topic of engagement in
respect of new authors will be terms, including the scope of rights granted and royalties payable.
Other topics of engagement include the quality of editorial work, jacket design, marketing and publicity
campaigns, and sales activities. These are considered and responded to on a case-by-case basis.
Author surveys have yielded a consistently high level of scores.
OverviewOverview
Stock code: BMY
Annual Report and Accounts 2026
41
Stock code: BMY
41
OverviewStrategic Report
Employees
Employees
Why they matter
Our employees are amongst Bloomsbury’s most important strengths. They are key to delivering
Bloomsbury’s purpose and strategy, and are the driving force behind Bloomsbury’s success. Attracting
and retaining talent is therefore integral to our performance and our business model.
What matters to them
The materiality assessment in 2025 demonstrated that the Senior Leadership Team, with cross-
divisional representation, view AI, author relationships, sustainable supply chain and distribution,
promoting a reading culture and education, regulatory environment, and talent attraction and retention
as most material to Bloomsbury.
In addition, employees value:
A
Fulfilling work.
A
Recognition.
A
Fair and transparent remuneration.
A
Career development and progression.
A
To work in a stimulating, positive, ethical and
supportive environment for a business with a
strong social purpose.
A
A culture of inclusivity.
A
To understand business context and strategy.
A
To have a voice in Bloomsbury’s business.
A
Engagement with management.
A
The long-term health of the business.
Ways we engage
Information about the ways we engage with our employees is set out on pages 48 to 55.
Considering the
interests of our
stakeholders
Information about how we consider the interests of our employees and the outcome of our
engagement is set out on pages 48 to 55.
Suppliers
Suppliers
Why they matter
Building strong relationships with our suppliers enables us to obtain the very best value and quality of
service. We rely on our suppliers to provide specialist services, which enable us to bring our publications
and products to market. We wish to work with industry-leading suppliers who understand our priorities
and will adhere to our way of working and our values. We want our suppliers to be our partners.
What matters to them
The materiality assessment in 2025 demonstrated that suppliers view the regulatory environment,
data and system security, governance and ethics, sustainable supply chain and distribution, health and
safety, and Al as most material to Bloomsbury.
In addition, suppliers value:
A
Our partnership.
A
Our medium and long-term commitment.
A
Shared success.
A
Appropriate compensation for services
provided.
A
Prompt payment.
A
Predictable and sizeable volume.
A
Provision of timely information required to
manage service provision.
A
Clear processes.
www.bloomsbury.com
42
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
www.bloomsbury.com
42
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Engagement with Stakeholders
continued
Ways we engage
Engagement with key suppliers is ongoing and frequent, and is managed by the Group Production
Director and Group Operations Director in tandem with heads of the relevant functional divisions.
Supplier visits and regular formal meetings as well as day-to-day engagement with all production
personnel ensures close collaboration and the effective flow of information required for the successful
and timely provision of services.
In the case of printers, this includes the successful delivery of competitively priced and quality titles
according to Bloomsbury’s publication schedules.
In the case of Bloomsbury’s distributors, this includes the ability to meet customer demand and
expectations, exercise effective credit control, and appropriately manage stock levels.
Considering the
interests
of our stakeholders
Various supplier reporting processes are in place to manage credit risk, bad debt and retail customer
charges and returns.
The Board is committed to high standards of ethical business conduct and sustainability. The relevant
policies are available to all on our website.
Customers – wholesale and retail
Customers – wholesale, library and retail
Why they matter
Wholesalers and retailers are Bloomsbury’s primary route to market.
Collaboration with such parties is an important aspect of ensuring a work is published successfully.
Regular engagement with key customers builds trust and nurtures long-term relationships, which in
turn encourages support for Bloomsbury titles.
Wholesale and retail customers provide valuable insight into consumer trends and advice on optimum
release dates in order to maximise sales.
What matters to them
A
Maximising sales.
A
Maximising revenue and margins.
A
Compliance with regulation.
A
Ensuring a level playing field within sales
channels.
A
Reliability of publishing schedules.
A
Inventory management, including timely
delivery of fast-moving stock.
A
Promotional support.
Ways we engage
Senior management meets with key customers at relevant book fairs and other trade events.
Bloomsbury’s sales teams meet regularly with customers to discuss forthcoming titles and publishing
programmes. Sell-ins to customers occur on a monthly, quarterly, six-monthly or annual basis,
depending on the customer.
Our sales and marketing teams liaise with key retailers on an ongoing basis on a range of matters with
a view to maximising sales.
Considering the
interests of our
stakeholders
Key topics of engagement included:
A
Commercial terms;
A
Sales activity and sales trends;
A
Matters relevant to maximising the success of particular titles, including cover designs, publication
dates, marketing plans and retailer promotions;
A
Promotional support for individual titles; and
A
Supply chain and logistical issues.
OverviewOverview
Stock code: BMY
Annual Report and Accounts 2026
43
Stock code: BMY
43
OverviewStrategic Report
Customers – academic and educational
institutions, corporate customers
Customers – academic and educational institutions, corporate customers
Why they matter
Academic and educational institutions and professional organisations are important customers in
respect of Bloomsbury’s digital products and, consequently, for the delivery of our long-term strategy of
focusing on digital opportunities to grow our business.
What matters to them
A
Access to high-quality, relevant and
comprehensive content to support academic
courses and research, and in the case of
professional organisations, the activities of
their employees or members.
A
Applying funding to deliver the best value to
their own stakeholders.
A
To ensure a swift, accurate and cost-effective
way to purchase and access relevant
products.
A
Publisher responses to policy developments
in respect of Open Access publishing.
A
Accessible content (see pages 52 to 55).
Ways we engage
Bloomsbury has in place a range of engagement mechanisms to ensure we understand the priorities of
these customers. These include:
A
Regular site visits by our sales team to academic libraries;
A
Direct meetings with a wide range of senior academics and university staff to understand their
requirements;
A
Attendance of publishing Directors and sales team at principal library conferences and professional
organisation annual membership events;
A
Regular surveys of student, faculty and library users in respect of all aspects of Bloomsbury’s
publishing and, in particular, in respect of new products; and
A
Supply of industry-standard library cataloguing records and usage statistics.
Considering the
interests
of our stakeholders
Feedback from our customers and their stakeholders informs:
A
How Bloomsbury develops new and existing products, including Open Access publishing models;
A
The various sales models Bloomsbury offers (subscription and perpetual access sales, evidence or
usage-based sales, title by title sales) to provide flexible buying solutions;
A
Product pricing; and
A
In response to feedback from librarians, we develop user case studies and marketing materials to
support librarians’ internal-facing activities.
www.bloomsbury.com
44
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
www.bloomsbury.com
44
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Engagement with Stakeholders
continued
Society – including community and
the environment
Society – including communities and the environment
Why they matter
At the heart of Bloomsbury is a strong social purpose – to inform, educate and entertain, to inspire
a love for reading and to promote literacy. Making a positive contribution to the wider communities
in which we operate is therefore integral to our activities. In addition, the environmental impact of
Bloomsbury’s business activities is a growing consideration for us and we are committed to effecting
improvements where practicable.
What matters to them
A
Bloomsbury behaves as a responsible and
ethical corporate citizen.
A
We support relevant charities.
A
We contribute to community success.
A
We promote diverse representation within
our workforce and in the content we publish.
A
We manage our environmental footprint.
Ways we engage
The very essence of our business is engagement with wider society, through the dissemination of
stories and ideas, the stimulation of debate and dialogue, the support of learning and research and the
enrichment of culture.
Information about our charitable donations, charitable initiatives and direct community engagement is
set out on pages 56 to 58.
Bloomsbury also works in partnership with theatres and other organisations to publish their cultural
output in the form of play texts and programme texts to accompany performances. The inclusion of
live performance collections in Bloomsbury’s educational databases, made available for free to schools,
provides a means of extending audience reach and ensuring cultural heritage is embedded within the
curriculum.
Information on our activities in corporate and social responsibility is set out on pages 46 to 82.
Considering the
interests
of our stakeholders
The Board supports Bloomsbury’s wider social purpose and charitable initiatives, including as part of
the approval of the Company’s budget and strategic plan, where applicable.
The Board considers the long-term impact on the environment of Bloomsbury’s operations in its
decision-making and receives annual reporting on the Group’s greenhouse gas emissions and
generation of waste, with comparisons to prior years.
The Board has approved Bloomsbury’s Environmental Policy and strategies for reducing
the environmental impact of our business. The Executive Committee and the Board receive
regular presentations on the activities of Bloomsbury’s Sustainability Steering Group, consider
recommendations from the Steering Group for proposed sustainability initiatives, and approve action
where appropriate to improve Bloomsbury’s environmental footprint, including the setting of targets to
reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Details of the Group’s Environmental Policy and performance can be found on pages 59 to 82.
OverviewOverview
Stock code: BMY
Annual Report and Accounts 2026
45
Stock code: BMY
45
OverviewStrategic Report
C
l
i
m
a
t
e
C
o
l
l
e
a
g
u
e
s
C
o
m
m
u
n
i
t
i
e
s
C
h
a
r
i
t
a
b
l
e
G
i
v
i
n
g
P
a
r
t
n
e
r
s
h
i
p
s
P
r
o
m
o
t
i
n
g
L
i
t
e
r
a
c
y
T
r
a
n
s
i
t
i
o
n
T
C
F
D
E
n
v
i
r
o
n
m
e
n
t
B
e
l
o
n
g
i
n
g
a
n
d
I
n
c
l
u
s
i
o
n
a
t
B
l
o
o
m
s
b
u
r
y
C
u
l
t
u
r
e
P
e
o
p
l
e
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is embedded within our Bloomsbury 2030
vision, with a clear focus on colleagues, communities and climate under the People
pillar. This approach is fundamentally driven by our mission and purpose and
is operationalised across all areas of our business. Understanding and managing
the impact of our operations on society and the environment, and meeting our
responsibilities to stakeholders, are integral to supporting Bloomsbury’s long-term
success. Our 2025 materiality assessment informs our priorities in these areas and
underpins the focus of our CSR and sustainability reporting.
In the following pages we detail our social purpose, provide detail
on Bloomsbury’s people and culture (pages 48 to 51), report our
progress in Belonging and Inclusion at Bloomsbury (pages 52 to
55), our charitable giving and publishing partnerships (pages 56 to
58) and our work on measuring and reducing the environmental
impact of our business (pages 59 to 82).
Linking Sustainability to Our Policies and
Risk Management Processes
The sustainability issues we have identified as being most
important to our business are highlighted below and are reflected
in our Bloomsbury 2030 vision as set out on pages 2 to 5. Our
approach to sustainability and broader business governance is
underpinned by a set of policies, including our Environmental
Policy, Anti-Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking Policy and
Anti-Bribery and Corruption Policy (available on our websites).
As part of our Company-wide risk management framework to
identify and manage business risks, we consider sustainability-
related risks, including climate change, the social impact of our
publishing, and our ability to attract and retain talent. Read more
about our risk management process and principal risks from
page 83.
www.bloomsbury.com
46
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
www.bloomsbury.com
46
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Corporate Social Responsibility
Colleagues Communities Climate
We attract talented colleagues
and authors who provide
creativity, innovation and diverse
perspectives, continuing the
virtuous circle of creative and
commercial success.
People
We have made significant strides
in our people strategy being
awarded the Great Place To Work
Certification
TM
for the second
time, enhancing engagement,
building the career framework and
constantly enhancing our learning
and development programme,
please see pages 48 to 51.
Culture
The Board is committed to
fostering a culture of partnership
and trust, and to making life at
Bloomsbury welcoming, rewarding,
engaging and productive through
effective employee engagement
and support alongside training and
development opportunities, please
see pages 48 to 51.
Belonging and Inclusion
In 2025/2026 we created the
“Belonging and Inclusion Action
Plan” which will run from March
2026 until 2030 offering a roadmap
of how Bloomsbury can be more
inclusive both as a global employer
as well as a global publisher, see
pages 52 to 55.
At the heart of our business is a
strong social purpose – to inform,
educate and entertain, to inspire
a love for reading, to promote
literacy, and to help build a reading
culture, reflected in our materiality
assessment in 2025. Bloomsbury’s
core business of publishing books
is therefore in itself a societal good
with numerous social benefits. We
detail our work in the Commitment
to Community and Society section.
Charitable Giving
Our charitable contributions
of over £1.7m in 2025/2026 are
detailed on pages 56 to 58. These
include literary and literacy-
focused support alongside
humanitarian giving.
Partnerships
The importance of creating social
impact through content is reflected
in the materiality assessment in
2025. Our partnerships are detailed
in our people section on pages 48
to 51 and our charitable donations,
partnerships and outreach on
pages 56 to 58.
Promoting Literacy
Bloomsbury is dedicated to
increasing literacy and access
to books for those from
disadvantaged backgrounds,
supporting the cultivation of these
crucial skills and the emotional and
psychological benefits reading
brings, see pages 56 to 58.
The most important sustainability
issue we identified through
the materiality assessment was
sustainable supply chain and
distribution.
TCFD
We detail our qualitative and
quantitative responses to the Task
Force on Climate-related Financial
Disclosures on pages 59 to 75.
Transition
Our work on building resilience
to climate change is detailed on
pages 59 to 75.
Environment
We are committed to reducing
our impact on the environment,
which we detail on pages 76 to
82. We have achieved a CDP
Climate score of B and Forestry
of B-. We are working with our
suppliers towards reducing the
environmental impact of our
business.
OverviewOverview
Stock code: BMY
Annual Report and Accounts 2026
47
Stock code: BMY
47
OverviewStrategic Report
In 2025/2026 our people strategy focused on embedding many of the initiatives
we have already launched, driving discoverability and ensuring uptake. We
continue to ensure our benefits are competitive but also accessible and aligned to
what our employees want and need. We introduced benefits such as the Octopus
Electric Vehicle scheme in the UK, enhanced our pension scheme for the under
40s and upgraded life assurance coverage. In Australia, we launched a new
healthcare allowance and in India delivered a new EAP programme.
We continue to make significant strides in our people strategy
being awarded the Great Place To Work Certification™ for
the second year, embedding our global communication
hub DianaBase, further developing the newly formed Senior
Leadership Team, enhancing engagement through Town Halls
and Employee Voice Meetings, building the Career Framework
and constantly enhancing our Learning and Development
programme.
Bloomsbury Achieves Great Place To Work
Certification™
In 2025/2026 Bloomsbury was again certified by Great Place
To Work® for the year in all four markets of UK, US, India and
Australia. The award is based entirely on what current employees
say about their experience working at the Company. 74% of all
staff took the time to provide valuable feedback about working
at Bloomsbury. We believe we continue to be the only company
in the publishing industry to achieve independent certification
globally and the first publishing company in the UK to do so.
Globally, employees said that:
A
91% of staff said they are proud to work at Bloomsbury
A
92% of staff said people are treated fairly regardless of
their gender
A
92% of staff said they felt able to take time off work when
necessary
A
78% of staff said that overall, they felt Bloomsbury is a great
place to work
A
82% of staff said that when they look at what we accomplish,
they feel a sense of pride
A
74% average score across all statements
Participating in Great Place To Work® provides us with an
independently verified benchmark which allows us to compare
ourselves with other best-in-class organisations, as well as
looking internally at areas for improvement. We want to use this
certification as a signpost to attract and keep the best talent.
The Bloomsbury 2030 vision requires us to evolve how we
support, reward and recognise our colleagues and it is therefore
important to ensure that we have a global view of our culture.
Great Place To Work
®
is the global authority on workplace culture,
employee experience, and the leadership behaviours proven
to deliver market-leading revenue, employee retention and
increased innovation. It surveys 12 million employees, 10,000+
companies in 97 countries in 92 languages and is the sole official
recognition earned by the real-time feedback of employees
regarding their company culture.
The survey, completed by employees at every level of the
business, offered a vital opportunity for staff to share their honest
views about life at Bloomsbury, which are rich in insight and
candour. These responses offered invaluable feedback to the
Board and Executive Committee – celebrating the qualities that
make Bloomsbury a rewarding and inclusive place to work, while
also highlighting areas where we can continue to improve.
By successfully earning this recognition, it is evident that
Bloomsbury Publishing stands out as one of the top companies
to work for, providing a great workplace environment for its
employees and this feedback now actively informs our internal
priorities and future people strategy, helping us shape an even
better workplace for all.
Employee Engagement
In addition to the Great Place To Work® survey, we have
continued the Employee Voice programme, which promotes an
open dialogue between those that work for Bloomsbury and
the Executive Committee and Board. Employee Voice Meetings
(EVMs) are held routinely throughout the year, with a selection of
employees from different levels across the Group being invited
to attend scheduled meetings by rotation. Colleagues are given
this additional opportunity to share their views on Bloomsbury as
a publisher and employer. These meetings provide employees
with the opportunity to share their views on anything from
Bloomsbury’s strategy, communications, training, compensation
and benefits to ideas on how to make Bloomsbury an even better
place to work. The Executive Committee and the Board receive
the minutes of EVMs on an anonymous basis, together with a list
of the key themes arising out of EVMs.
www.bloomsbury.com
48
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
www.bloomsbury.com
48
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Bloomsbury’s People and Culture
At the heart of Bloomsbury’s communication and engagement
strategy with staff members is “DianaBase”, an intranet and
engagement platform built around our Company values and
launched at the end of 2023. Over the last year we have seen the
platform grow as the central information feed for our Company
as all employees create personal profiles, join relevant “spaces”
such as an internal Staff Network or the space dedicated to the
Bloomsbury Leadership Group. DianaBase is colleague-led,
allowing everyone to contribute and empowering everyone to
help the platform thrive as an active virtual communications space
where ideas and successes linked to our values are easily shared.
Engagement with the platform over the past year has remained
consistently above 94%, with over 99% of staff maintaining active
profiles.
Our Values
Our values frame how we work with each other and with our partners, and shape the culture of
Bloomsbury. They are essential to achieving our purpose.
entrepreneurial
collaborative
Entrepreneurial Spirit Independence Collaboration
Author focussed
ethical
optimistic
Author focus Ethical attitude Optimism
determined
sustainable
inclusive
Determination Sustainability Inclusiveness
We continue with our hugely successful global Town Halls, hosted
by the Chief Executive and Executive Committee Members,
presenting Company strategy, business news and issues across
the industry and reporting on Group-wide initiatives. These
meetings had an average attendance of 53% in 2025/2026
(2024/2025: 54%). In 2025/2026 we also introduced the more
informal “In Conversation” talks, hosted by our Chief Executive
and focused on Bloomsbury’s partners both in the publishing and
wider charity sector which have been incredibly well received and
attended by colleagues. The sessions are recorded and available
live or on demand for colleagues across the globe.
Career Framework
2025/2026 saw the continued rollout of a Company-wide
career framework at Bloomsbury, designed to provide clarity,
transparency, and opportunity for all employees. It is now fully
embedded in the UK and US, and has recently been launched in
Australia, with India next on the roadmap. The framework is built
around four core job families – editorial, sales and marketing,
production, and professional services – each comprising nine
defined levels.
By introducing this structure through the individual job evaluation
of every Bloomsbury role, we have unlocked a far more granular
and data-driven approach to our people strategy. We were
able to benchmark salaries with far greater accuracy. Instead of
OverviewOverview
Stock code: BMY
Annual Report and Accounts 2026
49
Stock code: BMY
49
OverviewStrategic Report
reliance on broad comparisons, we are now able to assess roles
and remuneration at each level within each job family, ensuring
fairness and consistency across the organisation.
In 2025, the UK recruitment team launched the G.R.O.W. (Guided
Route to Opportunity at Work) platform. We are committed to
nurturing our talent, and to creating opportunities for current
employees to advance their careers here at Bloomsbury. The
G.R.O.W. Internal Jobs Portal provides a dedicated space for
employees in the UK and Ireland to explore new opportunities,
supporting career progression, talent mobility and succession
planning.
The framework has also helped sharpen our focus on learning
and development. With a clearer view of role expectations and
progression, we can now identify capability gaps more precisely
and tailor our training and development provision accordingly.
For instance, we are currently working on structured career
pathways for Editorial Assistants, supporting their development
with clearer routes to progression and targeted learning
opportunities.
In addition, the framework enables deeper analysis of our
workforce demographics. We now have the tools to examine
representation of gender, ethnicity and other protected
characteristics at each level of the organisation, rather than
in broad terms. This is helping to inform and strengthen our
commitment to Belonging and Inclusion at Bloomsbury, providing
a more meaningful basis for action.
Overall, our new career framework is proving to be much more
than a structural change – it’s a powerful enabler of Bloomsbury’s
long-term people vision, ensuring that every colleague has the
clarity, opportunity and support they need to grow and thrive.
Work in Publishing Week
The Bloomsbury Institute is Bloomsbury’s own “careers in
publishing” offering, through which we give advice and support
for anyone pursuing a career in books. For Work in Publishing
Week 2025 we hosted an internal event tailored for Bloomsbury
employees on the Support/Developing, Professional/Supervisory
and Professional/Manager levels of the career framework. This
was an opportunity to network, and to get advice from colleagues
in senior roles across the business and at different stages of their
careers. Our speakers, made up of Bloomsbury senior colleagues,
discussed their own career journeys to date, gave insight into
their roles, and offered tips to help upskill and progress. They
shared what excites them in a job application and how to make
your CV and cover letter stand out as you look to advance in the
industry.
Learning and Development
Learning and development have taken centre-stage in 2025/2026.
Our commitment to retention, training and development means
that we have invested in our staff by offering a diversity of CPD
and learning interventions to cater for everyone’s needs and
requirements.
Our fourth cohort of 17 managers are completing the Corndel
Level 5 Diploma Leadership and Management Programme, with
over 60 colleagues completing the programme to date. This is
a 12-month high-impact programme, with an additional eight
weeks for the End Point Assessment. Throughout the programme,
participants receive one-to-one monthly executive coaching
and mentoring by experienced expert industry professionals,
along with individual professional development activities. We
introduced a New Manager Programme – designed to equip
first-time managers with essential people management skills
in a collaborative, cohort-based setting. In addition, our virtual
coaching initiative “Mindbeat” is a commitment over a two-
year period to offer each and every manager at Bloomsbury
the opportunity to access one-to-one virtual coaching sessions,
providing tailored support to help address individual challenges
and accelerate personal development. Over 100 managers have
been through the programme globally. These initiatives are
further supported by our open-to-all Leadership Development
Modules provided by LHH and partnerships with LinkedIn
Learning, Book Machine Campus, InRehearsal and The Publishing
Training Centre.
One of the most important ways to learn roles and a continued
knowledge of the industry is through mentorship. The
Bloomsbury Mentoring Programme now has over 78 pairings to
date across our UK and US workforces.
Author Talks and Highlights Events
An important feature throughout the year is our programme of
author talks. These are intrinsic to Bloomsbury’s culture and are
popular with our colleagues. They afford employees from across
the Company, including those who do not have regular contact
with authors, the opportunity to gain insight into the creative
process, different approaches to writing, the author inspiration
behind – and ambition for – particular titles, and the societal and
cultural impact that books can have. We have welcomed authors
across the breadth of our publishing including George Saunders,
Ariel Aber, William Dalrymple and Kiley Reid. The sessions are
recorded and available live or on demand for colleagues across
the globe.
Our annual global Bloomsbury Publishing Highlights event brings
colleagues together from all areas of the business to present
and celebrate upcoming publishing plans and the most exciting
titles in the pipeline. The 2025 event featured the likes of Anthony
Joseph, Andy Cato, Sophie Raworth, Dan Jones, Lucian Msamati
and Samuel West representing all corners of Bloomsbury’s
publishing and speaking to 600 colleagues live and in-person in
London with hundreds more tuning in via livestream.
Board-Established Culture of Partnership
and Trust
The Board and Executive Committee are committed to
fostering a culture of partnership and trust, and to making life at
Bloomsbury welcoming, rewarding, engaging and productive.
Bloomsbury supports individual and collective success through
effective employee engagement and support, comprehensive
training and development opportunities, and the implementation
of reward schemes that recognise our colleagues’ contribution to
Bloomsbury’s success. Maintaining a good culture also relies on
policies and procedures that equip colleagues to make the right
decisions and effective channels through which to raise concerns.
These include the Group’s whistleblowing policies and HR policies
directed at preventing bullying, harassment and discrimination.
www.bloomsbury.com
50
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
www.bloomsbury.com
50
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Bloomsbury’s People and Culture
continued
Key policies that support a positive culture at Bloomsbury are set out below:
Employment
policy
Description
Health, safety
and wellbeing
Bloomsbury’s Head of Facilities reports to the Director of People and Engagement in respect of health and
safety (H&S) and heads an H&S team that ensures compliance with the Company’s H&S Policy. At least annually,
the Board and the Executive Committee review H&S, including risk assessments, developments and incident
reports. The H&S team works closely with management and employees to ensure that the H&S Policy is
effectively communicated, implemented and maintained across the business. Managers of the worldwide sites are
accountable for ensuring their areas of the business are in compliance with H&S Policy.
The Group maintains H&S risk assessments and accident books for all its locations worldwide (including where
there is no local legal requirement to do so) and staff are encouraged to report all accidents or near misses.
During the year, there were no serious injuries, fatalities or reportable incidents.
Performance
and merit
Senior managers are accountable for the performance of their teams and determine the most appropriate
approach to performance management for each team. All employees are able to participate in Bloomsbury’s
formal annual appraisal process, which serves as a mechanism for managing performance and identifying
opportunities for career development. Promotions and external recruitment are based on merit and ensure that
the most suitable person is selected for each position.
Human rights
Bloomsbury is committed to meeting its responsibility to respect human rights and to comply with employment
and other legislation applicable to the locations in which it employs people, ensuring the human rights of
individuals are protected. Bloomsbury’s Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking Statement can be found on our
investor relations website www.bloomsbury-ir.co.uk.
Ethical
behaviour
We expect employees, Directors and subcontractors to behave ethically in their work relationships and dealings
with third parties on behalf of Bloomsbury. Compliance with ethical behaviour Group policies such as for anti-
bribery and corruption, dealing in Bloomsbury shares and modern slavery and human trafficking is an employment
term of Group employment contracts. Bloomsbury’s Whistleblower Policy enables employees, other categories
of workers and third parties to have any concerns relating to the Group confidentially addressed. Details of these
policies can be found at www.bloomsbury-ir.co.uk.
Equality of
opportunity
Bloomsbury has a diverse workforce and follows a policy that no employee or other person receives more or less
favourable treatment on the grounds of gender, sexual orientation, colour, race and ethnic origin, nationality,
religion, disability or age. We ensure an inclusive approach to parents in the workplace through our very many
family friendly policies such as Flexible Working, enhanced maternity and paternity leave, and parental leave. The
Human Resources function monitors compliance with the policies and with applicable legislative requirements
to ensure the equality of opportunity in the recruitment, selection and promotion of employees. Grievance and
disciplinary procedures protect employees from discriminatory behaviours and attitudes.
Disability
Bloomsbury’s policy regarding disabled persons (as defined in the Disability Discrimination Act 1995) was applied
during 2025/2026 by the dedicated Accessibility Manager, responsible for bettering the working environment
of disabled employees. Author and charity events occur often through the Accessibility Network to encourage
disabled staff development, and the Accessibility Manager oversees and develops further training to both aid
disabled employees and educate non-disabled staff.
Our recruitment team takes the appropriate steps to encourage disabled persons’ applications, working with
companies such as Creative Access to advertise jobs. We offer reasonable adjustments requested by disabled
people during the application process, and the dedicated Accessibility Manager gives HR and line managers the
support needed with these adjustments.
Bloomsbury offers a generous sick leave policy, including the option for disabled staff to declare their disability
to HR with a medical note, allowing them to take sick leave without requiring a note each time. We offer
Occupational Health appointments to any staff who require one, providing additional equipment and flexible
working policies where required. There is a continuation of developing office accessibility, including measures such
as a new wheelchair lift, hearing loop and fire alarm pagers for deaf and hard-of-hearing employees.
OverviewOverview
Stock code: BMY
Annual Report and Accounts 2026
51
Stock code: BMY
51
OverviewStrategic Report
We recognise the importance of ensuring that people with a wide range of
experiences, talents and viewpoints have a place in the global publishing
industry. By welcoming individuals with different ideas and perspectives, we
enrich the stories we create and ensure they resonate with readers. We are
committed to publishing work that captures the complexity and richness of
the world around us – because doing so helps foster understanding, learning
and cultural connection. We believe the best way to achieve this is by bringing
together teams with varied skills, backgrounds and ways of thinking across all
roles and levels of the Company.
In 2025/2026 the Global Belonging and Inclusion Manager, Iram Satti, has led the Company-wide effort on creating the “Belonging and
Inclusion Action Plan” which will run from March 2026 until 2030. This action plan was co-created with colleagues all across the organisation,
as well as engaging with inclusion-focused data and research. The new action plan will offer a roadmap on how Bloomsbury can be more
inclusive both as a global employer as well as a global publisher.
The majority of senior managers and employees worldwide in the Group are women. The number of employees by each gender as
at 28 February 2026 is shown here:
Directors of the Group Parent
Company
Executive Committee Senior Managers of the Group
1
50%
[3]
50%
[3]
FemaleMale
44%
[4]
56%
[5]
FemaleMale
62%
[24]
38%
[15]
FemaleMale
Senior Managers of the Group
(Excluding Directors)
2
All employees of the Group
3
65%
[24]
35%
[13]
FemaleMale
75%
[919]
25%
[311]
FemaleMale
1
Includes members of the Executive Committee and their direct reports who are senior managers according to the Company’s Career Framework
(being members of the Company’s Established Professional/ Leader career level); this aligns with the Parker Review definition of “Senior Management”
and excludes direct reports who are (i) not part of the Senior Leadership Team or (ii) administrative and support staff.
2
Data provided in accordance with the requirements of Section 414C(8)(c)(ii) of the Companies Act 2006.
3
Excludes workers who are freelance consultants and temps.
www.bloomsbury.com
52
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
www.bloomsbury.com
52
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Belonging and Inclusion at Bloomsbury
Gender Pay Gap
In line with UK regulations, Bloomsbury provides information on
its gender pay gap in the UK.
Both mean and median gender pay gaps have decreased
year-on-year, while the overall male to female ratio remained
stable and representation at the most senior level has remained
consistent. Bloomsbury’s median gender pay gap is 17.45%,
which is a decrease from 19.30% in the previous reporting year.
The mean gender pay gap has also been reduced from 18.30% to
17.57%.
The proportion of males and females in each quartile pay band
in the UK
n. 2025 2024
The lower
quartile
215
Female 80.47% 84.00%
Male
19.53% 16.00%
The lower
middle quartile
215
Female 78.60% 75.74%
Male
21.40% 24.26%
The upper
middle quartile
214
Female 71.03% 69.80%
Male
28.97% 30.20%
The upper
quartile
214
Female 63.08% 63.68%
Male
36.92% 36.32%
The most significant factor influencing our gender pay gap
continues to be the distribution of men and women across the
organisation, specifically the lower representation of men in the
lower pay quartiles. The male population is proportionally smaller
and more concentrated in senior roles.
At the lower quartile, the proportion of male employees
increased and the proportion of female employees decreased.
At the lower middle and upper middle quartiles, female
representation increased. This shift has contributed to the
improvements seen in both the mean and median pay
gaps. Please see https://www.bloomsbury-ir.co.uk/docs/
librariesprovider16/archives/governance/gender-pay-gap/2025.
pdf for Bloomsbury’s 2025 Gender Pay Gap Report (snapshot
date 5 April 2025).
Representation at Bloomsbury: Publishing
and Workforce
In 2024/2025 we established Global Publishing and Workforce
Committees to guide and support our objectives directed
at attracting and retaining diverse talent and perspectives,
both within our workforce and our publishing. Our Publishing
Committee is focused on issues such as implementing support
systems and development programmes for our broad range of
authors, plus raising awareness about the importance of types
of representation in literature. This committee provides the
opportunity to work more collaboratively across the business.
The Workforce Committee relates to our internal understanding
of the current composition of our workforce, the development of
initiatives to foster a culture of belonging for all our colleagues,
and initiatives aimed at developing a diverse and representative
succession pipeline.
Significant improvements have been made in how we collate and
record Equal Opportunity data for our UK employees. This now
allows us to have far greater transparency about the make-up of
the workforce, and supports activities directed at developing a
diverse Executive pipeline and increasing diversity at senior levels
of the Company. This data, combined with the development of
our Career Framework allows us to be far more strategic about
the support we offer.
The following charts detail the demographic profile in terms of gender and ethnicity with in the UK workforce.
Executive committee
Established professional/leader
Professional/manager A
Professional/manager B
Developing professional/
Supervisory A
Developing professional/
Supervisory B
Female
Support A
Support B
Senior professional/
Senior manager A
Senior professional/
Senior manager B
38%
69%
77%
57%
74%
71%
73%
78%
83%
85%
43%
26%
29%
27%
22%
17%
15%
63%
31%
23%
Male
Executive committee
Established professional/leader
Professional/manager A
Professional/manager B
Developing professional/
supervisory A
Developing professional/
supervisory B
Ethnic Minority
Support A
Support B
Senior professional/
Senior manager A
Senior professional/
Senior manager B
13%
11%
6%
5%
1%
3%
9%
11%
16%
13%
22%
29%
24%
81%
83%
82%
83%
78%
83%
76%
68%
72%
87%
8%
11%
9%
6%
1%
4%
1%
4%
White Prefer not to sayNo data
Male : Female ration of UK employees at each career
level as at 28th February 2026
Ethnicity of UK employees at each career level as at
28th February 2026
OverviewOverview
Stock code: BMY
Annual Report and Accounts 2026
53
Stock code: BMY
53
OverviewStrategic Report
Recruitment and Succession
Our ambition when bringing people into our organisation
is always to hire the best person for the job. We address
representation by ensuring that we recruit from the widest
possible candidate pools without compromising on calibre of
candidates. Examples of how we achieve this include advertising
the majority of our roles through Creative Access, a community
of diverse talent seeking to break into creative industries. We
promote all of our jobs on job boards such as Diversifying.io
which reach a wide variety of candidates. We utilise a managed
service to assist with high-volume recruitment thus removing all
bias from entry-level recruitment sifting. Degree qualifications
have been removed from job adverts unless necessary and we
partner with recruitment agencies and search firms with strong
records in finding candidates with varied skills, experience and
backgrounds.
We have introduced a host of Learning and Development
initiatives, which are available to all staff but with a particular
focus on those in management positions in order to develop
inclusive leadership aligned to Company strategy. These include
the Mentor Programme, coaching programme and Leadership
Development modules mentioned above.
UK Publishing Assistant Apprenticeship
In the UK, the Publishing Assistant Apprenticeship, run in
association with LDN Apprenticeships, continues to offer an
alternative route into publishing for candidates who are typically
from a socio-economic background under-represented in
publishing. In January and June 2026, we welcomed 12 new
apprentices as part of our seventh and eighth cohorts, with roles
across our editorial, M&P and audiobooks teams. Since the
pilot launch in 2019, 30 candidates have successfully completed
apprenticeships with Bloomsbury, with 23 going on to secure
permanent positions with us. In 2024, the programme was
reclassified from a Level 3 to a Level 4 apprenticeship, reflecting
its continued growth and evolution. For 2026, places are being
exclusively offered to candidates who do not hold a university
degree. These advancements, coupled with a strong retention
rate, highlight the programme’s ongoing development and its
significant impact on enhancing access to the publishing industry.
Bloomsbury UK: Dyslexia Award-Winning
Book Initiative
Bloomsbury’s dyslexia initiative has been led by Elizabeth
Kellingley, Accessibility Manager. September 2025 saw the launch
of a new range of Dyslexia-Friendly Editions, an industry-first
initiative by Bloomsbury that sees 11 iconic bestselling adult titles
put into a format designed specifically to support adults with
dyslexia, bringing the total to 20 titles. The list for 2025 included
award-winning memoir Just Kids by Patti Smith and Baek Se-hee’s
chart-topping novel I Want to Die but I Want to Eat Tteokbokki.
While neurodivergent characters and authors are increasingly
represented in publishing, access to these books has not kept
B
Bloomsbury Dyslexia-Friendly Editions to support adults with dyslexia.
www.bloomsbury.com
54
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
www.bloomsbury.com
54
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Belonging and Inclusion at Bloomsbury
continued
pace. Dyslexia affects around
one in ten adults in the UK –
approximately six million readers
– and traditional book layouts
can create barriers to reading.
Bloomsbury’s new editions
use research-backed design
principles to make books more
accessible, and to reduce visual
stress.
Commissioning and
Collaboration in the
UK
Books are one of the most
powerful tools for educating
and shaping young minds, so
we work with a range of partners
to ensure that the power of
books and the imagination of
our authors reach and benefit
students of all ages and from all
backgrounds. Please see below
for some of our recent work and
the Our Communities section on
the following pages for details on how our charitable donations of
books, money and colleagues’ time support these goals.
UK Publishers Association Inclusion Pledge
Bloomsbury, alongside other leading publishers, has pledged:
“We affirm our commitment to equity, inclusion and belonging
as essential principles guiding the UK publishing sector.
Across recruitment, professional development, leadership and
partnerships, we will strive to ensure fair opportunities and an
environment where everyone is respected, heard and supported.
We recognise that diverse perspectives strengthen our industry,
and we are committed to embedding these values into our
practices and decision-making at every level.
“Our commitment to inclusion and widening participation
guides how we work, what we create, and the stories,
information, knowledge and ideas we share, reflecting the
diversity of the world we serve. Through continuous learning,
accountability, and action – and with support from the Publishers
Association – we will strive to make UK publishing a more
inclusive space for our colleagues, our authors and other
contributors, as well as our readers.” https://www.publishers.org.
uk/our-work/diversity-and-inclusion/
Lit in Colour: Founded in 2020 by Penguin Books, Lit in Colour
supports schools to make the teaching and learning of English
Literature more inclusive, and connect more young people with
texts by authors of colour for reading for pleasure. Together
with principal partner The Runnymede Trust, the programme
published research in 2021 showing that only 0.7% of GCSE
English Literature students in England studied a text by an author
of colour. Lit in Colour has now been in existence for over five
years and the programme’s most recent report, published January
2026, found that the number of GCSE students in England
studying a book by an author of colour has risen to 1.9%.
Bloomsbury’s established
play portfolio and playwright
relationships, under our Methuen
Drama imprint, complements
and expands the Lit in Colour
programme, widening the
study of plays at GCSE, AS and
A Level English Literature and
contributing to the discussion
of representation by increasing
knowledge of playwrights from
diverse backgrounds. As the
largest performing arts publisher,
we’ve seen first-hand the impact
drama can have on young
people. Drama doesn’t just tell
stories, it invites students to
step inside them. That’s why we
strongly believe drama deserves
to be taught, valued and
protected as a distinct genre at
every level of education.
The third instalment of the
(Incomplete) Lit in Colour Play
List publishes in 2026 and
together with Part One and Two,
Bloomsbury has shared 177 plays to read, explore, teach, study
and discuss in classrooms. Each one is an invitation to broaden
perspectives and open up new conversations with students.
Bloomsbury Academic Writing Fellowship: The Bloomsbury
Academic Writing Fellowship scheme aims to help early career
academics get their proposal ready for submission. This initiative,
the first of its kind in the UK academic community, is open to
UK-based, up-and-coming authors and researchers from Black,
Asian or ethnically diverse backgrounds. Fatima Naveed, based at
the University of Edinburgh, won the third Bloomsbury Academic
Writing Fellowship with the submission titled A Literary History
of Dissent: The Work of the South Asian Progressive Writers’
Association (1932–1975). The Fellowship, created in partnership
with Writers & Artists, gives early-career scholars practical support
to develop their work to a point at which they feel confident to
approach prospective publishers. Fatima Naveed will receive
mentoring support throughout 2026, plus access to Bloomsbury
events and networking opportunities. The ultimate goal of this
prize is to develop Naveed’s work through to final manuscript
stage, ready to approach and submit to a range of academic
publishers, including Bloomsbury.
Writers & Artists Working Class Writers’ Prize: This prize has
received close to 2,000 entries since launching in 2019 and has
proven a real pipeline for emerging talent. Lucy Kissick’s debut
novel, Plutoshine, was published by Gollancz after winning
the inaugural prize, while 2023 winner Jon Doyle has just been
chosen as one of The Observer’s Best Novelists of 2026. The prize
now receives the support of The Open University, the Society
of Authors and the Ruppin Agency, while the W&A team (since
2023) has committed to providing a form of creative support by
returning written feedback on all submissions received.
The (Incomplete) Lit in Colour Play List
OverviewOverview
Stock code: BMY
Annual Report and Accounts 2026
55
Stock code: BMY
55
OverviewStrategic Report
Bloomsbury is committed to making a positive contribution to the communities in which it operates. Bloomsbury has two strands
to its donation strategy; encouraging reading and providing aid. Bloomsbury supports the not-for-profit organisations which
support a reading culture and developing the reading habit in the readers of the future, often addressing inequality of opportunity.
We recognise that access to resources, education and opportunities is not equal for everyone, and we strive to bridge these gaps by
supporting organisations that create tangible change. The second strand supports overseas aid and conflict resolution, recognising
the importance of world markets to high-exporting publishers and the benefits of peace. During 2025/2026, the Group provided
support for charities and community organisations through financial support, in-kind donations and publishing partnerships.
The Group made cash donations totalling £339,987 (2024/2025: £1.12m) and donations including royalties, books and IT of
£1.73m (2024/2025: £2.45m).
Charitable Giving
Humanitarian causes
During the year, Bloomsbury UK provided financial support to
humanitarian appeals and charitable causes across the globe,
including:
A
£15,000 to Inter Mediate, a negotiation and mediation
charity that brings together some of the world’s experts on
dialogue and negotiation to mediate in the most difficult,
complex and dangerous conflicts in the hope of contributing
to a sustainable resolution;
A
£5,000 to The Trussell Trust, a UK national network of food
banks that provide emergency food and support to people
facing hardship;
A
£5,000 to Médecins Sans Frontières, an international,
independent medical humanitarian organisation providing
medical assistance to people affected by conflict, epidemics,
disasters or exclusion from healthcare;
A
£5,000 to The Book Trade Charity, which was established to
support colleagues across the book trade and their families,
providing grants and housing when they need it most;
A
£2,500 to Save the Children, the international organisation
dedicated to supporting children around the world transform
their lives and reach their full potential by providing life-
saving short-term help and pushing for deep-rooted social
change; and
A
£1,650 to Cancer Research UK.
Bloomsbury India continued its support of local community
organisations by donating to charities supporting vulnerable,
marginalised and deprived groups:
A
£2,500 to the Prayas Juvenile Aid Centre Society, a
community-based non-profit service;
A
£2,500 to the Akshaya Patra Foundation, which strives
to eliminate classroom hunger by serving nutritious food
to disadvantaged children studying in government and
government-aided schools across India; and
A
£2,500 to the Salaam Baalak Trust, which provides care
and protection to street children through child-centric
programmes.
Promoting literacy and education and supporting
creators and colleagues
During the year, Bloomsbury continued to support initiatives
aligned with its mission and purpose, as well as the findings
of the materiality assessment, by making financial and in-kind
contributions to organisations working to increase access to
books and education and enrich lives through reading and
literacy, and to initiatives aimed at supporting authors and
illustrators from diverse backgrounds.
A
£52,500 to the National Literacy Trust (NLT) saw a
continuation of our support of the NLT’s work to give children
and young people from disadvantaged communities the
literacy skills to succeed in life.
A
£10,000 to the National Year of Reading aiming to reverse
declining literacy rates.
B
Bloomsbury authors supporting the National Year of Reading 2026
www.bloomsbury.com
56
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
www.bloomsbury.com
56
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Bloomsbury’s Commitment to the Literary
Ecosystem, Community and Society
A
£20,000 to the Charleston Festival Trust supporting the
literary community.
A
£10,000 to the Women’s Prize for books written by women.
A
£10,000 to BookTrust the UK’s largest children’s reading
charity.
A
£5,500 to World Book Day and an additional £16,000
through subsidised books.
A
£5,000 to Give a Book for the Pleasure of Reading Prize.
A
£1,850 to the Society of Young Publishers.
A
A donation of £15,000 was made to The London Library.
The London Library is one of the world’s leading literary
institutions and lending libraries, housing a collection of
over one million books, and hosts regular literary events
throughout the year as well as an annual Literature Festival.
The Library offers an Emerging Writers Programme open to
anyone over the age of 16, which provides one year’s free
membership of the Library and includes writing development
masterclasses, literary networking opportunities, peer support
and guidance in the use of the Library’s resources.
A
A donation of £15,000 was made to The Queen’s
Reading Room.
A
In the UK, Bloomsbury made donations of £5,000 to each
of the Bodleian Library and The British Library, to be
designated to purchasing digital resources from any
publisher.
A
In the US, £8,892 was donated to the Poets & Writers, £3,409
to the Authors Guild Foundation, £3,334 to the Center for
Fiction, £2,964 to the American Library Association and
£2,593 to the National Book Foundation.
A
In Australia, Bloomsbury continued its support of the
Indigenous Literacy Foundation (ILF) with a donation
of £2,656. The ILF works to address the educational
disadvantages faced by indigenous Australian children and
young people in remote communities across Australia. A
donation of £2,500 was made to the Dymock’s Children’s
Charities, £1,000 was made to Story Factory, a creative
writing centre for underprivileged young people, and £1,500
to The Smith Family’s Literacy and Learning for Life
educational programmes, which provide emotional, practical
and financial support as well as books and resources to
support disadvantaged children and young people with their
literacy and education.
We recognise that not everyone in society has equal access to
books, and we work with various organisations to reach people
and communities who may not otherwise have the means or
opportunity to enjoy the benefits that reading brings.
During the year, the Group donated books with a total wholesale
value of £1.39m to multiple organisations promoting literacy and
early education. These include:
A
The SOHO Centre in the US, which promotes children’s
literacy, school readiness and school success by distributing
free books to schools, libraries, hospitals and other child-
related programmes. Through its long-standing partnership
with the SOHO Centre, Bloomsbury has donated over two
million books to date to disadvantaged children and their
families across Virginia.
A
Book Aid International, which works with partner
organisations around the world to share the power of books
to help create a more equal future by providing access to
free books where they are most needed, in libraries, schools,
refugee camps, hospitals, prisons and other institutions
around the world. Bloomsbury also made a cash donation of
£30,000.
A
The National Literacy Trust in support of its ongoing
projects to promote literacy within deprived communities.
Defending Freedom of Speech
Freedom of expression is a prerequisite for a thriving publishing
industry, which, in turn, plays an essential role in a democratic,
knowledge-based society by promoting diversity of knowledge
and ideas and fostering creativity and tolerance. During the
year, Bloomsbury donated £15,000 to English PEN and £1,852
to PEN America to support their work in defence of freedom of
expression and civil liberties in a time when increasingly polarised
views on political and cultural issues are leading to rising assaults
on freedom of expression, including attempts to ban books in
schools, libraries and bookshops.
Protecting the Environment
Bloomsbury is committed to playing its part in combating global
warming and protecting the Earth’s natural resources and biomes.
In addition to taking steps to reduce our own greenhouse gas
emissions, and participating in industry groups that are working
towards making the publishing industry more sustainable
(see pages 59 to 82 for further information about the Group’s
environmental performance), the Group made donations to two
organisations dedicated to fighting climate change and pollution:
A
The Woodland Trust, the UK’s largest woodland conservation
charity, whose mission is to protect woods and trees,
preventing the loss of irreplaceable habitat and carbon
stores. Bloomsbury donated £1,000 to support the Trust’s
work to preserve ancient woodland in the UK.
A
Surfers Against Sewage, dedicated to marine conservation
and protecting the ocean against pollution and the effects of
climate change. Bloomsbury donated £1,000 to support the
charity’s work in this area.
Developing Partnerships with Impact
In addition to providing financial assistance to organisations that
promote literature, literacy and education, we provide practical,
non-financial assistance. The following examples of our activities
in 2025/2026 illustrate the range of Bloomsbury’s support.
LitUp: Outreach Work in Camden and Hastings
In 2025/2026, Bloomsbury continued its impactful LitUp outreach
programme in Hastings and Camden, two areas of the UK with a
high level of need and low literacy rates. LitUp is a comprehensive
project supporting teachers, engaging parents and helping
children to increase frequency and enjoyment of reading. Now
in its fourth year, we are working with year-one-and-two children
in ten schools in Camden and year-five-and-six children in seven
schools in Hastings.
The project was developed to build on the skills of teachers
and teaching assistants, and to engage children and parents as
readers. It consists of termly activities that build engagement
among families, train teachers in boosting reading enjoyment and
OverviewOverview
Stock code: BMY
Annual Report and Accounts 2026
57
Stock code: BMY
57
OverviewStrategic Report
gift books to children, along with some key moments that help to
create a whole school focus on reading.
In-person author visits are a key element of the programme. Over
the 2025/2026 school year, six Bloomsbury authors visited our 17
partner schools, speaking to over 120,000 children about reading
for pleasure. We donated thousands of books so that each child
could take home a copy – in some cases the only opportunity
they have to own a book of their own.
The Bloomsbury Institute: Careers in Publishing
In partnership with Writers & Artists, we deliver a programme that
demystifies publishing and reaches people from backgrounds
currently under-represented in industry, to help create a more
diverse and inclusive sector. We bring together publishing
professionals from all corners of the industry to share their
expertise and insight through both in-person and online events.
To date, public Bloomsbury Institute events have taken place in
Edinburgh, Exeter, Brighton, Cardiff, Bradford and Bristol. Our
online events regularly attract over 200 attendees who tune in
from all over the world.
In 2025/2026, we hosted our first series of internal Bloomsbury
Institute events, aimed at supporting Bloomsbury colleagues
to progress in their careers. We held special events for our
Publishing Apprentices, Editorial Assistants and Assistant Editors,
and those at Executive and Manager/Senior Manager level. As
well as offering peer-to-peer advice and insight, these events
fostered internal networking and socialising for Bloomsbury
colleagues from all around the business.
On top of events, we offer online resources and a Bloomsbury
Institute newsletter so that those pursuing a publishing career can
access support on demand. Launched in 2025, the newsletter has
over 3,000 subscribers and is growing. We are always expanding
our partnerships in order to deliver events in new locations
and at literary festivals across the UK. We also work to secure
sponsorship and involvement from recruitment experts at some of
the UK’s leading recruitment agencies.
Partnership Publishing
Our Children’s team publishes books in partnership with three
leading UK charities whose key focus is nature conservation and
wildlife: the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB),
Royal Botanic Gardens Kew and the Woodland Trust. These
partnerships involve the publication of titles by Bloomsbury that
support the activities of these charities and embed their public
mission statements into the commercial world of bookselling,
reaching far beyond their membership pool with titles across
all age groups from three years upwards. We are experts at
commissioning high-profile authors with excellent credentials to
work alongside charities we support.
Bloomsbury also publishes in partnership with the RSPB,
publishing the popular RSPB Spotlight series among other
publications. In addition, Bloomsbury supports NHS Charities
Together through the Book of Hopes and the UNHCR through
Sea Prayer. The charities which Bloomsbury partners with in this
way are supported by royalty payments made by Bloomsbury in
connection with sales of the relevant books.
B
LitUp author visit with Sufiya Ahmed, 2025
www.bloomsbury.com
58
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
www.bloomsbury.com
58
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Bloomsbury’s Commitment to
Community and Society
continued
Bloomsbury is committed to identifying, assessing and managing
our climate-related risks and opportunities. We use a TCFD-
aligned climate scenario analysis to assess hypothetical potential
financial impact of selected risks arising from climate change
across different climate scenarios over the period 2025/2026 to
2050/2051. There are uncertainties inherent in climate scenarios
and these uncertainties increase with the length of time being
considered. Our analysis indicates that even without the
mitigating actions in place or being planned, the Group is not
expected to be significantly impacted by climate issues. With
mitigating actions, the effect on the Group is not material
Strategically important climate-related risks
and opportunities: identification, qualitative
assessment and quantification
We have identified climate risks and opportunities relevant
to Bloomsbury’s business (pages 63 to 68) through internal
and external cross-functional engagement, sector and policy
research, country-specific regulation and climate scenario
research. This involved a comprehensive review of major trends
in the publishing industry, including AI, the evolving regulatory
landscape and nature, to inform the Group’s understanding of
how climate issues may manifest over time.
In 2025/2026 we have updated the qualitative assessment of
identified risks and opportunities across three climate scenarios
and time horizons to understand the relative significance of each
for the Group. We assessed vulnerability, magnitude of impact
and likelihood. Climate-related opportunities have been assessed
including the benefit of the transition to digital publishing. In
our quantitative response, we update the model annually with
the GHG footprint and financial data for the reporting year. In
2025/2026 we have comprehensively updated the quantitative
analysis to include additional material sites across our supply
chain reflecting changes in our key suppliers. Where we deemed
it necessary, we have updated the scenario data attached to
these sites. Existing sites, and sites with comparable geography,
retain the scenario data from previous years as we do not feel it
has changed significantly in the past three years.
Integration, response and monitoring
– continue to develop climate resilience
and integrate climate considerations
appropriately into business processes and
planning
Bloomsbury is committed to the transition to a low-carbon,
climate-resilient economy. As set out in our Environmental Policy,
Bloomsbury’s strategic ambition is to focus on achieving our
near-term targets. The table set out on page 73 details interim
milestones and actions to achieve these targets.
We continue to engage with key suppliers, including printers
and distributors, to understand the potential impact of climate
change on their operations and mitigating actions. In 2025/2026
we continued working with the EcoVadis platform with a view to
broadening our supplier engagement, driving wider improvement
and benchmarking standards of excellence amongst suppliers via
the EcoVadis medals system.
Our management continues to integrate the relevant climate
risks and opportunities into the Group’s existing processes to
develop climate resilience and inform decision-making, and
identify mitigating actions including, where appropriate, financial
planning.
OverviewOverview
Stock code: BMY
Annual Report and Accounts 2026
59
Stock code: BMY
59
OverviewStrategic Report
Task Force on Climate-Related Financial
Disclosures (TCFD)
Compliance Statement
Bloomsbury’s disclosures are in accordance with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) Policy Statement 20/17 and UK Listing Rule LR
6.6.6R(8), consistent with the 11 Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures’ (TCFD) recommendations.
The table summarises the Group’s compliance with the TCFD-recommended disclosures.
Bloomsbury is also compliant with the UK Government’s introduction of mandatory climate-related financial disclosures (CFD) through the
Companies (Strategic Report) (Climate-related Financial Disclosure) Regulations 2022.
TCFD Recommendations Status Reference
Governance
a) Board oversight Comply Core information: pages 60 and 61
b) Management’s role Comply Core information: pages 60 and 61
Strategy
a) Climate-related risks and
opportunities
Comply Core information: pages 63 to 68
b) The impact of climate-related
risks and opportunities
Comply Core information: pages 63 to 71
c) The resilience of the
organisation’s strategy
Comply Core information: pages 63 to 73
Risk Management
a) Identifying and assessing
climate-related risks
Comply Core information: pages 63 to 75
b) Managing climate-related
risks
Comply Core information: pages 63 to 75
c) Integration into overall risk
management
Comply Core information: page 74 to 75
Metrics & Targets
a) Climate metrics Comply Core information: pages 74 to 75
b) GHG emissions Comply Core information: pages 74 to 82
c) Climate targets Comply Core information: page 74
Governance
Governance structure for climate-related matters
The Board is responsible for the oversight of climate-related
matters and has responsibility for approving the Environmental
Policy, strategic ambition and substantive strategies for reducing
the environmental impact of the Group’s business operations and
addressing climate risk. The Executive Committee implements
these substantive strategies through the executive management
of core business Divisions and functions.
Climate-related responsibilities are led by the Group Director of
People and Engagement and distributed across the organisation,
with several committees having key roles. These committees
include other members of the Executive Committee and senior
production and operations managers, ensuring comprehensive
expertise regarding the impact and significance of climate-related
matters throughout the Group’s value chain.
The Remuneration Committee assists the Board in aligning the
Remuneration Policy with the Group’s strategy, including climate-
related matters. For 2025/2026, bonus objectives for Executive
Directors included a 3% weighting for the achievement of Scope
1 and 2 GHG emission-reduction targets.
The organisational structure on page 61 describes the
responsibilities of the Board and each Committee that is involved
in climate governance.
www.bloomsbury.com
60
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
www.bloomsbury.com
60
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Task Force on Climate-Related Financial
Disclosures (TCFD) continued
Sustainability Steering
Committee (SSC)
Oversees sustainable initiatives and
strategic responses to climate risks
and opportunities. The Head of
Sustainability liaises with the Group
Operations Director and the heads of
production following SSC meetings and
feeds back on progress of initiatives
to the SSC. The Committee comprises
members of the Executive Committee,
including the Chief Executive and
Chief Financial & Operating Officer, as
well as cross-functional representation
from Operations, Production, Investor
Relations, Finance, Legal and Cosec.
Climate Risk and Reporting
Steering Committee
Responsible for the assessment of
climate-related risks and opportunities
and consideration of response strategies.
Reviews and approves climate-
related disclosures in line with TCFD
recommendations. The Committee has
cross-functional representation from
key divisions and functions across the
Group to ensure the potential impacts
of climate change are appropriately
assessed and managed. Members of the
Executive Committee, including the Chief
Financial & Operating Officer, sit on the
Committee alongside Investor Relations
and Finance.
Bloomsbury Board
Oversees the Group’s Principal Risks and has overall responsibility for climate-related
matters, including the approval of our strategic ambition and substantive strategies for
reducing the Group’s environmental impact and addressing climate-related risk.
Executive
Committee
Responsible for the
approval and execution
of the Group’s
sustainability roadmap
and Environmental
Policy, including
monitoring performance
against climate-related
targets. Responsible for
daily operational control
of climate-related risks.
Audit Committee
Responsible for
reviewing the
Company’s Annual
Report and Accounts
and scrutiny of climate-
related disclosures.
Reviews internal
controls and risk
management processes
which incorporate
management of climate-
related risks.
Remuneration
Committee
Responsible for ensuring
that the Remuneration
Policy for the Board
aligns with Group
strategy, and for the
incorporation of climate-
related performance
targets and metrics
into the remuneration
schemes. Monitors
performance against
targets.
Setting direction
Divisional and Functional Management
Climate considerations are accounted for across teams at Bloomsbury with department
heads responsible for overseeing all operational aspects of the business, including
planning and executing day-to-day activities related to production, distribution, and other
business functions.
Board oversight of climate issues Management oversight of climate issues Information flows
Key:
Group Head
of People and
Engagement
and Head of
Sustainability
The Head of
Sustainability chairs
the Sustainability
Steering Committee and
advances Bloomsbury’s
response on climate
change and represents
Bloomsbury on the
Publishers Association
Sustainability Task Force.
Committee meeting frequency: Board alternate months, Audit Committee usually three times per annum, Remuneration Committee usually four times per
annum, Executive Committee twice per month, Climate Risk and Reporting (which includes the TCFD Steering Committee) monthly and Sustainability Steering
Committee four times per annum with regular email updates.
OverviewOverview
Stock code: BMY
Annual Report and Accounts 2026
61
Stock code: BMY
61
OverviewStrategic Report
Climate Scenarios
The assessment of climate-related risks and opportunities was conducted using publicly available projected data against three hypothetical
climate scenario sets, as shown in the table below. Each scenario is based on hypothetical assumptions about global climate policy
intervention and socio-economic changes, which lead to varying ranges of temperature outcomes. As a result, the climate data projections
used vary significantly and result in a wide range of potential future financial impacts.
Scenario set Ambitious climate policy Middle of the road High warming/ Low policy
intervention
Description
A
Early and/or ambitious
action to support the
transition to a net zero
economy.
A
Incentives are introduced
to put a cost on carbon
and increase demand for
low-carbon products and
services.
A
Late, disruptive and/or unanticipated
action, no earlier than 2030.
A
Action is slower and delayed
compared to the orderly transition,
resulting in more extreme action
taken in the longer term to make up
for the lost time.
A
A low policy intervention scenario
with limited action being taken
beyond what has already been
committed, leading to continued
global warming and significant
increases in exposure to physical
climate risks.
Data sources
A
NGFS’s
1
Orderly Transition
including REMIND-MAgPIE
3.0–4.4 Net Zero 2050 &
Below 2°C
2
.
A
IEA’s
3
WEO
4
Net Zero
Emissions.
A
IPCC’s
5
SSP61–2
6
.
A
National Grid Future
Energy Scenario, Leading
the Way.
A
NGFS’s Disorderly Transition scenario
including REMIND-MAgPIE 3.0–4.4
Delayed Transition & Divergent Net
Zero.
A
IEA’s WEO Announced Pledges.
A
IPCC’s SSP2–4.5.
A
National Grid Future Energy Scenario,
Systems Transformation.
A
NGFS’s Hot House World scenario
including REMIND-MAgPIE
3.0–4.4 Current policies & NDCs.
A
IEA WEO Stated Policies.
A
IPCC’s SSP5–8.5.
A
National Grid Future Energy
Scenario, Falling Short.
Temperature
outcome range
1.4°C to 1.8°C 1.4°C to 2.7°C 2.6°C to 4.4°C
1
NGFS – Network for Greening the Financial System.
2
REMIND-MAgPIE 3.0–4.4 is an integrated assessment model from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research.
3
IEA – International Energy Agency.
4
WEO – World Energy Outlook.
5
IPCC – Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
6
SSP – Shared Socioeconomic Pathway.
Climate risks and opportunities have been assessed across three time horizons: (i) short term (0–5 years), to align with the Group’s strategy
planning cycles; (ii) medium term (5–10 years), to align with the Group’s near-term reduction targets; and (iii) long term (10+ years) to 2050.
www.bloomsbury.com
62
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
www.bloomsbury.com
62
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Task Force on Climate-Related Financial
Disclosures (TCFD) continued
Climate Risks and Opportunities
We distinguish between inherent risk, which represents the amount of risk that exists in the absence of controls, and residual risk, which is
the amount of risk that remains after mitigating actions are accounted for. The below are not disclosed in order of priority.
Lower estimated impact (less than £1m) Average estimated impact (£1m-£10m)
Higher estimated impact (£10m-£26m)
Key:
Market trend Assessment result
AI
AI has become mainstream within
the tech stack. Increased use of
AI as a mainstream tool and deals
undertaken by Bloomsbury and other
publishers to license content to train
large language models (LLMs) mean
that stakeholders such as authors and
Shareholders have been engaging with
Bloomsbury throughout 2025/2026
regarding opportunities and concerns
relating to our use of AI. Google and
Bloomsbury have undertaken a strategic
collaboration in AI. We consider the
market trend to be increased use of AI
within our business, supply chain and
industry over time.
Climate-related risks and opportunities
A
R1. The growing use of AI increases our reliance on
energy intensive data centres. Because these facilities also
support other digital services – such as streaming, cloud
hosting and social media – it is currently not possible to
isolate the climate and nature impacts attributable solely
to AI. As expectations for transparent reporting on AI-
related emissions intensify across regulators, investors and
civil society, we may face challenges in meeting disclosure
requirements due to limited visibility and insufficient
emissions data from the technology companies operating
these data centres.
A
O1. Potential for operational efficiency, including using AI
to streamline and automate climate data collection, which
could decrease overall environmental impact.
A
O2. Potential to partner with providers offering AI
solutions; for example, with the Book Chain Project
utilising AI to respond to climate regulations.
Mitigating actions
A
Bloomsbury has a Head of AI Innovation to help lead
Group AI adaption and an AI Steering Committee.
A
AI use cases are analysed through our innovation
framework to safeguard stakeholder interests through
responsible and ethical usage in AI deployment.
A
Bloomsbury is undertaking staff training and has AI
Champions throughout the business alongside staff
training to inform internal use of AI.
A
Collaborate with industry groups to advocate for
standardised digital emissions accounting.
A
Monitor emerging best practice on AI-related climate
and nature impact reporting.
Inherent Risk
Time Horizon
Ambitious
policy
Middle of
the road
High
warming
Short Medium Long
Scenarios
Residual Risk
Time Horizon
Ambitious
policy
Middle of
the road
High
warming
Short Medium Long
Scenarios
OverviewOverview
Stock code: BMY
Annual Report and Accounts 2026
63
Stock code: BMY
63
OverviewStrategic Report
Market trend Assessment result
Dynamic regulatory
environment
The regulatory environment has become
notably dynamic; EU regulations,
the EU Omnibus Directive and the
FCA’s expected adoption of the
IFRS standards for UK reporting and
packaging reporting regulations in the
UK and the EU, alongside changes to US
regulations and, more broadly, tariffs.
The UK Government supports the
incorporation of the International
Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS)
regarding general sustainability (S1) and
climate-related disclosures (S2) into UK
Sustainability Reporting Standards (UK
SRS).
Climate-related risks and opportunities
A
R2. There are financial penalties and reputational risks
around non-compliance with regulation. For example,
penalties for non-compliance with sustainability listing
regulation.
A
R3. Insufficient supply chain due diligence and traceability
can obscure material sustainability-related risks, resulting
in unmanaged ESG exposures, stakeholder distrust and
reputational harm if unethical or unsustainable supplier
practices emerge.
A
R4. Cost of implementing systems and processes to
respond to the regulatory burden.
A
O3: Compliance with regulation provides the opportunity
to improve supply chain traceability and monitoring.
A
O4: Increased engagement fosters stronger relationships
with suppliers, supporting sustainable partnerships.
A
O5: Improve brand reputation in respect of sustainable
sourcing.
Mitigating actions
A
Bloomsbury currently reports in line with the TCFD
regulations and will evolve this response to adequately
respond to any change in regulations.
A
Foster an industry-wide approach to compliance, notably
by working with the Book Chain Project, Publishers
Association and others.
A
Adapting internal systems, processes and controls to
support compliance with applicable legislation.
A
Mapping the supply chain, engaging with suppliers and
other industry actors to coordinate compliance efforts.
A
Bloomsbury has engaged legal advice on emerging
packaging regulations to confirm our legal obligations as
well as which of our products/packaging falls within scope.
Inherent Risk
Time Horizon
Ambitious
policy
Middle of
the road
High
warming
Short Medium Long
Scenarios
Residual Risk
Time Horizon
Ambitious
policy
Middle of
the road
High
warming
Short Medium Long
Scenarios
www.bloomsbury.com
64
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
www.bloomsbury.com
64
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Task Force on Climate-Related Financial
Disclosures (TCFD) continued
Market trend Assessment result
Growing demand for
transparency around
environmental impact
There is a general rise in stakeholder
expectation to increase transparency
over carbon emissions and nature
impact resulting from the production of
goods and services.
Climate-related risks and opportunities
A
R5. Potential reputational impact if we are perceived to
have a detrimental effect on nature and biodiversity or be
more carbon-intensive than peers.
A
R6. Potential risk if Bloomsbury is not able to meet
increase in regulatory requirements around nature and
deforestation in a timely manner.
A
R7. Consumer demand for carbon intensive design and
packaging disincentivises decarbonisation of product.
A
O6. Enhanced consumer awareness of carbon intensity
of the physical book could increase preference for digital
products such as ebooks which is good for Bloomsbury’s
sustainability and financials.
Mitigating actions
A
Remain an active participant in industry association
discussions regarding the development of industry-
specific carbon standards.
A
Explore opportunities to influence market preferences in
favour of goods with reduced environmental impact.
A
Evaluate tools and resources in development by industry
associations that enable carbon accounting in our
production and design.
Inherent Risk
Time Horizon
Ambitious
policy
Middle of
the road
High
warming
Short Medium Long
Scenarios
Residual Risk
Time Horizon
Ambitious
policy
Middle of
the road
High
warming
Short Medium Long
Scenarios
Market transition
To incentivise the transition to net zero,
the price of carbon could become more
apparent, through carbon regulations,
carbon pricing mechanisms (global
carbon markets and carbon taxes) and
the potential knock-on impact to fossil
fuel prices.
Climate-related risks and opportunities
A
RR8. Increased costs of raw materials and distribution due
to pass-through of transition costs.
A
R9. Higher operational costs related to our direct energy
consumption and related carbon emissions.
A
R10. Increased capital expenditure for new technologies/
low-carbon materials and production processes to reduce
carbon emissions related to our activities.
A
O7. Conversely, this would also reduce exposure to future
potential transition costs.
A
O8. Increased digitisation as it becomes economically
beneficial for consumers and publishers.
Mitigating actions
A
Achieve our science-based targets through the
identification and assessment of carbon-reduction
measures across our value chain.
A
Use the results of the TCFD quantitative climate scenario
analysis to strengthen the business case for investment in
decarbonisation measures.
A
Consider adjustments to product pricing.
Inherent Risk
Time Horizon
Ambitious
policy
Middle of
the road
High
warming
Short Medium Long
Scenarios
Residual Risk
Time Horizon
Ambitious
policy
Middle of
the road
High
warming
Short Medium Long
Scenarios
OverviewOverview
Stock code: BMY
Annual Report and Accounts 2026
65
Stock code: BMY
65
OverviewStrategic Report
Market trend Assessment result
Digitisation
Digital content has become an
increasingly important format for
customers. In academic publishing
there has been an accelerated shift to
digital since the pandemic. In consumer
publishing there is a mix, with children’s
predominantly print, and fiction a mix
between print and digital, including
audio.
Climate-related risks and opportunities
A
O9. Increased digitisation decreases carbon emissions
associated with paper consumption, print processing,
distribution and warehousing. This is also lower cost and
enhances the margin for the business.
Management actions
A
Increase the proportion of renewable and low-carbon
energy sources in our operations and encourage digital
suppliers to do the same.
A
Continue to participate in industry associations that
are developing tools and resources that will support
Bloomsbury to understand the life cycle emissions of all
our product formats and channels.
Inherent Risk
Time Horizon
Ambitious
policy
Middle of
the road
High
warming
Short Medium Long
Scenarios
Residual Risk
Time Horizon
Ambitious
policy
Middle of
the road
High
warming
Short Medium Long
Scenarios
Publishing content on climate
change
There is an increasing volume of climate-
related academic research that, when
published, can broaden discovery and
understanding, as well as support higher
education in this field.
Climate-related risks and opportunities
A
O10. Continue to align Bloomsbury’s professional
and academic publishing strategy with the UN SDGs,
including SDG 13: Climate Action.
A
O11. Increase in revenue from demand for content
aligned with SDG13: Climate Action, as well as other
global goals aligned to clean energy, responsible
consumption and production, and biodiversity.
A
O12. Enhanced reputation for publishing academic
content that encourages interaction with the principles
of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
(SDGs).
Management actions
A
Continue to identify opportunities to collaborate within
the industry to drive sustainable content.
A
Bloomsbury is a signatory of the UN SDG Publishers
Compact, aspiring to develop sustainable practices and
act as champions of the SDGs during the Decade of
Action (2020–2030), publishing books and journals that will
help inform, develop and inspire action in that direction.
Inherent Risk
Time Horizon
Ambitious
policy
Middle of
the road
High
warming
Short Medium Long
Scenarios
Residual Risk
Time Horizon
Ambitious
policy
Middle of
the road
High
warming
Short Medium Long
Scenarios
www.bloomsbury.com
66
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
www.bloomsbury.com
66
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Task Force on Climate-Related Financial
Disclosures (TCFD) continued
Market trend Assessment result
Increase in likelihood of
climate-related physical
hazards
There is potential for an increase in the
likelihood of extreme weather events
and chronic climate anomalies in the
future. Hazards related to climate
change (including heat stress, water
scarcity, flooding, storm surges, wildfire,
etc.) could impact operations across the
publishing value chain.
Climate-related risks and opportunities
A
R11. Physical hazards could result in a reduced availability
of materials for print products, resulting in suppliers
charging high prices.
A
R12. Delays in production, supply and distribution of
print products, or a loss of print products, resulting from
extreme weather events.
A
R13. Damage to manufacturing plants reduces supplier
production capacity.
A
O13. Accelerated shift in sales to online channels in
response to severe weather conditions. This is beneficial
for emissions and is margin-enhancing for the business.
A
O14. Management has enhanced the resilience of our
supply chain, increased printing local to demand, prints
on demand and increased flexibility in printing contracts.
In addition, the digital versions of our products are
available.
Mitigating actions
A
Continue to build resilience in production by identifying
alternative suppliers and supplier regions, supporting
adaptation planning, and forward purchasing paper.
A
Further assess physical risk at key manufacturing plants
and associated potential financial impact.
Inherent Risk
Time Horizon
Ambitious
policy
Middle of
the road
High
warming
Short Medium Long
Scenarios
Residual Risk
Time Horizon
Ambitious
policy
Middle of
the road
High
warming
Short Medium Long
Scenarios
OverviewOverview
Stock code: BMY
Annual Report and Accounts 2026
67
Stock code: BMY
67
OverviewStrategic Report
Market trend Assessment result
Enhanced market focus on
biodiversity, nature and the
value of ecosystem services
In recent years, following the adoption
of the Kunming-Montreal Global
Biodiversity Framework (GBF) at COP
15, businesses have been expected to
accelerate the adoption of sustainable
procurement of natural resources,
such as using FSC/SFI-certified paper.
There is also emerging regulation on
minimising global deforestation and
biodiversity loss, as well as expectations
for companies to increase nature-
related disclosures. As a result, there is
increasing scrutiny concerning the rigour
of these standards in protecting habitats
and ecosystems, and the importance of
the industry in upholding the integrity
of standards to limit the degradation
of nature. In response to this, more
companies are broadening their
mapping of impacts and dependencies
to include nature as well as climate. For
Bloomsbury, understanding the nature-
related impacts and dependencies
in our supply chain is particularly
important.
Climate-related risks and opportunities
A
R14. Potential for higher price of raw materials that meet
sustainable sourcing standard requirements.
A
R15. Potential for increased paper prices due to reduced
availability of materials resulting from ecosystem
degradation impacting forest productivity or loss.
A
O15. Opportunity to improve supply chain resilience
by working with suppliers to procure sustainable paper
options with positive impacts or reduced negative impacts
on nature.
A
O16. Opportunity to enhance brand reputation through
industry collaboration on adoption and due diligence of
forestry standards.
A
O17. Opportunity to positively impact nature and
improve resilience through collaborating with suppliers to
protect, restore or regenerate ecosystems in and around
Bloomsbury’s supply chain.
A
O18. Opportunity to positively impact local communities
and indigenous peoples, via forest stewardship and
participation in industry initiatives.
Mitigating actions
A
Value chain mapping: Bloomsbury has started to utilise
its supply chain mapping, including data on printers and
mills, alongside Book Chain Project data, to locate where
its value chain interfaces with nature.
A
Impacts and dependencies screening: Bloomsbury has
started to locate and evaluate material water and nature-
related impacts and dependencies across our value chain.
A
Bloomsbury is progressing towards quantification of
its impact on nature, which will aid understanding and
potential mitigation of impact beyond climate.
A
Bloomsbury plans to expand its supplier engagement to
better understand nature-related risks within its supply
chain and to capitalise on opportunities to protect or
restore nature.
A
Consider adjustments to product pricing to mitigate
changes in price of materials.
Inherent Risk
Time Horizon
Ambitious
policy
Middle of
the road
High
warming
Short Medium Long
Scenarios
Residual Risk
Time Horizon
Ambitious
policy
Middle of
the road
High
warming
Short Medium Long
Scenarios
www.bloomsbury.com
68
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
www.bloomsbury.com
68
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Task Force on Climate-Related Financial
Disclosures (TCFD) continued
Quantification of potential impact of climate change
The potential future financial impact from relevant climate risks has been modelled as “climate-adjusted net present value” (NPV). This sets
out hypothetical cumulative cash flow impact to the Group across climate scenarios over the period from 2025/2026 to 2050/2051.
Transition impacts:
A
In a low-carbon transition, our modelling assumes increased costs without mitigation or actions to decarbonise or continue investment
into sustainable procurement and operational practices. This risk is estimated to be greatest under an ambitious policy climate scenario
and without mitigating actions.
A
Bloomsbury is not aware of any current or planned policies that mean that its suppliers are subject to or exposed to a carbon pricing
mechanism. However, recognising that carbon pricing is likely to be required to achieve global goals to limit climate change, we have
modelled the potential impact of a carbon tax based on supplier emissions, as indicated in the table on page 70.
A
Many of the Group’s suppliers are likely to be subject to changes in operating costs from energy and climate-related policies. These
additional costs are likely to be passed down to customers through increased prices of goods and services. Bloomsbury will review the
feasibility of quantifying the potential impact of such increases.
A
Bloomsbury is investigating opportunities to manage its transition risk exposure and seize opportunities to reduce emissions across the
value chain as part of its emission targets and associated reduction pathways.
Physical impacts:
The expected increase in frequency and severity of extreme weather events, as well as gradual changes to the climate, may affect
operations across the Group’s value chain. The physical risks with the greatest potential impact on the Group were identified as potential
disruption to production capacity and delayed distribution of print products.
Historically, Bloomsbury has not experienced significant weather-related disruptions to the production and distribution of print products.
We have mitigated any disruption by reallocating services to alternative suppliers and this agile approach is core to the resilience of our
value chain.
The climate scenario sources used for the quantitative assessment are summarised in the table below.
Physical impacts Transition impacts
External data
A
Data from Climate Insights, from CLIMsystems. This data
shows the potential future change in climate variables
based on Global Climate Models (GCMs) of the coupled
model intercomparison project (CMIP6) for periods from
2005 to 2070, under the selected shared socioeconomic
pathway (SSP) scenarios of SSP1–2.6, SSP2–4.5 and
SSP5–8.5 (see page 62 for scenario description).
A
The data was prepared for twelve asset locations across
the UK, US, India, China and Australia.
External data
A
Data from the International Energy Agency’s World
Energy Outlook report, and its Global Energy and Climate
Model, were used to model the potential future impacts
of energy prices and carbon pricing mechanisms. The
projections account for macro drivers such as population
and economic developments as well as techno-economic
inputs for the period 2021 to 2050, with ten-year
increments under scenarios Stated Policies, Announced
Pledges, and Net Zero Emissions.
Internal data
A
Eight key print and four key logistics suppliers with
an associated twelve locations of primary assets were
identified by the Group.
A
The revenue generation associated with each supplier site
was correlated to potential productivity losses from climate
change.
Internal data
A
Transition impacts were assessed for the Group, using
energy and emissions data, as well as the current price
of utilities, aggregated at country level, reflecting our
operations in the UK, US, India and Australia.
A
Emissions associated with the Group’s paper, print, and
logistic suppliers were modelled. Emissions were mapped
to emerging and advanced economies as defined by the
International Energy Agency (IEA) based on the location of
the main business activities.
OverviewOverview
Stock code: BMY
Annual Report and Accounts 2026
69
Stock code: BMY
69
OverviewStrategic Report
Quantification results for selected transition and physical climate-related risks
The diagram below sets out the assessment of the potential NPV financial impact of the selected risks.
The NPV effects over the whole time period set out below should be seen in the context that the net cash generated by the Group from
operating activities in 2025/2026 was £40.8m.
Lower estimated impact (less than £1m) Average estimated impact (£1m-£10m)
Higher estimated impact (£10m-£26m)
Key:
Financial Assessment
Risk Risk drivers Value driver Impact category
Ambitious
policy
Middle of
the road
High
warming
Transition Risks
To transition to a low-carbon economy, policy intervention to encourage and drive the shift to low-carbon solutions will be required.
R8. Increased costs
of raw materials and
distribution due
to pass-through of
transition costs.
Paper and print
suppliers may face
carbon taxes on their
own operational
emissions, which
may be passed on to
Bloomsbury.
A
Carbon tax on
print supplier
emissions.
Increased transition
cost of paper and
print.
Transition and
distribution suppliers
may face additional
taxes on fuel use
and on warehouse
emissions, which
may be passed on to
Bloomsbury.
A
Carbon tax on
logistic emissions.
Increased transition
cost of distribution.
R9. Higher
operational costs
related to our direct
energy consumption
and related carbon
emissions.
The price of energy
may change and
carbon pricing
mechanisms may
be introduced and
expanded to cover
our Scope 1 and 2
emissions.
A
Carbon tax on
Scope 1 and 2
emissions.
A
Electricity price
changes.
A
Natural gas price
changes.
Increased cost of
direct operations.
www.bloomsbury.com
70
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
www.bloomsbury.com
70
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Task Force on Climate-Related Financial
Disclosures (TCFD) continued
Financial Assessment
Risk Risk drivers Value driver Impact category
Ambitious
policy
Middle of
the road
High
warming
Physical risks
An increase in climate hazards, including heat stress, flooding, storms, etc., in the future results in disruption to provision of goods and
services to Bloomsbury.
R14. Delays in
production, supply
and distribution
of print products,
or a loss of print
products, resulting
from extreme
weather events.
R15. Damage to
manufacturing
plants reduces
supplier production
capacity.
Reduced logistics
efficiency due to
temporary shutdowns
or reduced efficiency
of workers. As a result,
Bloomsbury may be
indirectly affected if it
is not able to distribute
or hold products
as planned and on
schedule.
A
Productivity loss
from 13 different
climate hazards
at specific site
locations – loss of
revenue.
Climate disruption
at key distribution
locations.
Reduced production
capacity at key printer
locations due to
temporary shutdowns
or reduced efficiency.
As a result, Bloomsbury
may be indirectly
affected if it is not able
to achieve planned
production.
A
Productivity loss
from 13 different
climate hazards
at specific site
locations – loss of
revenue.
Climate disruption
at key printer
locations.
Developing Bloomsbury’s Transition Plan
and Resilience Response
In sharing our Transition Plan, we hope to provide clarity
to investors, our customers and other stakeholders on how
Bloomsbury is moving from setting goals to taking near-term
action to achieve those goals. We aim to demonstrate how the
business will remain resilient under future climate scenarios.
Bloomsbury’s Board-approved Environmental Policy sets out
both our strategic and science-based targets and confirms our
strategic ambition to achieve these near-term goals. It lays out
our commitment to responsible procurement and production, to
working more sustainably and to embedding this into our culture.
We support the transition to a low-carbon economy and remain
strategically focused on near-term climate mitigation and
adaptation actions. The steps outlined below summarise our
initial priorities to progress the achievement of our targets.
Our transition planning is informed by a comprehensive
assessment of current decarbonisation initiatives, alongside a gap
analysis identifying further opportunities within our control. As our
transition planning continues to mature, we are broadening our
focus to encompass wider sustainability considerations, including
the interconnections between climate and nature, as well as
supply chain resilience, traceability and due diligence. Following a
high-level assessment of Bloomsbury’s nature interface across our
operations and supply chain, we are evaluating how these insights
will inform future risk assessments and support a more holistic
view of required actions. We are also continuing to strengthen the
data foundations needed for supply chain traceability, working
closely with suppliers and industry groups to establish robust due
diligence processes.
In an effort to streamline and standardise supplier engagement,
we have invested in the EcoVadis sustainability rating platform,
using it to assess, monitor and improve the ESG performance
of suppliers across our global value chain. We continued to
strengthen the resilience and sustainability performance of
our print supply chain during the year. We are able to track
suppliers through their engagement with the EcoVadis platform,
enabling consistent, comparable, evidence-based assessment of
environmental and social performance across our supply chain.
Among those suppliers that have completed a full EcoVadis
assessment, almost 60% have achieved “Advanced” or
“Outstanding” ratings, reflecting a strong and maturing supplier
base aligned with our sustainability expectations. In parallel with
EcoVadis, we maintain direct engagement with many of our print,
paper and distribution partners. These relationships are key to
improving data quality, supporting compliance with emerging
regulations, and accelerating progress on decarbonisation.
Through the EcoVadis platform, we are expanding the scope and
depth of our supply chain due diligence and driving continuous
improvement across four core pillars: Environment, Labour
and Human Rights, Ethics, and Sustainable Procurement. This
combined approach – structured assessment complemented by
direct collaboration – supports our long-term ambition to build a
responsible, transparent and climate-resilient supply chain.
OverviewOverview
Stock code: BMY
Annual Report and Accounts 2026
71
Stock code: BMY
71
OverviewStrategic Report
Collaborating and partnering with suppliers who share our
ambition will be a key part of our transition planning. We want
to work with our suppliers to build a transparent and responsible
supply chain, where people and planet are protected. Our
committed engagement across industry bodies, working groups
and forums advances the publishing sector response to climate
change and the wider industry transition to a low-carbon
economy.
Good-quality data is vital to identifying the levers to carbon
reduction. As part of our carbon footprint calculation, we have
begun to establish regular data reporting across suppliers most
material to our carbon footprint. We continue to use services,
such as the Reed & McKay business travel platform, with carbon
reporting, and engaged departments across the business to
adopt the new system. Our UK Facilities teams continue working
with Trident who provide utilities reporting across several of our
UK buildings and utilities contracts via the Pulse platform.
Internally, we are building capacity across divisions to support
our response to climate change. We can now provide training
for colleagues via the EcoVadis Academy, on how to use the tool
to improve supplier engagement. Our Carbon Literacy Training
course helps to embed a culture of sustainability and climate
action. This is supported by the Sustainability Employee Resource
Group, who are promoting the Carbon Literacy course as well as
creating a hub for colleagues who want to take action.
The Board has overall responsibility for Bloomsbury’s climate
response, as set out in the governance structure on page 61 of
this report. As part of our overall response to climate change,
Bloomsbury has been considering environmental impact for six
years and reporting in line with the TCFD recommendations
since 2022. Bloomsbury has been voluntarily responding to the
CDP’s scored climate and forest questionnaires for the past
four years. These disclosures have enhanced climate resilience
across the business by using climate scenario analysis to inform
our risk management and identify opportunities. As part of our
transition planning, we are monitoring the regulatory landscape,
including the UK Government’s introduction of the IFRS standards
into the forthcoming UK Sustainability Reporting Standards
(UK SRS). We are also assessing how we might be impacted by
other regulations, for example, CSDDD and CSRD as customer
expectation around transparency and data increases.
We are working with our internal data scientists to automate
data flows, which will improve accuracy and accessibility with
the aim of embedding sustainability into core workflows,
making the information more decision-useful for procurement,
decarbonisation and risk assessment.
During the reporting year, we began shaping a new Sustainability
Strategy that draws on the insights and knowledge of teams
across the organisation. It will form a key element of our transition
planning. It represents a shift from building foundational
capabilities to embedding a strategic, measurable and
organisation-wide approach that supports Bloomsbury’s long-
term growth and resilience.
Building climate resilience requires investment. Bloomsbury’s
financial planning in relation to decarbonisation and transition
planning is broadly considered as part of our wider financial
planning process. As an example, investments and improvements
in our buildings, as detailed below, are decided as part of
Facilities budgeting. However, the results of climate-risk
assessments, Bloomsbury’s science-based targets and increased
awareness from cross-functional engagement, all factor into
decision criteria and have led the Facilities team to consider how
improving energy efficiency and removing natural gas heating
will support our emissions reduction and overall climate strategy.
As part of our TCFD response, we have identified climate-related
risks and opportunities with the potential to affect our strategy
and financial performance. However, based on our current
business model, strategy planning and the actions we are taking
to manage these factors, we do not consider their potential
impact to be material at this time.
www.bloomsbury.com
72
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
www.bloomsbury.com
72
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Task Force on Climate-Related Financial
Disclosures (TCFD) continued
Actions feeding into the development of Bloomsbury’s transition plan are shown below.
Short term 2026-2029 2030-2035 2050
Direct
operations
Collaboration
and
Engagement
Sustainable
Culture
Metrics and
Targets
A
Provide monthly Carbon Literacy Training for staff, fostering a
sustainable culture where staff feel empowered and educated to
make decisions in their roles that will support decarbonisation.
A
Report annual progress on Bloomsbury’s commitment to the UN
Publishers Compact and continue to align the A&P publishing
strategy with the UN SDGs.
A
Engage relevant teams on sustainable initiatives around design
and finishes.
A
Targeted engagement through EcoVadis platform to drive
improvement across all areas of ESG, including climate and
carbon reduction.
A
Introduce Bloomsbury’s Supplier Code of Conduct as part
of procurement process.
A
Streamline and automate (where possible) data collection
to improve quality and enhance visibility of our supply
chain emissions (including digital) and associated risks and
opportunities.
Increase supplier
engagement to drive
decarbonisation and
ensure suppliers
are aligned with our
climate ambitions.
Continue to set and
achieve targets to
achieve a low-carbon
economy.
A
Continue to attract, train and retain
a carbon literate workforce that will
support the decarbonisation of our
business.
A
Continue to publish content that
supports the transition to a low-
carbon world.
Introduce an electric vehicle sales fleet by 2028.
A
Collaborate with industry bodies, like PA, IPG, BIC and Book Chain Project to develop industry responses to the
risks and opportunities of climate change.
A
Increase the traceability of the materials used in our books and continue to switch to low-carbon papers, where
possible.
A
New York Office moves to renewable energy contracts in
new office premises.
A
Decarbonise heating in Bedford Square offices.
A
Implement systems for reporting and monitoring UK energy
consumption.
Identify and
implement actions to
align direct operations
with the transition to a
low-carbon economy.
Scope 1 and 2, 46%
emissions reduction
in 2030 from a 2019
base year.
Scope 3, 20%
emissions reduction
in 2035 from a 2019
base year.
Near-term Scope
1 and 2 SBT, target
year 2030.
Near-term scope
3 SBT, target year
2035.
A
Take actions to achieve targets, report and monitor progress, revalidate and set new targets to drive transition to
a low-carbon economy.
A
Develop an understanding of Bloomsbury’s nature interface across operations and supply chain, address risks
and opportunities and, where appropriate, set targets to reduce impact.
A
Publish updated, Board-approved, Environmental Policy,
including science-based and strategic targets.
A
Review near term SBTi targets every five years.
25% of all Bloomsbury staff to have completed Carbon Literacy Training by 2026.
OverviewOverview
Stock code: BMY
Annual Report and Accounts 2026
73
Stock code: BMY
73
OverviewStrategic Report
Risk Management
Climate Risk Assessment Methodology
We have assessed the climate-related risks and opportunities
relevant to the Group over three stages: (i) identification of
strategically important climate-related risks and opportunities; (ii)
qualitative assessment of the identified risks and opportunities;
and (iii) quantification of the potential financial impact of selected
risks.
Integration of Climate Risk into Group Risk Processes
Climate-related risks are assessed in the context of Group
business risks (see from page 74). Climate considerations are
included within our risk management process, on a consistent
basis to other business risks, and this process includes controls to
mitigate risks.
Our actions to mitigate these risks focus on supply chain
management and operational efficiency and decarbonisation.
Future plans include:
A
Continuing to assess climate risks through the Group’s
risk management process, including identifying and
implementing mitigating controls;
A
Ongoing assessment and monitoring of emerging policies
and regulations regarding environmental matters;
A
Establishing climate-related key risk indicators to assist in
ongoing monitoring and management of climate risks; and
A
Mapping climate-related risks and opportunities to our
transition plan.
Metrics and Targets
Bloomsbury is committed to reducing its environmental impact
across its value chain and has committed to reducing its Scopes
1, 2 and 3 emissions. These near-term targets help the Group
respond and adapt to the transition to a low-carbon economy and
reduce exposure to identified transition risks.
Recent work in this area includes the following:
A
Implemented energy, emission, and resource-saving initiatives
and identified new measures to reduce our environmental
impact and exposure to transition risks;
A
Engaged regularly with those suppliers that contribute
the most to our Scope 3 emissions, to better understand
environmental impacts through the value chain and
collaborate to reduce emissions;
A
Through this engagement we have increased the number
of print suppliers responding to the paper audit, hugely
improving the granularity of data feeding into our paper
emissions;
A
Submitted an update review of Bloomsbury’s ESOS action
plan which includes actions to reduce energy consumption
and associated carbon emissions in our UK offices.
Bloomsbury’s ESOS energy audit identified the relevant
improvements to be made. The changes made to the head
office buildings during the reporting year contributed to our
scope 1 emissions reduction.
A
Continued to measure and report against other climate-
related environmental indicators that relate to resource use,
including water consumption, waste generation and paper
consumption. We use these indicators to monitor potential
changes in exposure to climate risks beyond carbon impacts.
More information on our environmental performance and
measures taken to reduce the Group’s environmental footprint
can be found on pages 76 to 82.
The table below summarises the key metrics used to monitor
and manage the significance of the potential impacts of climate
change, with reference to TCFD’s cross-industry climate-related
metric categories.
www.bloomsbury.com
74
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
www.bloomsbury.com
74
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Task Force on Climate-Related Financial
Disclosures (TCFD) continued
Metric category Metric Risk and opportunity description Response and target options
to manage impacts
GHG emissions
46,962 tCO
2
e Scope 1, 2 and 3
emissions (market-based)
Bloomsbury may face higher
operational costs from the
procurement of raw materials and
distribution services, as well as
increases in direct operational costs
from its facilities. It may also suffer
reputational damages if it does not
reduce its emissions profile in line
with its targets.
Scope 3 emissions comprise
99.8% of our total emissions. As
reported above, collaboration with
our suppliers on industry-wide
climate initiatives will be needed
to achieve material reductions in
these emissions.
Identification and assessment of
carbon-reduction measures across
our value chain will reduce the
potential impact of carbon pricing
mechanisms and energy price
changes.
Transition and
physical risks
Climate-adjusted NPV impact over
the period (2026/2027 – 2050/2051)
of:
A
less than £6m under the high
warming scenario; and
A
up to £26m under the
ambitious climate policy
scenario.
Hypothetical impact across the
quantified risks, without the
mitigating actions planned.
Bloomsbury may experience
additional operational costs and
taxes associated with low-carbon
transition. It may also face revenue
losses associated with disruption of
services from suppliers.
Bloomsbury can gain competitive
advantage and reduce these risks
by implementing our planned and
potential mitigations and adaptive
actions.
Assess the feasibility of efficiencies
in production and distribution, and
integrate climate considerations
into decision processes, to reduce
exposure to supplier disruption
and cost increases.
Measures to mitigate
environmental impacts, including
engagement with suppliers,
will contribute to achieving
Bloomsbury’s Scope 3 emissions
target, which will in turn reduce
the Group’s exposure to climate-
related risks.
Remuneration
3% weighting to reduction of
Scope 1 and 2 targets in annual
bonuses
Bloomsbury is committed to
managing and reducing its
environmental impact. The inclusion
of GHG-reduction targets in bonus
objectives further encourages
implementation and development
of mitigating actions and adaptive
measures across the Group.
Continue Board engagement
on climate issues, to support
the investment of resources and
capital in climate mitigation and
adaptation measures, including
aligning other strategic objectives
with climate action, e.g. low-
carbon products and content
directed at increasing awareness of
climate change.
Capital
deployment
and internal
carbon price
Not disclosed. Bloomsbury has not measured or
defined capital deployment in the
context of climate-related risks or
implemented an internal carbon
price metric.
Ongoing consideration of climate
considerations in the context of
the Group’s exposure to climate-
related risks.
OverviewOverview
Stock code: BMY
Annual Report and Accounts 2026
75
Stock code: BMY
75
OverviewStrategic Report
We have a responsibility to understand and manage the impact of our operations
on our shared environment, to build a sustainable business and contribute
towards a sustainable future. We continue our work to reduce our environmental
footprint and impact, which in turn helps build resilience in our operations to
climate-related risks.
2025/2026 Achievements
Key milestones achieved in 2025/2026 include:
A
Bloomsbury successfully completed the move from Macmillan Distribution to Hachette UK Distribution.
A
Bloomsbury completed the full version of the CDP Climate Change Questionnaire and Forest Questionnaire.
A
Bloomsbury received a B score from CDP for our 2024/2025 Climate Change disclosure, demonstrating CDP’s assessment we
take “coordinated action on climate change”. We increased our CDP Forest score from a C to a B-, indicating our continued
improvement in this area.
A
Bloomsbury’s Carbon Literacy Course completed by 20% of UK staff.
A
Bloomsbury’s Board approved our updated Environmental Policy and strategic ambition around climate change.
A
In collaboration with Octopus Energy, Bloomsbury launched an electric vehicle (EV) salary sacrifice scheme for staff.
A
Sponsored the planting and protection of trees with the Woodland Trust alongside support to protect UK seas through a donation
to Surfers Against Sewage.
A
Continued to contribute to industry sustainability groups raising our collective voice to drive change.
As publishers, we have the opportunity to amplify the
conversation around climate change through the content we
publish. In line with the priorities set out in our transition plan,
Bloomsbury’s Academic & Professional Divisions’ United Nations
(UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Working Group
continued to strengthen the integration of the SDGs across our
publishing and operations. Key activities during the year included:
A
Advancing Bloomsbury UK’s commitment to the UN SDG
Publishers Compact. Working with the Executive Committee
to sign Bloomsbury UK up to the UN SDG Publishers
Compact at the end of 2025 – formalising our commitment to
publish and operate in line with the goals.
A
Collaborating with colleagues in Bloomsbury Digital
Resources to enhance the visibility of SDG-related content on
Bloomsbury Collections. This included exploring options for
a regular SDG themed “Topic in Focus” and reviewing new
tagging approaches to support easier discovery of SDG-
aligned titles.
A
Extending SDG engagement beyond the Academic &
Professional Divisions, supported by a new cross-divisional
group tasked with developing a unified SDGs landing page
for Bloomsbury.
A
Expanding the SDG-aligned publishing list, with
approximately 170 titles now featured on the Bloomsbury
Academic SDG landing page, up from around 60 at
launch two years ago. This growth continues to improve
discoverability and supports academic engagement with
the goals.
A
Delivering three Bloomsbury Lectures, with three further
events in development for the year ahead. All lectures are
designed to reflect and support progress towards the SDGs.
A
Coordinating the FY26 SDG-aligned Book of the Year,
providing enhanced marketing support to a nominated
academic title that makes a strong contribution to advancing
one or more SDGs.
A
Hosting internal lightning talks to maintain awareness of the
SDGs across editorial and marketing teams and to support
ongoing integration across the business.
These actions support Bloomsbury’s broader objective of
embedding the UN Sustainable Development Goals into our
publishing strategy, marketing approaches and operational
practices. This work will continue to develop throughout the
coming year.
www.bloomsbury.com
76
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
www.bloomsbury.com
76
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Our Environment
Scope 1 and 2
We have set targets for our operational footprint (Scope 1 and 2)
in line with the Paris Agreement and have committed to a 46%
reduction in emissions from base year 2019/2020 to 2030. We aim
to use 100% renewable energy at our offices where possible. For
sites where this is not possible or practicable, we have purchased
Renewable Energy Certificates, meaning that 100% of the energy
purchased during the year was renewable.
We have reduced our Scope 1 and 2 market-based emissions by
48% in 2025/2026 versus 2024/2025. We have also seen a 24%
reduction in our Scope 1 and 2 location-based emissions, showing
that even without the purchase of Renewable Energy Certificates,
we are taking steps to reduce energy consumption.
Scope 3
We have also set a Scope 3 target to achieve a 20% reduction in
emissions across our supply chain by 2035 from 2019/2020.
In 2025/2026, we engaged further with key suppliers in respect of
sustainability issues which has enabled us to better understand
the progress they are making in their own efforts to reduce
carbon emissions associated with their operations and how we
can partner with them to achieve Bloomsbury’s own targets. In
2025/2026 we continued our paper audit, improving the accuracy
of Bloomsbury’s carbon footprint.
CDP Climate Change and Forestry
Questionnaires
In 2025/2026 we achieved a CDP climate change score of B for
the fourth year running, which demonstrates our coordinated
action on climate issues. In 2025/2026 we continued to respond to
the CDP forest questionnaire as part of the ongoing assessment
of biodiversity impact linked to our operations and supply chain.
Our increased ability to trace the source of our paper resulted
in achieving an improved score of B-, up from C last year. CDP
has also given us a score of A- for our Supplier Engagement
Assessment (SEA).
Industry Collaboration
Bloomsbury is part of the industry-wide collaboration across
publishing to tackle climate change. Bloomsbury was a founding
signatory of the Publishing Association’s “Publishing Declares”
pledge and is an active participant in the key publishing industry
environmental and sustainability groups, including:
A
UK Publishers Association (PA) Sustainability Task Force;
A
UK Book Industry Communications (BIC) Green Supply
Chain; and
A
UK Independent Publishers Guild (IPG) Sustainability Action
Group and Committee.
Supplier Engagement
Bloomsbury is an active member of the Book Chain Project, who
aim to drive a more sustainable, responsible and traceable supply
chain across the publishing industry.
Engagement is key to achieving our strategic ambition
of reducing our Scope 3 emissions by 2035. In 2025/2026
Bloomsbury continued to work with EcoVadis with a view to
broadening our supplier engagement, driving wider improvement
and benchmarking standards of excellence amongst suppliers via
the EcoVadis medals system.
EUDR
During 2025, Bloomsbury undertook extensive preparations to
ensure compliance with the European Union’s Anti-Deforestation
Regulation (EUDR). The European Commission decided in
December 2025 to exclude printed materials, including books,
from the regulation’s final scope. However, we continue to
capitalise on the momentum created through collaboration
between publishers and wider supply chain partners to enhance
materials traceability. Our focus remains firmly on protecting the
world’s forests by ensuring that the papers we use are responsibly
sourced, underpinned by greatly improved traceability data and
robust due diligence processes that testify to a deforestation-free
and ethical supply chain.
This commitment is further reinforced by Bloomsbury’s ongoing
participation in the Book Chain Project. Through this collective
initiative, we remain dedicated to strengthening and continuously
improving due diligence across global paper and print supply
chains, promoting responsible sourcing and the sustained
prevention of deforestation.
AI Environmental Impact
There are two ways Bloomsbury might need to consider the
impact of AI in our GHG footprint: (i) the impact of training AI
using our licensed content, (ii) impact of using AI through apps
like Gemini and CoPilot. We are looking into how we track
emissions from AI in more detail and will continue to follow the
GHG Protocol to ensure we are capturing everything we should
be. From our current calculations our print and paper emissions
remain the most material in our footprint.
Encouraging a Sustainability Culture
Carbon Literacy Training
In October 2023, we launched Bloomsbury’s Carbon Literacy
Training course, a bespoke course for Bloomsbury colleagues
helped by Bloomsbury author Jen Gale and the award-winning
team at The Carbon Literacy Trust. The course aims to embed a
culture of sustainability to ensure all colleagues can contribute to
our strategic targets through their roles and help staff understand
the actions they can take as individuals. We continue our
Carbon Literacy Training provision and have now seen over 170
colleagues complete the course.
Flexible Office Working
Bloomsbury’s hybrid work policy means Bloomsbury can reduce
its transportation-related emissions per full-time employee
from an overall reduction in staff commuting as well as energy
consumption in our office buildings.
OverviewOverview
Stock code: BMY
Annual Report and Accounts 2026
77
Stock code: BMY
77
OverviewStrategic Report
Sustainable Production
We are committed to reducing the environmental impact of
our print products. To that end, we work primarily with Forestry
Stewardship Council (FSC) accredited suppliers, and in North
America with Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) suppliers to
ensure that our paper is FSC or SFI certified.
During 2025/2026, in line with our strategic ambition to achieve
our near-term science-based targets, and as part of the transition
from MDL to HUKD, approximately 4,000 titles on the A&P list
were moved to Print on Demand (POD). These titles have largely
remained in POD following the transition.
In parallel, a number of inventory management initiatives were
implemented, including shorter print runs across all divisions.
These changes were designed to reflect more accurate sales
forecasts and to align print volumes with a strategy of holding
stock for shorter periods.
Print-On-Demand
Changes in print technology are making it increasingly
economical to manufacture books at the time of, and in the
quantity needed for, sale, and in some cases in the territory of
sale. This reduces the CO
2
generated by pulping, recycling and
transporting unsold books.
Digital Publishing and E-Formats
Our editorial strategy and XML-based production workflow
embrace digital publishing and the potential benefits this may
bring to the environment. Our focus on digital formats and
products allows millions of students to access essential resources
without using paper and enables consumers to purchase
Bloomsbury titles in digital formats should they wish to avoid the
consumption of paper products.
Next Steps
During 2026/2027, we aim to achieve the following to continue to
advance our sustainability objectives:
A
Develop Bloomsbury’s Sustainability Strategy for the next 5
years, moving us from the foundational work to embedding a
strategic, measurable, and organisation wide approach.
A
Continue to work with our key suppliers to gather accurate
data and achieve our emissions reduction targets;
A
Continue to engage and educate colleagues through
our Carbon Literacy Training course, which over 170 staff
members have already attended. We hope to engage
colleagues across our regional offices in the year ahead; and
A
Continue to work with our partners and peers within
the industry to drive change throughout the publishing
supply chain.
Hachette UK Distribution (HUKD)
Following Bloomsbury’s move to HUKD in April 2025, we have
improved our own GHG calculation with bespoke sustainability
reports linked to the distribution of our books from HUKD
warehouses. HUKD’s warehouses are powered by 100% renewable
energy and they run a fully electric fleet of warehouse vehicles.
We are proud to partner with suppliers making investments
in innovations that make sense from both a business and
environmental perspective.
2025/2026 Environmental Performance
We report on our greenhouse gas emissions as required by
the Companies Act 2006 (Strategic Report and Directors’
Report) Regulations 2013. We also report on our greenhouse
gas emissions, waste production and water consumption in
alignment with the 2006 Government Guidelines, Environmental
Key Performance Indicators and Reporting Guidelines for
UK Businesses. In respect of greenhouse gases, we report
stationary fuel use (on-site consumption of natural gas, diesel
and fuel oil), vehicle fuel use, refrigerant use and electricity use
in kWh, converted to tonnes of CO
2
e following the protocols
provided by the Department for Energy Security and Net
Zero (DESNZ). Emissions have been categorised against the
Greenhouse Gas Protocol scopes of reporting. The analysis of
the Group’s emissions, together with waste production and water
consumption, is performed by an independent external advisor,
SLR, based on data we have provided and publicly available
proxies to estimate activity data where required.
Fuel and Electricity Consumption
2025/2026 2024/2025
United Kingdom Global (ex-UK) United Kingdom Global (ex-UK)
Emissions Category
Energy
(kWh)
Emissions
(tCO
2
e)
Energy
(kWh)
Emissions
(tCO
2
e)
Energy
(kWh)
Emissions
(tCO
2
e)
Energy
(kWh)
Emissions
(tCO
2
e)
Fuel Consumption – Stationary (Scope 1) 88,133 16 158,396 29 185,774 34 254,807 68
Fuel Consumption – Mobile (Scope 1)
73,593 16 15,920 4 96,458 21 9,525 2
Fugitive Emissions (Scope 1)
N/A – N/A 6 N/A – N/A 11
Electricity (Scope 2, location-based*) 537,706 111 333,765 133 506,451 105 418,587 172
Electricity (Scope 2, market-based*)
537,706 – 333,765 – 506,451 – 418,587 –
Total Scope 1 and 2 (location- based)
699,433 144 508,081 172 788,683 160 682,919 253
Total Scope 1 and 2 (market-based)
699,433 32 508,081 39 788,683 55 682,919 81
* In 2024/2025, Bloomsbury restated base year and previous year emissions across Scope 1 and 2 and Scope 3 using current methodology and the use of more
granular data in our emissions calculations.
www.bloomsbury.com
78
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
www.bloomsbury.com
78
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Our Environment
continued
Greenhouse gas emissions: Scope 1 and 2
Total Scope 1 and 2 (market-based) GHG emissions for 2025/2026 were 71 tCO
2
e. Scope 1 makes up 100% of these emissions as we
purchase 100% renewable energy for all our offices direct from the supplier or via the purchase of Renewable Energy Certificates.
Quantity
Absolute tonnes CO
2
e
Normalised tonnes CO
2
e
per £m revenue
GHGs
Data source and calculation
methods 2025/2026
*
2024/2025 Base year
*
2025/2026 2024/2025 Base year
Scope 1 Direct impacts
Stationary
fuel use
Actual consumption in
kWh. Where not available,
data was estimated using
available actuals or proxies.
BEIS emissions factors were
used to convert kWh to GHG
emissions.
45 102 116 0.1 0.3 0.6
Fugitive
emissions
Actual data in kg. Where
not available, an estimated
intensity was derived
from available data and
apportioning based on
floor area. BEIS emissions
factors were used to convert
refrigerant-specific kg to GHG
emissions.
6 11 68 0.01 0.1 0.4
Company
cars
Annual consumption in litres.
Litres were converted to kWh
and to emissions using BEIS
conversion factors.
20 23 14 0.1 0.1 0.1
Total
Scope 1
71 136 198 0.2 0.4 1.1
Scope 2 Impacts
Electricity
use –
location-
based
emissions
Actual annual consumption of
purchased electricity in kWh.
Where data was not available,
data was estimated using
available actuals or proxies.
For location-based emissions
calculations, consumption data
was converted to emissions
according to the regional
factor.
244 277 385 0.7 0.8 2.1
OverviewOverview
Stock code: BMY
Annual Report and Accounts 2026
79
Stock code: BMY
79
OverviewStrategic Report
Quantity
Absolute tonnes CO
2
e
Normalised tonnes CO
2
e
per £m revenue
GHGs
Data source and calculation
methods 2025/2026
*
2024/2025 Base year
*
2025/2026 2024/2025 Base year
Electricity
use –
market-
based
emissions
Since 2022/2023, Bloomsbury
has purchased 100% renewable
energy either direct from
suppliers or non-renewable
consumption data has been
converted to emissions
according to the residual mix
emission factor for the region.
– – 480 – – 2.6
Total
Scope 2
– – 480 – – 2.6
Total
Scope 1+ 2
(Location-
based)
315 413 583 1.0 1.2 3.1
Total
Scope 1+2
(Market-
based)
71 136 678 0.2 0.4 3.6
* Whole numbers in this table are rounded to the nearest half point.
During the FY26 reporting period, we made significant investments in projects designed to improve the sustainability performance of
our Head Office building. These were referenced as ‘additional measures’ within our 2025 update review of our 2023 - 2027 ESOS Action
Plan. These actions included the removal of six natural gas–fired boilers and their replacement with electric alternatives, the upgrading
of fluorescent tube lighting to high efficiency LED systems, and the insulation of a 30 m² replacement flat roof to comply with the latest
building regulation standards. Collectively, these actions were a significant driver in our overall scope 1 and 2 emissions reduction.
www.bloomsbury.com
80
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
www.bloomsbury.com
80
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Our Environment
continued
Greenhouse gas emissions: Scope 3
Bloomsbury’s total Scope 3 emissions for 2025/2026 were 46,891 tCO
2
e (2024/2025: 85,630tCO
2
e). Category 1 (purchased goods and
services) contributed to 76% of Bloomsbury’s total value chain emissions, with category 4 (upstream transportation and distribution)
contributing to a further 15%.
The table below shows the breakdown of Scope 3 emissions by category.
Activity
2025/2026 2024/2025
*
Base year
2019/2020
*
Revenue
intensity
(2025/2026)
Revenue
intensity
(2024/2025)
Base year
2019/2020
Relevant to
Bloomsbury
1. Purchased goods and
services (“PG&S”) 35,888 73,463 36,409 110.1 206.6 194.9 Relevant
2. Capital goods
– – – – – –
Relevant,
included
within PG&S
3. Fuel- and energy-related
activities
90 114 135 0.3 0.3 0.7 Relevant
4. Upstream transportation
& distribution 7,032 7,693 22,745 21.6 21.6 121.8 Relevant
5. Waste generated in
operations
24 25 38 0.1 0.1 0.2 Relevant
6. Business travel 1,095 1,105 1,052 3.4 3.1 5.6 Relevant
7. Employee commuting 700 694 478 2.1 2.0 2.6 Relevant
8. Upstream leased assets 5 5 4 0.0 0.0 0.0 Relevant
9. Downstream
transportation and
distribution 1,874 2,278 2,408 5.7 6.4 12.9 Relevant
10. Processing of sold
products – – – – – – Not Relevant
11. Use of sold products – – – – – Not Relevant
12. EOL treatment of sold
products 181 248 942 0.6 0.7 5.0 Relevant
13. Downstream
leased assets – – – – – – Not Relevant
14. Franchises – – – – – – Not Relevant
15. Investments 3 4 – 0.0 0.0 – Relevant
Total
46,891 85,630 64,210 143.9 240.8 343.7
* In 2024/2025, Bloomsbury restated base year emissions across Scope 1 and 2 and Scope 3 using current methodology and the use of more granular data in
our emissions calculations. We have restated the 2019/2020 (base year) comparative in the table above. Restated figures include data relating to the acquisition
of Rowman & Littlefield from the base year.
The main driver for reduction reflects lower overall production to the previous reporting year.
In category 1 (Purchased Goods and Services) we mostly use actual data to calculate emissions for our print and paper purchasing with
the remainder emissions calculated using spend. The reduction in our category 1 emissions is partially due to strategic decisions around
inventory management and Print on Demand (POD):
A
During the reporting year, as part of the transition from MDL to HUKD, approximately 4,000 Academic and Professional (A&P) titles went
into Print on Demand (POD). These titles have predominantly stayed in POD since the warehouse move.
A
Inventory management initiatives were implemented, including shorter print runs across all divisions.
Increased supplier engagement has resulted in improved data quality feeding into our GHG calculations. We are focusing on data
improvements year on year acknowledging the importance given the business growth since the base year to be able to target reductions
in the future. We continue to review and update the methodologies used in calculating our GHG emissions to reflect improved data quality
and availability.
OverviewOverview
Stock code: BMY
Annual Report and Accounts 2026
81
Stock code: BMY
81
OverviewStrategic Report
Total Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions (tCO
2
e)
The total Scopes 1, 2 and 3 emissions (market-based) for Bloomsbury in 2025/2026 is 46,962 tCO
2
e (2024/2025 85,766 tCO
2
e). Bloomsbury’s
reduction targets are based on market-based emissions.
Scope 2025/2026 2024/2025
Base year
2019/2020
Revenue
intensity
(2025/2026)
Revenue
intensity*
(2024/2025)
Base year
2019/2020
Total Scope 1 71 136 198 0.2 0.4 1.1
Total Scope 2 (Location-based)
244 277 385 0.7 0.8 2.1
Total Scope 2 (Market-based)
– – 480 – – 2.6
Total Scope 3 46,891 85,630 64,210 143.9 240.8 343.7
Total Scope 3 Category 1 (PG&S)
35,888 73,463 36,409 110.1 206.6 194.9
Total emissions (Location-based) 47,206 86,043 64,793 144.8 241.9
*
346.9
Total emissions (Market-based)
46,962 85,766 64,888 144.1 241.2
*
347.4
*Note the 2024/2025 revenue intensity is based on an extrapolation of full-year revenue for Rowman & Littlefield.
Sustainability partnerships
Woodland Trust
In 2025/2026, we continued our support for organisations working
to preserve our natural environment. Bloomsbury’s donation to
the Woodland Trust supported them in their alliances to save rare
UK temperate rainforests including Buckland Wood in Devon;
creating a haven for threatened species and vital carbon stores.
Throughout the year, the Woodland Trust also acquired 581
hectares (more than 1400 acres) of new woodland and restored
127 square kilometres of damaged woodland.
Surfers Against Sewage
Bloomsbury continues our support of Surfers Against Sewage
(SAS). SAS is a grassroots charity that campaigns to protect the
ocean and to make environmental conservation an exciting
activity for young people, families and communities. Our
donation supports the annual #MillionMileClean #MMC initiative,
which brings volunteers together to tackle plastic pollution across
the UK. The campaign has seen volunteers clean 329,728 miles all
over the UK, removing a total of 72,594kg of rubbish and plastic.
Our donation also supported the charity’s education programmes.
In 2025 26,815 students joined SAS’s Pupil Power Assembly.
www.bloomsbury.com
82
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
www.bloomsbury.com
82
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Our Environment
continued
The focus of Bloomsbury’s risk management process is on
identifying, evaluating and managing risk, with the goal of
supporting the Group in meeting its strategic and operational
objectives. The Group has policies and procedures in place to
ensure that risks are properly identified, evaluated and managed
at the appropriate level within the business. The Group maintains
a comprehensive risk register and assesses all pertinent risks,
including operational, financial, compliance and strategic risks.
The risk assessment is dynamic so includes emerging and retiring
risks as the risk landscape changes. Each risk is monitored and
where necessary updated, using a rating system which seeks to
assess the likelihood and impact of the relevant risks crystallising.
Against this, an assessment is made of the controls that are in
place to mitigate the relevant risk.
Each Division and functional area maintains the risk register in
respect of the risks relevant to that Division or functional area.
The risk register is reviewed on a quarterly basis by Bloomsbury’s
Executive Committee and a report on the internal controls and
assurances that are in place in respect of the risks identified is
submitted to the Audit Committee three times a year.
Further explanation of the Group’s risk management and internal
control framework is provided in the Corporate Governance
section on pages 123 to 124, and is summarised below.
Risk management
Risks facing the business are identified and assessed on a
regular basis
Internal control
Internal controls are designed and deployed to mitigate these
risks to an accepted level
Assurance
Assurance activities assess whether the controls are effective
and risks are mitigated to an acceptable level in practice
The Board
Audit Committee
Executive Committee
Divisional and departmental management
Bloomsbury’s risk management framework is designed to provide
the Board with oversight of the most significant risks faced by the
Group.
The rating of risks takes into account the likelihood of the risks
happening and the potential financial and non-financial impacts
they could have. Risks are rated twice:
A
The first rating is based on the potential exposure if nothing
is done to manage or mitigate the risk, in order to assess the
significance of the risk to the Group’s business and provide a
baseline (“gross risk rating”)
A
The second rating takes into account the measures and
controls in place to manage and mitigate the level and impact
of the risk, and indicates the current status of the risk (“net
risk rating”). This informs decisions about what additional
action may be required to further mitigate the risk, according
to the Company’s risk appetite
The most material risks are those which have a higher probability
and which, if they were to occur, would have a material impact on
the Company’s financial results, strategy, reputation or operations.
These risks are classed as the Group’s principal risks. The Board
receives a comprehensive report on the principal risks of the
Group, and the measures and controls in place to manage those
risks, twice a year. Principal risks, in the context of the macro-
economic, political and legislative environment in which the
Group operates, are discussed by the Executive Committee on
an ongoing basis and individual principal risks are considered by
the Board outside of the bi-annual formal reporting process as
appropriate or necessary from time to time.
Outlined in the table starting on page 85 of this section of the
Annual Report, and shown on the risk heat map on page 84, are
the principal risks to the Group that management has identified.
These risks are included in the table on the basis of the gross
risk rating described above; the actions and controls applied to
mitigate these risks are described alongside each risk. The risk
heat map illustrates the net risk ratings of these risk areas after
mitigation and controls.
Not all the risks listed in the table, starting on page 85 of this
section of the Annual Report, are within management’s control
and other factors besides those listed could also affect the
Group. Actions being taken by management to mitigate risk
factors should be considered in conjunction with the cautionary
statement to Shareholders on page 106 of the Directors’ Report
with regards to forward-looking statements. Details on financial
risk management are given in Note 24.
OverviewOverview
Stock code: BMY
Annual Report and Accounts 2026
83
Stock code: BMY
83
OverviewStrategic Report
Principal Risks and Risk Management
Principal risks
The table on pages 85 to 91 summarises those risks that management considers significant for the Group’s business being risks which have a
higher probability and which, if they were to occur, would have a material impact on our financial results, strategy, reputation or operations,
together with the action taken and controls implemented by management to mitigate these risks. Other risks besides those listed could also
affect the Group and are monitored throughout the year.
The relative net risk ratings of the principal risks (after mitigation and controls) are illustrated schematically in the following chart:
Likelihood
Impact
C
F
D
E
I
G
L
J
K
A
B
H
A
Market
H
Reliance on key
counterparties and
supply chain resilience
B
Importance of
digitalpublishing
I
Talent management
C
Acquisitions
D
Title acquisition
(consumer publishing)
J
Legal and compliance
E
Information and
technologysystems
K
Reputation
F
Financial valuations
L
Cost Inflation
G
Intellectual property
Key to risks:
www.bloomsbury.com
84
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
www.bloomsbury.com
84
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Principal Risks and Risk Management
continued
Risk Risk description Mitigation
A
Market
Changes during
the year
Market volatility: impact of economic
instability, changes in geopolitics or trading
patterns
Economic instability, trade wars and/or inflationary
pressures may lead to changes in consumer demand
for products, impacting revenues and margins.
A
Bloomsbury combines academic and
consumer publishing in different formats
and distributes its products through multiple
channels. In addition, we operate in multiple
countries and sell our products worldwide.
This diversified portfolio and customer base,
creates a level of resilience in respect of
market or country-specific downturns
A
Close monitoring of revenue streams, lists
and channels; range and diversity of our
content; resilience of demand for strong
content
A
Continued focus on promoting Academic &
Professional sales and BDR products
A
Continued focus on acquisition opportunities
to support growth
A
Increased marketing and sales activities
focused on retaining reader engagement
A
Renewed focus on promotion of reading for
pleasure including at key travel points
A
Ongoing focus on expansion in international
markets in order to mitigate against
economic downturn in any particular market
international expansion and penetration
of new markets, in line with Bloomsbury’s
strategic priorities
Increased dependence on internet retailing
Growth of online retailers may impact the
discoverability of Bloomsbury titles and lead to a
reduction in sales channels available to the Group.
A
Grow expert sales and marketing teams
skilled in internet sales
A
Engage with multiple internet retailers and
support independent retailers
A
Focus on promoting sales from the
Company’s own website and on direct sales
to customers
A
Increase focus on developing other
marketing opportunities and other revenue
streams, e.g. academic and professional
digital products, rights and services
Increase No change Reduced
Key
OverviewOverview
Stock code: BMY
Annual Report and Accounts 2026
85
Stock code: BMY
85
OverviewStrategic Report
Risk Risk description Mitigation
A
Market
Changes during
the year
Open Access
Policy changes in the UK, Europe and the US are
accelerating the requirement for publicly funded
scholarly content to be published on an Open Access
basis. As from 1 January 2024, UK Research and
Innovation (UKRI) has mandated that all monographs,
book chapters and edited collections that acknowledge
UKRI funding are to be made Open Access within 12
months of publication. A similar mandate applying to
all monographs submitted to the Research Excellence
Framework (REF) – the UK’s system for assessing the
quality of research in UK higher education institutions
– may follow. If there is not sufficient public funding in
place, then income from UK-originated monographs
that are submitted to the REF may be impacted.
A
Develop digital services that deliver mixed
Open Access and proprietary content in
the form that customers demand and will
continue to pay for
A
Director of Research and Open Access
manages responses to developments
in Open Access publishing and related
mandates to ensure the successful transition
to sustainable Open Access business
models. Business workflow and systems are
in the process of being adapted to ensure
capacity to operate at scale
A
Open Access publishing initiatives are
underway to ensure Bloomsbury is well
placed to continue to serve its UK academic
authors following the adoption of UKRI’s
proposed policy in respect of monographs
from 2024. An example is Bloomsbury Open
Collections, an innovative commercial
Open Access model. Further information on
Bloomsbury Open Collections is available on
our website www.bloomsbury.com.
www.bloomsbury.com
86
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
www.bloomsbury.com
86
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Principal Risks and Risk Management
continued
Risk Risk description Mitigation
B
Importance of
digital publishing
Changes during
the year
BDR product development
Failure to keep pace with market demand for digital
content impacts on revenue and profit.
A
Develop a portfolio of high-quality
online content services in markets we
understand well
A
Use third-party content and content
partnerships to scale up projects more
quickly and create economies of scale
A
Continue to invest in internal resource and
infrastructure to support product pipeline
A
Continue to actively pursue Academic
acquisition opportunities that will support
the scaling up and enhancement of
existing digital products and the creation of
new ones.
Reduced budgets for academic libraries and
institutions may impact revenue.
A
Adoption of flexible sales models where
budgets for annual subscriptions are
restricted
A
Broaden the international institutional
customer base so that the Company is not
reliant on sales in specific territories; during
the year the Company opened Bloomsbury
Singapore, to maximise opportunities
presented by the flourishing academic
environment across the Asia Pacific region
Legislative and other measures taken in certain
US states to restrict access by academic
institutions to certain types of content may
impact on sales
A
Adoption of technological measures to
enable librarians and administrators to
select content according to local and state
regulations
C
Acquisitions
Changes during
the year
M&A activity
Acquisitions could deliver lower-than-expected return
on investment. Poor acquisitions may result in potential
impairment charges.
A
Potential acquisition targets are assessed by
the members of the Executive Committee,
according to strategic and cultural fit.
Thorough pre-acquisition due diligence is
conducted by relevant functions, including
finance, legal, publishing and sales. Capital
allocation for acquisitions is determined at
Group level and approved by the Board.
Integration plans are developed at Divisional
level and are implemented by a cross-
functional team of experts, with Divisional
oversight
A
Regular reports are presented to the Board
throughout the year on post-acquisition
performance, including an assessment of
any variation to the expected return on
investment
OverviewOverview
Stock code: BMY
Annual Report and Accounts 2026
87
Stock code: BMY
87
OverviewStrategic Report
Risk Risk description Mitigation
D
Title acquisition
(Consumer
publishing)
Changes during
the year
Commercial viability
Titles may be acquired that are not commercially, or
critically, successful.
A
Advances over a certain limit are required
to be authorised by the Chief Financial &
Operating Officer
A
Financial forecasts are prepared prior to
acquisition to predict commercial success
A
Focus on acquiring world rights, where
possible, in order to increase sales
opportunities and mitigate the risk posed by
competing editions in open markets
A
Editorial guidelines and policies in place to
guide acquisition decisions
E
Information and
technology systems
Changes during
the year
Cybersecurity/malware attack
Unauthorised access to the Company’s systems
may result in fraud, a data privacy breach, theft of
intellectual property, inability to access, or damage
to, vital systems and assets, thus causing financial and
reputational damage to the Group.
A
Clear governance mechanisms in place which
assign responsibility for systems security and
monitoring, including the establishment of an
Information Security Oversight Committee
A
Implementation of technological security
programmes and controls which are kept
under review and updated to address
evolving cyber threats
A
Maintenance of appropriate information
security and IT acceptable use policies
A
Training provided to all staff on cybersecurity
risk, including regular phishing simulations
A
Appropriate incident response plans in place
which include procedures to recover and
restore data and systems in the event of a
cyber event
Inadequate internal access controls or security
measures
Inadequate controls over certain processes could
lead to sensitive data being, inadvertently, revealed
internally or externally.
A
Sensitive personal data is stored securely
and protected with password controls
or encryption. User access controls are
embedded in the Company’s finance systems
F
Financial
valuations
Changes during
the year
Judgemental valuation of assets and provisions
Significant assets and provisions in the balance sheet
depend on judgemental assumptions, e.g. goodwill,
advances, intangible rights, inventory and returns
provisions.
A
Consistent and evidence-based approach to
assumptions
A
Board approval of key assumptions
www.bloomsbury.com
88
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
www.bloomsbury.com
88
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Principal Risks and Risk Management
continued
Risk Risk description Mitigation
G
Intellectual
property
Changes during
the year
Erosion of copyright
Erosion of traditional copyrights as a result
of developments in law, including legislative
developments.
A
Ongoing policy of support for copyright and
intellectual property rights as a fundamental
facet of publishing; active engagement with
industry bodies including the UK Publishers
Association and the American Association of
Publishers to promote the legal protection
of intellectual property rights and respond
to legal developments, including proposed
legislative measures, relevant to such rights
Erosion of territorial copyrights as a result of
global internet retailing
A
Continue to police infringements of the
Group’s territorial copyrights and take
appropriate action to enforce such rights
Infringement of Group IP by third parties,
including as a result of the development of AI
technologies
Failure to adequately manage and protect the Group’s
intellectual property rights (including trademarks and
copyright) may damage the value of our core assets
and impact on profits.
A
Undertake targeted enforcement action
against third-party infringers, independently
and in cooperation with industry bodies in
the markets in which we operate
A
Implement appropriate digital rights
management protection in respect of ebooks
and digital formats
A
Inclusion of appropriate provisions and
restrictions regarding the use of Bloomsbury’s
proprietary content in contracts with third
parties
A
Actively pursue appropriate AI licensing
opportunities with third parties, to
support a viable licensing ecosystem and
counteract unauthorised use of copyright-
protected works
H
Reliance on key
counterparties;
supply chain
resilience
Changes during
the year
Failure of key partners or breakdown in key
partner relationships; disruption to the supply
chain as a result of external factors e.g.
extreme weather or geopolitical events
The failure of key partners could result in a significant
disruption to the Group’s business activities, resulting
in lower levels of trading and revenues.
The Group’s ability to meet customer demand for print
products depends on timely supply from our printing
partners. This may be impacted by the availability of
raw materials (e.g. paper pulp) and ongoing global
supply chain disruption.
A breakdown in key commercial relationships could
impact future publishing opportunities.
A
Relationships with key partners are closely
monitored and actively managed by senior
managers. This includes frequent and
regular engagement with such parties and
their representatives where relevant in
order to ensure open communication and
cooperation, and to identify potential issues
that may impact on the Company’s business
at the earliest opportunity. Other mitigations
include having appropriate contracts and
service level agreements in place, and
interrogating the business continuity plans of
key partners
A
Regular review of global supply chain
resilience by a cross-functional Supply Chain
Working Group to ensure proactive steps
are implemented to mitigate supply chain
risks and prioritise supply of print titles;
the Group’s formal risk register documents
specific, critical supplier risks and associated
mitigation and resilience plans, which are
kept under regular review
A
Ongoing diversification of supplier base
A
Increased local printing to mitigate shipping
delays and disruptions
OverviewOverview
Stock code: BMY
Annual Report and Accounts 2026
89
Stock code: BMY
89
OverviewStrategic Report
Risk Risk description Mitigation
I
Talent
management and
retention
Changes during
the year
Failure to attract and retain key talent and create an
inclusive and supportive environment in which the
Group’s employees can thrive
Inability to recruit individuals with the necessary
skills and experience could impact Bloomsbury’s
performance and ability to innovate and grow.
Loss of key talent could lead to loss of skill and
knowledge from the business, result in decreased
efficiency, impact staff motivation and undermine
external relationships.
A
Ongoing employee engagement measures
to improve employee experience and
organisational culture; more information on
these measures is set out on pages 48 to 51
of this Annual Report
A
Continued focus on employee development
through training and mentoring programmes
for early and mid-career employees
A
Provision of executive coaching for
senior staff
A
Ongoing Employee Voice Programme,
allowing every employee to have their voice
heard directly by senior management and
the Board. HR initiatives are implemented in
response to matters raised during Employee
Voice Meetings
A
Formal appraisal system provides the
opportunity to identify learning and
development opportunities to support career
progression and succession planning#
A
Ongoing monitoring and tailoring of
remuneration and benefit schemes to attract
and motivate the best talent at appropriate
levels of cost
A
Ongoing focus on fostering an inclusive
culture, which supports the promotion of a
diverse workforce with the benefits which
diversity of skills, experience, backgrounds
and thought bring in respect of the delivery
of the Group’s strategic objectives
A
Global staff turnover by Division and
functional area is reported to the Executive
Committee and monitored against agreed
thresholds
J
Legal and
compliance
Changes during
the year
Breach of key contracts by the Company
Breach of a key contract by the Company could result
in a claim for damages and/or termination of the
contract by the relevant counterparty, resulting in
financial loss to the Group.
A
Relevant individuals within the business
who are engaged in activities which relate
to, or are governed by, key contracts, are
made aware of the terms of such contracts.
Legal advice is sought from the Group’s
legal function where appropriate to ensure
performance by the Company in accordance
with contractual terms
Inadequate regulatory compliance
Failure to comply with regulations relating to the
reporting of annual financial reports may lead to a
range of sanctions including fines, imprisonment,
reputational damage and delisting.
A
Annual Report and Accounts is reviewed,
internally, by the Head of Group Finance and
the Chief Financial & Operating Officer, and,
externally, by the Group’s appointed Auditor.
Material balances are tested in accordance
with relevant standards. The Group Company
Secretary advises on content requirements
under relevant regulation/legislation
www.bloomsbury.com
90
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
www.bloomsbury.com
90
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Principal Risks and Risk Management
continued
Risk Risk description Mitigation
J
Legal and
compliance
Changes during
the year
A
Mitigation in respect of the risk of a data
breach is noted above in connection with
Information Technology and Systems
A
Since the introduction of the General Data
Protection Regulation (“GDPR”), which
came into force in May 2018, the Company
has implemented a range of measures to
ensure compliance with the requirements of
GDPR. These include the implementation
of policies and guidance in key areas, the
provision of training to employees, reviewing
and updating the Company’s data collection
methods and marketing communications,
updating supplier terms and conditions, and
updating privacy policies on the Company’s
websites. The Company has appointed a
Data Protection Officer to oversee GDPR
compliance
Failure to comply with laws and regulations
relevant to the Groups products and services
may impact on sales
A
Ongoing monitoring of legislative and
regulatory developments which affect the
Group’s products and services by the Group’s
Legal Department; external specialist advice
is sought as required
A
Cross-functional working groups and
steering committees established to address
the measures required to respond to
specific relevant legislative and regulatory
developments including any changes which
may be required to the Group’s supply chain
in respect of particular products and services
K
Reputation
Changes during
the year
Investor confidence
City confidence undermined by events outside of the
Company’s control, e.g. collapse of a retailer, failure of
or non-performance by a key partner.
A
Diversify the Company’s portfolio of products
and services to reduce dependencies on
individual customers, suppliers, partners,
sales channels and markets
A
Active dialogue with its institutional
Shareholders and City analysts through a
planned programme of investor relations
L
Cost inflation
Changes during
the year
Print supply and distribution costs; staff costs
Increased production and distribution costs resulting
from disruption to the supply chain, or increases to
energy prices and raw materials could impact on
margin and achievement of the Group’s financial
targets.
Increased staff costs as a result of inflation or legislative
changes.
A
Long-term contracts with key suppliers to
manage and mitigate cost increases; active
price management of Bloomsbury products
to recover incremental costs; diversification of
supplier base; ongoing monitoring
A
Staff costs are managed as part of the
Group’s budgeting process and discretionary
annual salary reviews
OverviewOverview
Stock code: BMY
Annual Report and Accounts 2026
91
Stock code: BMY
91
OverviewStrategic Report
Risk watchlist
Climate risk and sustainability
Climate change, and the interventions of governments around
the world which are aimed at reducing greenhouse gases, could
present risks to our operations, supply chains and business model
in the future. Adverse impacts of climate change could include
physical (weather-related) risks, as well as transitional risks such
as increased regulation, increases in fossil fuel prices, changing
consumer behaviour and increases to the cost of raw materials.
In addition, the failure of the Group to respond to increasing
stakeholder and societal expectations for companies to respond
to climate change with action to reduce the environmental impact
of their operations, may result in reputational damage and the
failure to attract and retain talent.
The Group has set emission reduction targets for Scopes 1, 2 and
3, which have been validated by the SBTi. Information on our
targets and sustainability measures can be found on pages 59 to
82 of this Annual Report.
Go to pages 59 to 75 of this Annual Report for information on
how we assess and manage climate-related risks, and for the
Company’s disclosures in line with the recommendations of the
Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures.
Geopolitical events
The ongoing conflict in the Middle East has led to higher fuel
and energy costs, increasing the risk of broader price inflation,
in particular in respect of the Group’s distribution costs related
to freight, although freight is a relatively small proportion of
the Group’s overall distribution costs. Management continues
to monitor the situation, and such inflationary pressures are
considered and provided for as part of the Group’s budgeting
and re-forecasting process.
Viability statement and going concern assessment
Provision 31 of the 2024 UK Corporate Governance Code requires
the Board to assess the viability of the Group over a period,
significantly, longer than 12 months from the date the financial
statements are approved. The Board of Directors confirms that it
has carried out a robust assessment of the principal and emerging
risks facing the Group, including those that would threaten its
business model, future performance, solvency or liquidity.
Management prepares five-year plans for the Group. Projections
for the first three years of the plan are based on the anticipated
performance of future, new publishing, online platforms and
other income pipelines, as well as sales of backlist titles. There is
inherently less certainty in the fourth and fifth years.
The Board, therefore, concludes that three years is an appropriate
period for the viability statement.
The Group’s principal risks (see pages 85 to 91 of this Annual
Report) and its approach to managing them have been taken into
account for the purposes of assessing viability, both in connection
with the period covered by the viability statement and longer
term. We have evaluated all the principal risks above and focused
our sensitivity analysis on the areas the Board believes to be the
key risks to viability:
A
Market volatility
A
Increased dependence on internet retailing
A
Reliance on key counterparties
A
Inflation
We have developed plausible downside scenarios for each
of these risk areas and quantified the impact on the Group’s
revenue, profit and cashflows. All scenarios modelled significant
impact on print revenues, as well as delayed customer payments.
The analysis took account of the Group’s current funding, forecast
requirements and existing banking facilities.
The severe, but plausible, downside scenario assumes:
A
Print revenues are reduced by 20% during 2026/2027, with
recovery during 2027/2028;
A
Digital revenues are reduced by 10-20% during 2026/2027,
with recovery during 2027/2028;
A
Print costs are increased by 2% from 2026/2027, distribution
costs increased by 5% from 2026/2027, staff costs are
increased by 2% from 2027/2028;
A
Downside assumptions about extended debtor days during
2026/2027, with recovery during 2027/2028;
A
Cash preservation measures implemented and variable costs
reduced.
Under this severe, but plausible, downside scenario, the Group
has sufficient liquidity to be able to manage these downside
assumptions.
Through this analysis, the Board concludes that the Group does
not face a risk to longer-term viability, except in the event of
remote combinations of material events.
The Board has a reasonable expectation that the Group has
adequate resources to continue in operation for at least 12
months from the date of approval of the financial statements,
being the period of the detailed going concern assessment
reviewed by the Board, and, therefore, continues to adopt the
going concern basis of accounting in preparing the annual
financial statements.
The Board has a reasonable expectation that the Group will be
able to continue in operation and meet its liabilities as they fall
due over the period to 28 February 2029.
www.bloomsbury.com
92
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
www.bloomsbury.com
92
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Principal Risks and Risk Management
continued
Stock code: BMY
Annual Report and Accounts 2026
93
Chairman’s Introduction to Corporate
Governance
94
Members of the Board 96
Executive Committee 99
Governance at a glance 102
Directors’ Report 103
Corporate Governance Report 108
Nomination Committee Report 115
Audit Committee Report 120
Directors’ Remuneration Report 125
Governance
On behalf of the Board, I am pleased to introduce the Corporate Governance Report for
Bloomsbury’s financial year ending 28 February 2026. The aim of this report is to explain
Bloomsbury’s Corporate Governance Framework and how it was applied in the year under
review.
Compliance with the 2024 UK Corporate
Governance Code
This year, the Company is reporting against the UK Corporate
Governance Code published in January 2024 (the “Code”),
which applies to accounting periods beginning on or after
1 January 2025, save for Provision 29 concerning the monitoring
and review of the effectiveness of the risk management
and internal control framework. However, during the year,
preparations were made to ensure that the Company will fully
comply with Provision 29 from the financial year commencing
1 March 2026, the first year that Provision 29 applies in respect of
the Company. The Code is published on the Financial Reporting
Council’s (“FRC”) website at www.frc.org.uk.
During the year, the Board has continued to monitor compliance
with the 2024 Code. This Corporate Governance Report and the
Strategic Report set out how the Company has applied the Code
principles and adhered to Code provisions throughout the year.
The Board believes that for the financial year ended
28 February 2026, the Company has complied with all applicable
principles and provisions of the Code, save in respect of the
following provisions:
A
Provision 24 states that the Board should establish an audit
committee of Independent Non-executive Directors, with
a minimum membership of three, or in the case of smaller
companies, two. The Chairman of the Board should not
be a member. During the year ending 28 February 2025,
the Company moved into the FTSE250 index and from
1 March 2025 became subject to the minimum membership
requirement of three Non-Executive Directors. To provide
continuity, and pending the appointment of a new Non-
Executive Director, the Board considered it appropriate for
the Chairman of the Board to stay on the Committee until
such appointment took place. The Chairman stood down
from the Committee upon Dame Heather Rabbatts joining
both the Board and the Committee on 14 April 2025.
A
Provision 33 states that the Remuneration Committee should
have delegated responsibility for setting remuneration
for senior management. The Committee believes that the
Executive Directors are best placed to assess the appropriate
level of remuneration of senior managers based on their
performance and contribution to the Company’s success and
on the Executive Directors’ knowledge of market rates of
pay, and Executive Directors therefore remain responsible for
remuneration for senior management. The Board considers
that this delegation to the Executive Directors is appropriate.
However, the Remuneration Committee continues to retain
its oversight function in respect of the remuneration of senior
managers and remains responsible for approving the granting
and vesting of share incentives.
Sustainability
Sustainability remains vital to Bloomsbury’s strategy. The Board
as a whole has oversight of the implementation of sustainability
initiatives and progress against our carbon reduction targets.
Bloomsbury continues to make progress in improving the quality
of the data used in the calculation of its emissions. Detailed
information on the Group’s environmental performance during
the year is set out on pages 76 to 82 of this Annual Report. I am
delighted to say that we have achieved a reduction for the year in
respect of Scopes 1 and 2 that significantly exceeds our targets.
We have set a Scope 3 target to achieve a 20% reduction in
emissions across our supply chain by 2035.
Bloomsbury continues to make disclosures in line with the
recommendations under the Taskforce on Climate-Related
Financial Disclosures (“TCFD”). The full TCFD Report can be
found on pages 59 to 75 of this Annual Report. This describes
the Group’s compliance with TCFD recommendations and, where
www.bloomsbury.com
94
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Chairman’s Introduction to
Corporate Governance
John Bason - Non-Executive Chairman
the Group partially complies, our plans to improve our reporting
towards full disclosure.
Stakeholder engagement
The Board believes that the manner in which it conducts its
business is important and it is committed to maintaining the
highest standards of corporate governance, which underpin
Bloomsbury’s ability to deliver long-term value and success for the
benefit of all of its stakeholders. The Board is mindful of its duties
to stakeholders under section 172 of the Companies Act 2006.
More detail on how the Board has discharged its duties under
section 172 to promote the success of the Company, having
regard to the Company’s key stakeholders as part of its decision-
making, can be found on page 37 of this Annual Report.
Purpose, values and culture
The Board has a responsibility to assess and monitor
Bloomsbury’s culture and ensure that a desired culture is
embedded throughout the Group. The Board believes that an
engaged and committed workforce is integral to the achievement
of Bloomsbury’s strategic ambitions, and a positive culture
underpins this. The Company’s values guide the workforce as they
pursue the delivery of Bloomsbury’s strategy and the Board seeks
to support and promote these values.
The Board is kept informed on key employee matters including
how the Company invests in its workforce and how the workforce
is rewarded, with regular updates on such matters from the Chief
Executive and the Group Director of People and Engagement.
The results of workforce surveys carried out by the Company are
presented to the Board, to allow for a discussion of any areas
which such surveys may indicate require further attention. The
Board also receives reports on Employee Voice Meetings, which
are part of the Company’s employee engagement programme,
and on actions arising as a result. All Board members have the
opportunity to attend Employee Voice Meetings themselves in
order to hear directly from the Company’s employees on matters
of importance to them. More details on Bloomsbury’s culture,
including employee engagement can be found on page 42 and
pages 48 to 51 of this Annual Report.
Diversity and Inclusion
The Board recognises the benefits that diversity in all its forms
can bring to the effectiveness of Board decision-making. This also
applies to the Company’s workforce. The Nomination Committee
supports the Board in overseeing the Company’s related policies
and initiatives. Further information can be found on pages 52 to
55 of this Annual Report.
Board performance review
For 2025/2026 I led an internal process to facilitate a review of the
Board’s performance that concluded shortly after the end of the
financial year. This looked at the effectiveness of the Board, its
Committees and each individual Director. It concluded that all the
Directors were contributing effectively, that the Board functioned
well as a team and that together with the Board Committees,
its governance was appropriate. Further detail on the Board’s
performance review is given on page 113 of this Annual Report.
Board changes
Dame Heather Rabbatts was appointed to the Board on
14 April 2025 as a Non-Executive Director and Keith Underwood
joined the Board on 2 February 2026 as Chief Financial &
Operating Officer when Penny Scott-Bayfield, our Chief Financial
Officer, retired from the Board.
On 14 April 2026, Jenny Ridout, the Managing Director of the
Global Academic & Professional Division, was appointed an
Executive Director and on 19 May 2026 Chris Blatchford was
appointed to the Board as a Non-Executive Director, in each
case subject to election by Shareholders at the Company’s 2026
Annual General Meeting.
Baroness Lola Young will retire from the Board at the conclusion
of the 2026 AGM.
Executive Committee changes
During the year, the Executive Committee undertook a review
of Bloomsbury’s structure. In April 2026, we announced the
streamlining of Bloomsbury’s operating model to enhance agility
and accountability, strengthen international reach, and accelerate
the Company’s growth strategy.
The new structure will come into effect on 1st June 2026.
The remit of Jenny Ridout, Global Managing Director of
Academic & Professional, expands to include A&P Sales,
Marketing and Publicity, Rights and Audio in the UK and rest of
World.
Sabrina McCarthy, President of Bloomsbury USA, continues to
lead US Consumer and now also assumes responsibility for US
Academic & Professional Sales and Marketing, Rights and Audio
activity while aligning with Jenny Ridout’s global publishing
strategy for Academic & Professional.
Kathleen Farrar will become the Managing Director of UK
Consumer, with responsibility for all editorial reporting across
Consumer and Special Interest, along with Sales and Marketing,
Rights and Audio for those Divisions. Ian Hudson will retire
from his permanent role with Bloomsbury, but will continue to
advise the Company as a consultant, contributing to longer term
strategic planning.
Vafa Payman will join the Executive Committee in his new role as
Managing Director, APAC and Corporate Development, reflecting
the importance of our international growth ambitions.
John Bason
Chairman of the Board
Stock code: BMY
Annual Report and Accounts 2026
95
OverviewGovernance
John Bason
Non-Executive Chairman
Appointed as Non-Executive Director:
1 April 2022
Appointed Non-Executive Chairman
16 July 2024
N
R
John Bason joined the Board as a Non-
Executive Director on 1 April 2022 and
became Chairman of the Board and Chair
of the Nomination Committee at the
conclusion of the 2024 Annual General
Meeting.
John is a Chartered Accountant with
a wealth of experience from a 40-year
career in international business. He was
Finance Director of Associated British
Foods plc from May 1999 until April
2023. He was formerly a Non-Executive
Director and Senior Independent Director
at Compass Group plc, Chair of the
UK’s leading food redistribution charity,
FareShare and Honorary Treasurer of
Voluntary Service Overseas.
He is an Independent Non-Executive
Director and Chair of the Audit
Committee at SSE plc, Chair of the
Strategic Advisory Board of Primark
and of the UK Deposit Management
Organisation Limited.
Nigel Newton CBE
Founder and Chief Executive
Appointed: 11 May 1986
N
Nigel Newton is the founder of
Bloomsbury Publishing. He was born and
raised in San Francisco. He read English
at Selwyn College, Cambridge and
after working at Macmillan Publishers,
he joined Sidgwick & Jackson. He left
Sidgwick in 1986 to start Bloomsbury
Publishing with three other publishers.
Bloomsbury floated on the London
Stock Exchange in 1994 and has grown
organically and through acquisitions.
Nigel was appointed Commander of the
Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the
2021 New Year Honours for services to the
publishing industry.
He was President of the Publishers
Association.
He serves as President of Book Aid
International, a Member of the Advisory
Committee of Cambridge University
Library, and as a Trustee of the Victoria
and Albert Museum. In 2020, he was
awarded The LBF Lifetime Achievement
Award 2020 and became an Honorary
Fellow of Selwyn College, Cambridge.
He has previously served as a member
of the Booker Prize Advisory Committee,
Chairman of the Charleston Trust, Chair
of World Book Day, Board member of the
US-UK Fulbright Commission, member
of the Publishers Association Council,
Trustee of the International Institute for
Strategic Studies and Chairman of the
British Library Trust.
Keith Underwood
Chief Financial & Operating Officer
Appointed: 2 February 2026
Keith joined Bloomsbury from Guardian
Media Group (GMG) where he was Chief
Financial and Operating Officer, and
also Interim CEO. He joined GMG in
June 2020 as an Executive Member of
the Board with responsibility for financial
stewardship, operational performance
and helping to shape the strategic
direction of the group. More specifically,
this involved functional management
of Finance, Investments, Technology,
Legal, Sustainability and Operational
Transformation and Delivery, with P&L
responsibility for Publishing, Jobs, and
Licensing. Before GMG, Keith worked
at Channel 4 as Chief Financial and
Operating Officer, and spent more
than eight years on the Executive
Committee. Prior to joining Channel 4,
he was employed by Discovery Networks
International, Sky and PwC in a variety of
leadership roles.
Keith is a Chartered Accountant. Keith
is also a Board member of Digital
Catapult, a digital technology innovation
organisation which helps businesses grow
by applying advanced digital technology.
He has previously served as Chairman of
Freeview and a Board Director of Digital
UK and YouView.
A
Audit Committee
N
Nomination Committee
R
Remuneration Committee
Chair of Committee
KEY
www.bloomsbury.com
96
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Members of the Board
Jenny Ridout
Global Managing Director, Academic and
Professional Division
Appointed: 14 April 2026
Jenny joined Bloomsbury in 2004. In
addition to leading the Academic and
Professional Division, which includes
Bloomsbury Digital Resources, Jenny is
the executive group sponsor for Artificial
Intelligence and a member of the
Publishers Association AI Taskforce.
Jenny assumed the role of Managing
Director of the Academic and Professional
Division in 2020 upon the retirement of
her predecessor, and former Executive
Director, Jonathan Glasspool. In her role,
Jenny has overseen the integration of
a number of strategic acquisitions for
the Group, including most recently, the
acquisition of the Rowman & Littlefield
academic publishing business.
Jenny has many years of experience
in Digital Resource publishing, being
responsible for the creation and rapid
growth of Drama Online as Project
Director, for which she won the
Futurebook Digital Achiever industry
award. Jenny was previously the Editorial
Director for the Methuen Drama and
Arden Shakespeare lists.
Jenny started her career in publishing at
Elsevier (RELX), where she was the global
Publishing Director for the specialist
trade and professional media imprint,
Focal Press.
Jenny is also a Board Trustee for Yale
University Press London and a member
of the Industry Advisory Board for the
publishing course at Oxford Brookes
University.
Leslie-Ann Reed
Senior Independent Director
Appointed: 17 July 2019
A
N
R
Leslie-Ann Reed joined the Bloomsbury
Board in July 2019. She is a Chartered
Accountant with a wealth of Non-
Executive and Audit Committee
Chair experience and in March 2025,
she was the winner in the FTSE AIM
category at the Non-Executive Director
Awards. Leslie-Ann is the Senior
Independent Non-Executive Director
and Audit Committee Chair of Frontier
Developments plc. In addition, she is an
Independent Non-Executive Director
at the private equity backed companies
Leopard Jersey Topco Limited and Nido
Holdco UK GP Ltd, where she is also Chair
of the Audit Committee. Leslie-Ann was
formerly a Non- Executive Director at the
London-listed publisher Quarto Group Inc
and Vice Chair of the Supervisory Board
and Chair of the Audit Committee of the
German-listed company ZEAL Networks
SE. She was Chief Financial Officer of the
B2B media group Metal Bulletin plc and
the online auctioneer Go Industry plc.
She has also held senior finance roles in
various media and professional services
companies, namely Universal Pictures,
Polygram Music, EMI Music and Warner
Communications Inc.
Baroness Lola Young of Hornsey
Independent Non-Executive Director
Appointed: 1 January 2021
A
N
R
Baroness Lola Young of Hornsey is
a former actor, professor of Cultural
Studies, and Head of Culture at the
Greater London Authority. She has written
and broadcast extensively on a wide
range of cultural issues, mainly on the
subject of diversity and culture in the arts
and creative industries sector, along with
a childhood memoir. She has served on
the Boards of several national cultural
organisations, including the National
Theatre and the Southbank Centre,
as well as serving as a Commissioner
for Historic England. Baroness Young
has chaired the Caine Prize for African
Writing, the Orange Prize for Women’s
Fiction, the Ondaatje Prize for writing and
the Man Booker Prize. Recognised for
her work on equality and diversity in the
heritage sector with the award of an OBE
in 2001, Baroness Young was appointed
an independent Crossbench member of
the House of Lords in 2004. She is widely
known for her contribution to creating
legislation to eliminate modern slavery,
founding the All-Party Parliamentary
Groups on Ethics and Sustainability in
Fashion, and on Sport, Modern Slavery
and Human Rights. An elected Honorary
Fellow of the Royal Society for Literature,
Baroness Young is Co-Chair of the
Foundation for Future London, Chancellor
of the University of Nottingham, a Non-
Executive Director for Futerra Limited and
a Trustee of the Conduit Foundation.
Stock code: BMY
Annual Report and Accounts 2026
97
OverviewGovernance
Maya Abu-Deeb
Group General Counsel and Company
Secretary
Maya Abu-Deeb is a qualified solicitor
and joined Bloomsbury in 2008 as General
Counsel. Maya is responsible for all legal
advice to the Company, and manages the
legal and contracts teams at Bloomsbury.
She is also Company Secretary and Group
Data Protection Officer, assuming these
roles in 2019. Prior to joining Bloomsbury,
Maya was in private practice for ten years,
specialising in commercial, media and
intellectual property law, and advising
in respect of both contentious and non-
contentious matters.
Maya read Oriental Studies at St John’s
College, Oxford, before completing the
Common Professional Exam and Legal
Practice Course at the College of Law in
London.
Chris Blatchford
Independent Non-Executive Director
A
N
Appointed 19 May 2026
Chris Blatchford is a senior technology
and digital executive with extensive
experience leading technology, product,
engineering, data and operational
transformation across large international
retail and consumer businesses. He
currently holds a senior leadership role at
Kingfisher plc, where he is responsible for
major areas of the Group technology and
digital portfolio spanning eCommerce,
marketplaces, AI, cybersecurity, cloud
platforms, store technology and
enterprise systems.
Chris has led large-scale transformation
and modernisation programmes across
multiple European markets, including
the evolution of digital commerce
platforms, omnichannel retail capabilities,
enterprise data platforms, AI initiatives
and operational resilience programmes.
He has also played a key role in the
development of technology operating
models, engineering capability growth
and international delivery organisations.
Prior to his current role, Chris held
senior technology and transformation
leadership positions across a range of
industries, working in complex, fast-paced
environments with significant operational
scale. His experience spans retail,
academic publishing, digital commerce,
supply chain, infrastructure, enterprise
technology and customer platforms,
with a focus on balancing strategic
transformation with practical delivery and
operational performance.
Dame Heather Rabbatts
Independent Non-Executive Director
Appointed: 14 April 2025
A
N
R
Dame Heather Rabbatts’ career spans
law, government, sport, and media.
She began her career as a lawyer, then
became a government advisor and the
youngest CEO of a local authority. She
subsequently moved into media with
executive roles at Channel 4, and then
independent film and TV production.
Heather is the Interim Executive Chair
of M&C Saatchi Group plc and Senior
Independent Director at Associated
British Foods plc. She chairs Soho Theatre
and the talent management and TV/Film
production company, 42 M&P Ltd, and
is an independent film producer. She
co-founded Times Up UK to promote safe
working environments across Film, TV
and Theatre. She has been on the boards
of Grosvenor Britain & Ireland, the Royal
Opera House and the BBC, and was the
first woman and person of colour on the
Board of the FA in 150 years.
A
Audit Committee
N
Nomination Committee
R
Remuneration Committee
Chair of Committee
KEY
www.bloomsbury.com
98
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Members of the Board
continued
Ian Hudson
Managing Director, Consumer Division
(to 1 June 2026)
Ian Hudson joined Bloomsbury in January
2021 as Managing Director of the
Consumer Division, which includes the
Adult, Children’s and, since October 2025,
Special Interest sub-divisions. Ian is a
hugely experienced publishing leader and
his focus is on developing and executing
new strategies to profitably grow the
Consumer Division.
Prior to joining Bloomsbury, Ian was
a member of the Supervisory Board
of global media group Bertelsmann,
a member of the Global Executive
Committee of Penguin Random House
and Global CEO of Dorling Kindersley
Publishing.
Ian began his career at magazine
publisher Marshall Cavendish,
subsequently joining Random House
in 1992 where he went on to hold the
role of Group Commercial Director
before becoming Managing Director of
Random House Children’s Books. With
the merger of Random House and
Transworld in 1998, Ian became Group
Managing Director and Chairman of
TBS Distribution and joined the Random
House Global Board. He was a member of
the Bertelsmann team, which negotiated
the Penguin Random House merger in
2012/2013. Post-merger, he sat on the
Global Executive Committee of Penguin
Random House and was appointed to
the roles of CEO of Penguin Random
House International and Deputy CEO of
Penguin Random House UK. Once the
global integration of the two companies
was completed, Ian was appointed Global
CEO of Dorling Kindersley.
Ian is a former President of the UK
Publishers Association and was until June
2025, a Non-Executive Director of Which?
Ian will stand down from his role on the
Executive Committee on 31 May 2026,
but will continue to advise Bloomsbury
as a consultant after he retires from
Bloomsbury at the end of June. From
1 June 2026, Kathleen Farrar will assume
the role of Managing Director of
Bloomsbury Consumer UK.
Nigel Newton CBE
Founder and Chief Executive
Nigel’s biographical details are set out on
page 96 of this Annual Report.
Maya Abu-Deeb
Group General Counsel and Company
Secretary
Maya’s biographical details are set out on
page 98 of this Annual Report.
Keith Underwood
Chief Financial & Operating Officer
Keith’s biographical details are set out on
page 96 of this Annual Report.
Jenny Ridout
Global Managing Director, Academic and
Professional Division
Jenny’s biographical details are set out on
page 97 of this Annual Report.
Stock code: BMY
Annual Report and Accounts 2026
99
OverviewGovernance
Executive Committee
Sabrina McCarthy
President, Bloomsbury Publishing USA
Sabrina McCarthy is President of
Bloomsbury Publishing USA and joined
Bloomsbury in April 2024 from Ingram
Publisher Services where she was Vice
President and General Manager leading
domestic and international sales, digital
strategy, client services, and the business
operations team. She brings a wealth
of experience of trade and academic
publishing to her role.
Sabrina began her career as the fifth
employee of the Perseus Books Group
where she went on to become the
President of Perseus Distribution client
services and then the Senior Vice
President of Sales overseeing sales and
inventory planning. Sabrina was featured
in Publisher’s Weekly’s “50 under 40”
Rising Star highlights in 2008. She holds
an MBA from New York University’s Stern
School of Business and is currently on the
Board of Directors for the Association of
American Publishers.
Karl Burnett
Group Director of People and
Engagement
Karl previously worked at Hearst Networks
EMEA, where he was Senior Vice
President of Human Resources EMEA.
Over eight years he oversaw huge cultural
change for the Company’s 300+ staff,
articulating Hearst Networks EMEA future
direction and purpose. Through extensive
consultation with employees, Karl and
his team forged the network’s vision and
mission. The company won the media
journal Broadcast’s award for Best Places
to Work in TV in 2018 and was shortlisted
in the Most Inclusive Company of the
Year category in the IABM awards, hosted
by the industry body in 2021. In 2022,
the company achieved the prestigious
accolade of Great Place to Work
certification.
Before joining Hearst Networks EMEA
in 2015, Karl was HR Director of BBC
News and Radio, heading a team of
60 professionals responsible for 8,000
journalists around the world. Prior to that,
Karl held senior HR roles at Nickelodeon
and Channel 4 Television.
Kathleen Farrar
Managing Director, Group Sales and
Marketing (to 31 May 2026)
Kathleen Farrar is Managing Director
of Group Sales and Marketing across
Bloomsbury’s global divisions and
territories. She has over 25 years’
experience working across lead brands
for Bloomsbury including the Harry
Potter series and Sarah J. Maas titles.
Kathleen has previously held Executive
Committee sponsor roles, most recently
for Sustainability.
Kathleen joined Bloomsbury in December
1998 as International Sales Manager and
quickly rose to be the youngest member
of Bloomsbury’s Executive Team. She
began her publishing career working
in leading independent bookstores
in Sydney, Australia before moving to
Allen & Unwin as Sales and Promotions
Manager. She has held a number of
senior sales and marketing roles at
Bloomsbury including Managing Director
of Bloomsbury Australia based in Sydney.
In January 2013 she returned to the UK
to take up the position of Group Sales
and Marketing Director, responsible for
global sales, operations and marketing
for the four Bloomsbury Divisions, across
print and digital. In 2019 Kathleen set up
the Audio Division at Bloomsbury leading
significant digital audio growth for the
Company.
Following the retirement of Ian Hudson,
Kathleen Farrar will become Managing
Director, Bloomsbury Consumer UK, with
responsibility for all editorial reporting
across Consumer and Special Interest
including Adult and Children’s along with
Sales, Marketing and Publicity, Rights and
Audio for those divisions.
www.bloomsbury.com
100
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Executive Committee
continued
Stephen Esson
Group Production Director
Stephen joined Bloomsbury on
1 October 2023 as Bloomsbury’s
Group Production Director. Stephen
is passionate about books having
produced them for 42 years. He delights
in the operational and commercial
challenges of doing so, domestically and
globally, against a backdrop of constant
technological change and development.
Prior to joining Bloomsbury, Stephen was
Group Publishing Operations Director and
Executive Committee member of Penguin
Random House UK, an organisation
that he was with, in its various forms,
for 37 years. He was responsible for a
divisionally focused central operational
department of 90+ encompassing print
and ebook production and inventory
management and oversaw a global supply
chain. He was also production advisor
and negotiator for the PRH companies in
India, Australia and South Africa.
Over the years, Stephen initiated the first
print-on-demand (POD) programme for
consumer publishing, introduced “just-
in-time” printing to reduce inventory and
stock write-offs, headed the development
of the Biblio publishing management
system which is now the most used
software in the industry, successfully
influenced paper suppliers and printers
to manufacture one million books free for
World Book Day, and led Random House
to become the first publishing house to
gain Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)
Certification.
Vafa Payman
Managing Director of APAC and
Corporate Development
Vafa joins the Executive Committee on
1 June in support of Bloomsbury’s growth
ambitions. He is responsible for its APAC
regional structure, bringing together
Australia, India, Singapore and the
company’s joint venture in China under
unified leadership, and Group M&A and
corporate development.
Vafa joined Bloomsbury in 2011. He was
appointed the Director of the Information
Division in 2015, and then the Managing
Director of Bloomsbury Content Services,
responsible for large-scale, multi-year
publishing, management and content
services provided to governments,
institutions and corporations. More
recently, Vafa led Bloomsbury’s M&A
activities including the acquisition of ABC-
CLIO, Red Globe Press and Rowman and
Littlefield’s academic publishing business.
He also established Bloomsbury’s
partnership in China, and has overseen
Bloomsbury India since 2020.
Before joining Bloomsbury, Vafa was
Director of New Media and Video at
Oxford University Press and has worked
across publishing, financial services and
software industries in the UK and USA.
Stock code: BMY
Annual Report and Accounts 2026
101
Overview
Governance
Corporate Governance Framework
Board
The Board provides leadership and governance for the Company, generating value for Shareholders and contributing to wider society. It
establishes Bloomsbury’s purpose, values and strategy. It oversees the execution of the strategy, including the strategy for reducing the
environmental impact of Bloomsbury’s business and addressing climate risk, along with the overall management, control and performance
of business in order to promote the long-term sustainable success of the Group. The Board is involved in ensuring that the Company’s
strategy reflects the Company’s values, and monitors organisational culture to ensure that these values are driving the appropriate
behaviour, and that the desired culture is embedded. The Board establishes appropriate risk management and internal control procedures,
and determines the risk appetite for the Company. Certain matters are reserved for the Board’s approval, with others being delegated to
Board Committees or to the Company’s Executive Committee as appropriate. These are set out in the Schedule of Matters Reserved to the
Board and Committee Terms of Reference, and are available on the Company’s website (www.bloomsbury-ir.co.uk).
Audit Committee
A
Monitors the integrity of financial
statements and narrative reporting;
A
Monitors and reviews the
effectiveness of the internal audit
function;
A
Monitors internal financial and
operational controls, including the
work of the Internal Auditor;
A
Oversees risk management;
A
Reviews the External Auditor’s
independence and leads the audit
tender process; and
A
Reviews the effectiveness of the
external audit process.
Nomination Committee
A
Reviews the structure, size and
composition of the Board;
A
Considers the Board’s existing
skills and experience;
A
Considers the appointment of
new Directors and oversees
succession planning, and makes
recommendations to the Board in
respect of such matters;
A
Recommends to the Board:
–
suitable candidates for the
role of Senior Independent
Director and for Committee
membership;
–
whether to reappoint Non-
Executive Directors after the
conclusion of their specified
term in office; and
–
whether existing Directors
should stand for annual re-
election at the AGM.
A
Oversees policy and strategy
regarding workforce diversity and
inclusion; and
A
Oversees Director induction,
monitoring conflicts, time
commitments, training and
performance of Board members.
Remuneration Committee
A
Determines the remuneration and
benefits of Executive Directors
and the Chairman, including
setting the Remuneration Policy,
shareholding requirements and,
where appropriate, the operation
of any scale and clawback of
remuneration outcomes;
A
Monitors the remuneration of
senior managers;
A
Oversees workforce pay and
benefit practices and policies; and
A
Approves the targets and
design of performance-related
remuneration schemes and share
incentive plans and whether each
year, such awards will be made.
Chief Executive
A
Responsible for the day-to-day management of the Group; and
A
Responsible for the execution of the approved Group strategy.
Financial matters are managed by the Chief Financial &
Operating Officer
Executive Committee
A
Led by the Chief Executive.
A
Responsible for managing all operational aspects of the
Group, the implementation of the Company’s strategic
initiatives in all areas and for identifying and managing
Group risks.
A
Membership comprises the Executive Directors, the
Managing Directors of the Company’s publishing
Divisions, the President of Bloomsbury USA, the heads
of Group functions (including the Group Director of
People and Engagement, the Group General Counsel
and Company Secretary, and the Group Production
Director), and as from 1 June 2026, the Managing
Director of APAC and Corporate Development.
www.bloomsbury.com
102
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Governance at a glance
The Directors present their report and the audited financial statements for Bloomsbury
Publishing Plc and its subsidiary companies (the “Group”) for the year ended 28 February 2026.
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc is a company incorporated in England
and Wales, company number 01984336, with its principal place
of business and registered office at 50 Bedford Square, London
WC1B 3DP. Bloomsbury Publishing Plc is a premium listed
company on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange
subject to the Listing Rules (“LR”) and Disclosure Guidance and
Transparency Rules (“DTR”) of the Financial Conduct Authority.
This Directors’ Report forms part of the Company’s Strategic
Report, as required under the Companies Act 2006 (Strategic and
Directors’ Report) Regulations 2013. The Strategic Report also
serves as the Management Report for the purposes of DTR 4.1.8R
and includes the reporting requirements of the EU Non-Financial
Reporting Directive, as incorporated into the Companies Act (see
pages 16 to 17 and 37 to 38 of this Annual Report).
This section of the Annual Report contains the remaining matters
which the Directors are required to report on each year, which
do not appear elsewhere in the Annual Report. Additional
information incorporated into this section by reference −
including information required under the Companies Act 2006
and LR 6.6.1.R − can be found in the following sections:
Information
Section in the
Annual Report Page
Future developments
of the Company
Strategic Report 02 to 05, 11 to
14 and 18 to 19
Principal risks and risk
management
Strategic Report 83 to 92
Use of financial
instruments, financial
risk management
objectives and policies
Financial
Statements
185 to 189
Environmental matters
and TCFD reporting
Strategic Report 59 to 82
Greenhouse gas
emissions
Strategic Report 75 to 82
Viability statement Strategic Report 92
Governance
arrangements
Corporate
Governance Report
94 to 145
Directors Corporate
Governance Report
96 to 98
Employment policies
and employee
engagement
Strategic Report 48 to 51
Diversity and Inclusion Strategic Report 52 to 55
Stakeholder
engagement
Strategic Report 39 to 45
S172 statement
37
Overseas activities
The Group has overseas subsidiaries that are based and operate
in North America, Australia, Ireland and India and a joint venture
company that operates in China. These subsidiaries allow
locally employed teams to deliver services locally to authors
and customers. Employees from all Bloomsbury offices can be
involved in business development and travel to various countries
worldwide.
Overseas branches
Group subsidiaries have overseas branches in the Republic of
Ireland and in Singapore.
Results
Pages 32 to 36 of this Annual Report set out the Group’s profit
before tax and highlighted items and revenue, along with other
key performance indicators. Profit after tax for the Group’s
operations for the year was £27.0 million (2025: £25.4 million).
Material post-balance sheet events
There are no material post-balance sheet events.
Dividend
The Directors recommend a final dividend of 12.12 pence
per share. The dividend will be payable on 21 August 2026 to
Shareholders on the register on the record date of 24 July 2026.
The dividends paid and proposed by the Company for the years
ended 28 February 2026 and 28 February 2025 are as follows:
Dividend
Dividend
per share
Total
dividend
Record
date
Paid/payable
date
2026 Final
(proposed) 12.12p £9.80m
24 July
2026
21 August
2026
2026
Interim 4.08p £3.32m
31 October
2025
28 November
2025
Total 16.20p £13.12m
2025 Final
(proposed) 11.54p £9.40m
25 July
2025
22 August
2025
2025
Interim 3.89p £3.17m
1 November
2024
29 November
2024
Total 15.43p £12.57m
Stock code: BMY
Annual Report and Accounts 2026
103
OverviewGovernance
Directors’ Report
Directors
The names of the Directors as at the date of this Annual Report,
together with their biographical details, are on pages 96 to 98
of this Annual Report. The Directors serving on the Board of the
Company during the year were as follows:
Non-Executive Chairman: John Bason
Independent Non-Executive
Directors: Leslie-Ann Reed
Baroness Lola Young
Dame Heather Rabbatts (from
14 April 2025)
Executive Directors: Nigel Newton
Penny Scott-Bayfield (up to
2 February 2026)
Keith Underwood (from
2 February 2026)
Following the end of the year, Jenny Ridout joined the Board on
14 April 2026 as an Executive Director and Chris Blatchford was
appointed on 19 May 2026 as a Non-Executive Director.
Details of Directors’ service contracts and Directors’ interests
in shares, awards and options are shown in the Directors’
Remuneration Report. Other than as disclosed in that Report,
none of the Directors held any interest, either during, or at the
end of, the financial year in any material contract or arrangement
with the Company or any subsidiary undertaking. The terms
under which Directors’ contracts may terminate are described in
the Directors’ Remuneration Report on pages 131 to 132. This
includes details of any arrangement by which the Company would
pay compensation to its Directors for loss of office, or loss of
employment or any arrangement by which the Company would
make payments in respect of a change of control of the Company.
Appointment and replacement of Directors
The Company is governed by its Articles of Association
(“Articles”), the Companies Act 2006 and related legislation
with regard to the appointment and replacement of Directors.
Company policy is to appoint Directors to the Board on the
recommendation of the Nomination Committee. This may be as
part of the progressive refreshing of the Board, to fill a vacancy
arising as a result of a retiring Director or as part of measures
taken to enhance the skills, experience, capability and balance of
the Board.
All Directors continuing in office stand for election, or annual
re-election as required under the 2024 UK Corporate Governance
Code. The Chairman, on behalf of the Board, confirms that each
Director proposed for election or re-election at the 2026 Annual
General Meeting (“AGM”) continues to contribute effectively and
demonstrate commitment to the role (including commitment of
time for Board and Committee meetings and any other duties). In
addition, the Board believes that each such Director is important
to the long-term success of the Company.
The Company, through its Shareholders, may remove a Director
from office by passing an ordinary resolution at a General Meeting.
Powers of Directors
The powers of Directors are described in the Articles, the
Companies Act 2006 and in the schedule of matters reserved for
the Board, a copy of which is available on the Company’s website
at www.bloomsbury-ir.co.uk.
Directors’ indemnities and insurance
The Company’s Articles permit it to indemnify the Directors to the
extent permitted by law in respect of liabilities incurred as a result
of their office, and the Company has entered into a deed poll of
indemnity for the benefit of the Officers of the Company from
time to time. This indemnity applies only to the extent permitted
by law and the Company’s Articles. The Company purchases and
maintains Directors’ and Officers’ insurance cover against certain
legal liabilities and the costs of claims connected with any act or
omission by Directors and officers in the execution of their duties.
Directors’ conflicts of interest
Procedures are in place to ensure compliance with the Directors’
conflict of interest duties set out in the Companies Act 2006.
They have been complied with during the year and the Board
considers that these procedures operate effectively. Details of any
new potential or actual conflicts must be submitted to the Board
for consideration at the start of each meeting. These may be
approved, or the Director may be asked, where appropriate, to
withdraw from any consideration of a matter where a potential or
actual conflict exists.
Charitable and political donations
No political donations were made by the Group during the
current or previous year. Information about the charitable
donations made by the Company during the year is set out on
pages 56 to 58 of this Annual Report.
Articles of Association
The Company’s Articles may only be amended by special
resolution of the Shareholders. The Articles are available on the
Company’s website at www.bloomsbury-ir.co.uk.
Share capital and rights attaching to the
Company’s shares
The share capital of the Company comprises a single class of
Ordinary 1.25 pence shares (“Ordinary shares”). During the year,
the Company did not issue or cancel any shares.
Details of the issued share capital can be found in Note 21.
Share movements during the year are, therefore, as follows:
Fully paid Ordinary
shares in issue
As at 1 March 2025 81,608,672
Movement during the year –
As at 28 February 2026
81,608,672
www.bloomsbury.com
104
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Directors’ Report
continued
No Ordinary shares carry special rights with regard to control of the
Company. At a general meeting of the Company, every member
has one vote on a show of hands and, on a poll, one vote for each
share held. The Notice of General Meeting specifies deadlines
for exercising voting rights either by proxy or by being present in
person in relation to resolutions to be passed at a general meeting.
Under the Articles, any share in the Company may be issued with
such rights or restrictions, whether in regard to dividend, voting,
return of capital or otherwise as the Company may, from time to
time, by ordinary resolution determine (or, in the absence of any
such determination, as the Directors may determine).
No Shareholder is, unless the Board decides otherwise, entitled
to attend or vote, either personally or by proxy at a general
meeting or to exercise any other rights conferred by being a
Shareholder if they, or any person with an interest in shares, have
been sent a notice under Section 793 of the Companies Act
2006 (which confers upon public companies the power to require
information with respect to interests in their voting shares) and
they, or any interested person, failed to supply the Company
with the information requested within 14 days after delivery of
that notice. The Board may also decide to apply to the court for
an order under Section 794 of the Companies Act 2006 so that
no dividend is payable in respect of those default shares and
that no transfer of any default shares shall be registered. These
restrictions end seven days after receipt by the Company of a
notice of an approved transfer of the shares or all the information
required by the relevant Section 793 notice, whichever is earlier.
The Directors may refuse to register any transfer that is not a fully
paid share, although such discretion may not be exercised in a
way which the FCA regards as preventing dealing in the shares
of that class from taking place on an open and proper basis. The
Directors may likewise refuse any transfer of a share in favour of
more than four persons jointly.
The Company is not aware of any other restrictions in the transfer
of Ordinary shares in the Company other than certain restrictions
that may, from time to time, be imposed by laws and regulations.
The Company is not aware of any agreements between
Shareholders that may result in restrictions on the transfer of the
securities or voting rights.
Share dilution
The rules of the Bloomsbury Publishing Plc Executive Share Plan,
approved by Shareholders at the Company’s 2023 AGM (the
“2023 PSP”) ensure that:
A
Commitments to issue new shares or reissue treasury shares
under Executive (discretionary) schemes do not exceed 5% of
the issued Ordinary share capital of the Company (adjusted
for share issuance and cancellation) in any rolling ten-year
period; and
A
Commitments to issue new shares or reissue treasury shares,
when aggregated with awards under all of the Company’s
other schemes, including those of the two employee Sharesave
plans (the 2014 Bloomsbury Publishing Plc Sharesave Plan and
the Bloomsbury Publishing Plc 2023 Sharesave Plan which were
approved by Shareholders at the Company’s 2014 or 2023
AGMs (the “2014 and 2023 Sharesave Plans”)), do not exceed
10% of the issued Ordinary share capital (adjusted for share
issuance and cancellation) in any rolling ten-year period.
The Remuneration Committee ensures that appropriate policies
regarding flow-rates exist in order to spread the potential issue
of new shares over the life of relevant schemes so that the limit is
not breached.
The Bloomsbury Employee Benefit Trust may purchase shares in
the market to be used for satisfying vested PSP awards under the
2023 PSP and other employee share options granted under the
2014 and 2023 Sharesave Plans. Further details are given below.
Authorities to purchase shares, to allot shares
and pre-emption rights
The Notice of the 2026 Annual General Meeting and explanatory
foreword set out:
A
An ordinary resolution renewing the authority for the
Directors to allot shares under Section 551 of the Companies
Act 2006;
A
Special resolutions renewing the authority given to the
Directors to disapply statutory pre-emption rights under
Section 571 of that Act to allow shares to be issued for cash
or treasury shares to be sold for cash on a non-pre-emptive
basis; and
A
A special resolution renewing the authority given to the
Directors to purchase the Company’s own shares on the stock
market.
Employee Benefit Trust
The Bloomsbury Employee Benefit Trust (“EBT”) may purchase
shares in the market to be used for satisfying PSP awards and
other employee share options that vest. During the year, the EBT
held Ordinary shares of 1.25 pence in the Company as follows:
Fully paid Ordinary
shares held by EBT
As at 1 March 2025
212,935
Shares purchased
999,689
Shares released to satisfy share awards 445,702
As at 28 February 2026
766,922
Up to the signing of this Report, the EBT held 765,549 Ordinary
shares of 1.25 pence in the Company, being 0.54% of the issued
Ordinary share capital. The Trustee may vote on shares held by
the EBT at its discretion, but waives its right to a dividend.
Share purchases of own shares
During the year, the Company made no purchases of its own
shares and the authority granted by Shareholders at the 2025
AGM for the Company to purchase its own shares was, at the
end of the reporting period, still valid. This authority allows the
Company to make market purchases of up to 10% of the issued
Ordinary share capital as at 19 May 2026 (excluding treasury
shares).
Stock code: BMY
Annual Report and Accounts 2026
105
OverviewGovernance
Substantial shareholdings
As at 28 February 2026, the Company had been notified under
DTR 5 of the following interests of 3% or more in the issued share
capital of the Company.
Institution
Ordinary shares
number million % issued shares
1
Canaccord Genuity
Group Inc.
8.16 10.00%
Montanaro Asset
Management
Limited
3.23 3.95%
Premier Miton
Group Plc
3.97 4.87%
1
Based on 81,608,672 issued shares.
All notifications made to the Company under DTR 5 are published
on the Regulatory Information Service and on the Company’s
website (www.bloomsbury-ir.co.uk).
The information in the table above was correct at the date of
notification to the Company.
Between 28 February 2026 and 8 May 2026 (being the latest
practicable date before the publication of this Report), the
Company has received the following notifications under DTR 5.
Institution
Ordinary shares
number million % issued shares
JPMorgan Asset
Management (UK)
Limited
5.12 6.28%
Montanaro Asset
Management Limited
3.36 4.11%
Change of control provisions in significant
agreements
The Group has established close relationships over a long period
within the publishing markets in which it operates. It relies heavily
on its goodwill and reputation and, in particular, on its reputation
as an autonomous independent publisher with authors, customers
and key employees that could be affected by a change of control.
The Company entered into a long-term agreement with Hachette
UK Distribution Limited in respect of the provision of logistics
fulfilment services from April 2025 (primarily in relation to the
distribution of printed products) which, under its terms, may be
terminated upon notice in the event of a change of control in
respect of either party to the agreement. The Group’s revolving
credit facility described in Note 24 contains provisions which
permit the lender to terminate the facility in the event of a change
of control of the Company.
The Company’s share incentive schemes (see Note 22 for further
details of the share incentive schemes) contain provisions relating
to a change of control of the Company following a takeover bid.
Under these provisions, a change of control of the Company
would normally be a vesting event, facilitating the exercise of
awards, typically subject to the discretion of the Remuneration
Committee.
Cautionary statement
The Directors’ Report, together with all sections incorporated into
it by reference, has been prepared only for the Shareholders of
the Company. Its sole purpose and use is to assist Shareholders
to exercise their governance rights. In particular, the Directors’
Report has not been audited or otherwise independently verified.
The Company, its Directors and employees are not responsible
for any other purpose or use or to any other person in relation to
the Directors’ Report.
The Directors’ Report, together with sections incorporated into it
by reference, contains indications of likely future developments
and other forward-looking statements that are subject to risk
factors associated with, among other things, the economic and
business circumstances occurring from time to time in the sectors,
countries and business divisions in which the Group operates.
These factors include, but are not limited to, those discussed
in the Principal Risks and Risk Management section. These,
and other, factors could adversely affect the Group’s results,
strategy and prospects. Forward-looking statements involve
risks, uncertainties and assumptions. They relate to events and/
or depend on circumstances in the future that could cause actual
results and outcomes to differ materially from those currently
anticipated. No obligation is assumed to update any forward-
looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future
events or otherwise.
Auditor
a) Appointment of the Auditor
A resolution to reappoint Crowe U.K. LLP as Auditor will be
proposed at the forthcoming AGM.
b) Statement as to disclosure of information to the
Auditor
The Directors who were in office on the date of approval of these
financial statements have confirmed that, as far as they are aware,
there is no relevant audit information of which the Auditor is
unaware. The Directors have each confirmed that they have taken
all the steps that they ought to have taken as Directors in order to
make themselves aware of any relevant audit information and to
establish that it has been communicated to the Auditor.
Statement of Directors’ responsibilities
The Directors are responsible for preparing the Annual Report
and the Group and Parent Company financial statements in
accordance with applicable law and regulations.
Company law requires the Directors to prepare Group and Parent
Company financial statements for each financial year. Under that
law, they are required to prepare the Group financial statements
in accordance with UK-adopted international accounting
standards and applicable law and have elected to prepare the
Parent Company financial statements on the same basis.
www.bloomsbury.com
106
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Directors’ Report
continued
Under Company law, the Directors must not approve the financial
statements unless they are satisfied that they give a true and fair
view of the state of affairs of the Group and Parent Company
and of the Group’s profit or loss for that period. In preparing
each of the Group and Parent Company financial statements, the
Directors are required to:
A
Select suitable accounting policies and then apply them
consistently;
A
Make judgements and estimates that are reasonable,
relevant, reliable and prudent;
A
State whether they have been prepared in accordance with
applicable accounting standards in conformity with the
requirements of the Companies Act 2006;
A
Assess the Group and Parent Company’s ability to continue as
a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to
going concern; and
A
Use the going concern basis of accounting unless they either
intend to liquidate the Group or the Parent Company or to
cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.
The Directors are responsible for keeping adequate accounting
records that are sufficient to show and explain the Company’s
transactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy, at any time,
the financial position of the Company and enable them to ensure
that its financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006.
They are responsible for such internal control as they determine
is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements
that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or
error, and have general responsibility for taking such steps as are
reasonably open to them to safeguard the assets of the Group
and to prevent and detect fraud and other irregularities.
Under applicable law and regulations, the Directors are also
responsible for preparing a Strategic Report, Directors’ Report,
Directors’ Remuneration Report and Corporate Governance
Statement that comply with that law and those regulations.
The Directors are responsible for the maintenance and integrity
of the corporate and financial information included on the
Company’s website. Legislation in the UK, governing the
preparation and dissemination of financial statements, may differ
from legislation in other jurisdictions.
In accordance with Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rule
4.1.15R, the financial statements will form part of the Annual
Report prepared using the single electronic reporting format
under the TD ESEF Regulation. The External Auditor’s report on
these financial statements provides no assurance over the ESEF
format.
Safe harbour
Under the Companies Act 2006, a safe harbour limits the liability
of Directors in respect of statements in and omissions from the
Strategic Report and the Directors’ Report. Pages 1 to 213 of
the Annual Report, and the front and back covers to the Annual
Report, are included within the Directors’ Report by reference and
so are included within the safe harbour.
Responsibility statement of the Directors in
respect of the Annual Financial Report
Each of the Directors, whose names and functions are set out on
pages 96 to 98 of this Annual Report, confirm that, to the best of
their knowledge:
A
The financial statements, prepared in accordance with the
applicable set of accounting standards, give a true and fair
view of the assets, liabilities, financial position and profit or
loss of the Company and the undertakings included in the
consolidation taken as a whole; and
A
The Strategic Report/Directors’ Report include a fair review
of the development and performance of the business and the
position of the issuer and the undertakings included in the
consolidation taken as a whole, together with a description of
the principal risks and uncertainties that they face.
We consider the Annual Report and Accounts, taken as a whole,
is fair, balanced and understandable and provides the information
necessary for Shareholders to assess the Group’s position and
performance, business model and strategy.
Legislation in the UK governing the preparation and
dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in
other jurisdictions.
The Strategic Report and Directors’ Report were approved by the
Board on 19 May 2026.
On behalf of the Board
Nigel Newton
Chief Executive
Keith Underwood
Chief Financial & Operating Officer
Stock code: BMY
Annual Report and Accounts 2026
107
OverviewGovernance
The Board is committed to good governance and recognises the important role it plays in
supporting the Group’s long-term success and sustainability and serving the interests of
Shareholders and other key stakeholders.
Governance structure and Board effectiveness
Role of the Board
The Board is responsible for the overall leadership of the Group.
It therefore determines and oversees the execution and delivery
of strategy, and is responsible for the overall management,
control and performance of business. The Board reviews and
monitors internal controls, risk management, principal risks,
governance and viability of the Company, and is closely involved
in developing and monitoring the Group’s values and culture,
including understanding how the right values and culture are
embedded. The Board’s work during the year is set out on page
111 and shows the usual schedule of business as well as updates
on specific topics.
Board oversight of culture and values
The Company’s core values, as set out on page 49 of this Annual
Report, are central to its purpose: to inform, educate, entertain
and inspire readers of all ages all over the world. These values
fundamentally inform the strategy adopted by the Company
in pursuing that purpose, and the behaviours and activities of
the Company’s workforce in achieving the Company’s strategic
objectives. The Board plays an important role in promoting a
positive culture within the Company. It is closely involved in
shaping the Company’s values and monitors the culture of the
Company with the assistance of its Committees.
The Board receives regular updates from the Company’s Group
Director of People and Engagement on employee matters
including key themes and issues arising out of the Company’s
programme of Employee Voice Meetings. This includes the
detailed notes of these meetings. The meetings are intended
to allow employees in the UK and abroad to voice matters of
concern along with suggestions for improvements. Further
information on the Company’s Employee Voice Programme is set
out on page 48 of this Annual Report.
Other ways in which the Board monitors culture include reviewing
the results of employee surveys, monitoring staff turnover levels,
the outcome of any whistleblowing reports, and reports on
training and development opportunities offered to staff.
The Board has not identified any significant issues pursuant to its
monitoring activities that require corrective action.
The Board recognises the importance of these matters and we
continue to focus on developing relevant policies.
Engagement with stakeholders
The Board recognises its duties towards the Company’s
stakeholders as set out in Section 172 of the Companies Act 2006.
Details of the Company’s engagement with key stakeholders,
including how their interests and the matters set out in Section
172 have been considered in Board discussions and decision-
making, are set out on pages 39 to 45 of this Annual Report.
The Board allocates time at each Board meeting to consider
stakeholder interests and how these have been taken into
account in respect of the matters discussed. The Board is
responsible for ensuring a satisfactory dialogue with Shareholders
based on the mutual understanding of objectives. In addition,
Shareholders are kept updated through annual and half-year
results, trading updates and other performance and news items
via the Regulatory News Service.
At times, members of senior management or key people within
the business are invited to Board meetings to provide the Board
with further insight into the interests of a particular stakeholder
group, where required. In respect of engagement with the
workforce, the Board considers the method of engagement
through the forum of Employee Voice Meetings, as described
above, to be effective, as it provides a means for the Board to
hear directly from employees on matters of concern to them,
and provides insight on how to enhance employee satisfaction
and work effectiveness within the Company. The Board is actively
involved in considering and developing the Company’s response
to matters raised during Employee Voice Meetings.
The Directors consider that they have acted in the way they
consider, in good faith, would promote the success of the
Company for the benefit of its members as a whole, having
regard to the stakeholders and matters set out in Section 172 (1)
(a–f) of the Companies Act 2006 in the decisions taken during the
year ended 28 February 2026.
Powers and responsibilities of the Board
The Company’s Articles of Association set out the Board’s powers.
The Board has a formal schedule of matters specifically reserved
for its own decision. A copy of this schedule can be found on the
Company’s website at www.bloomsbury-ir.co.uk. The schedule
is reviewed annually and updated where appropriate to ensure
that it complies with the Code and other legal and regulatory
requirements, and reflects best corporate practice.
www.bloomsbury.com
108
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Corporate Governance Report
The key responsibilities of the Board include:
A
Reviewing and setting long-term objectives and
commercial strategy, including substantive strategies
for reducing the environmental impact of Bloomsbury’s
business and addressing climate risk;
A
Developing and monitoring the Company’s values
and culture and how these are embedded within the
organisation;
A
Considering stakeholder interests in decision-making;
A
Reviewing and approving the annual operating and
capital expenditure budget;
A
Reviewing the Company’s performance in light of
the Group’s strategy, objectives, business plans and
budgets;
A
Approving an extension of the Group’s activities into
new business or geographic areas;
A
Approving any decision to cease to operate all, or any
material part, of the Group’s business;
A
Approving major changes to the Group’s corporate,
senior management and control structure or share
capital structure;
A
Approving the Annual Report and Accounts, the half-
year statements and associated announcements;
A
Approving the dividend policy and declaration of
dividends;
A
Approving significant changes in accounting policies or
practices as recommended by the Audit Committee;
A
Approving the treasury policy and matters requiring
approval under that policy;
A
Approval of the Group’s risk appetite statement in
respect of the nature and extent of the principal risks
that the Company is willing to take to achieve its long-
term strategic objectives;
A
Monitoring the Group’s risk management policy and
procedures, oversight of the internal risk control
framework and carrying out an annual review of their
effectiveness, while assessing the Group’s principal and
emerging risks;
A
Approving all material contracts, acquisition of
titles, net advances and major investments above a
specified level;
A
Approving resolutions to be put to the AGM and
circulars to Shareholders;
A
Approving changes to the structure, size and
composition of the Board, following recommendations
of the Nomination Committee, along with the Group’s
overall governance arrangements;
A
Approving appointments to the Board, following
recommendations of the Nomination Committee;
A
Approving the Remuneration Policy upon
recommendation of the Remuneration Committee;
A
Approving the remuneration of Non-Executive
Directors;
A
Approving various major Group policies, such as the
Whistleblower Policy, Share Dealing Code and Health
and Safety policies;
A
Approving the operation of the employee Save As You
Earn share plan.
Board Committees
The Board has three Committees to assist in the discharge of
its duties: the Audit Committee, Nomination Committee and
Remuneration Committee. The Chairs and members of these
Committees are appointed by the Board on the recommendation
of the Nomination Committee in consultation with the respective
Committee Chair. Each of the Committees has formally delegated
duties and responsibilities under their written terms of reference,
which are approved by the individual Committees and the Board
and can be found on the Company’s website, www.bloomsbury-ir.
co.uk. Each Committee’s terms of reference are reviewed annually
to ensure that they comply with the Code and other legal and
regulatory requirements, and reflect best corporate practice.
All main Board meetings provide standing items for each
Committee Chair to update the Board after each Committee
meeting. Committees also submit reports and recommendations
to the Board on any matter which they consider significant to the
Group.
The main roles and responsibilities of the Board Committees are
summarised in the Corporate Governance Framework set out on
page 102 of this Annual Report.
The Board may also appoint a subcommittee of the Board as and
when required.
Further information on the activities of each Committee is
detailed within the separate Committee reports.
Composition of the Board
As at the date of this Annual Report, the Board comprises the
Non-Executive Chairman, three Executive Directors – the Chief
Executive, the Chief Financial & Operating Officer and the
Global Managing Director, Academic and Professional – and four
Independent Non-Executive Directors, one of whom is appointed
as the Senior Independent Director. The biographies of the
current Directors appear on pages 96 to 98 of this Annual Report.
Baroness Young will serve on the Board as an Independent Non-
Executive Director until the end of the 2026 AGM.
Aligning to the 2024 UK Corporate
Governance Code
The following pages within this Annual Report set out how the
Company has applied the principles of the Code during the year:
Chapters of the Code Page
Board leadership and Company purpose 09, 108 to 114
Division of responsibilities 110
Composition, succession and
performance review 113, 115 to 119
Audit, risk and internal control 83 to 92, 120 to 124
Remuneration 125 to 145
Stock code: BMY
Annual Report and Accounts 2026
109
OverviewGovernance
Division of responsibilities
Chairman
A
Ensuring the effective operation of the Board and its Committees in conformity with the highest standards of
governance
A
Leading, chairing and managing the Board
A
Promoting a culture of openness and debate at Board level and ensuring constructive relations between
Non-Executive and Executive Directors
A
Setting the Board agenda and ensuring adequate time is available for discussion on all agenda items
A
Ensuring the Board receives accurate, clear and timely information
A
Leading the performance review of the Board and acting on its outcome
A
Ensuring that there is effective communication with Shareholders and other stakeholders
A
Considering the composition and succession planning of the Board and its Committees
A
Ensuring the Board’s Committees are properly structured with appropriate terms of reference
A
Reviewing, identifying and meeting the training and development needs of individual Directors and that of
the Board as a whole
A
Ensuring that Directors receive a tailored induction programme when joining the Board
Chief Executive
A
Managing the Group’s business and implementing Board decisions, policies and strategies
A
Developing the Group’s corporate strategy and objectives for recommendation to the Board
A
Providing leadership as Chair of the Executive Committee to achieve strategic objectives
A
Promoting the Company’s values and desired culture to the workforce and ensuring that operational policies
and practices drive appropriate behaviours
A
Leading effective engagement with Shareholders and other stakeholders
A
Monitoring, reviewing and managing the risk framework and strategies with the Board
Chief Financial &
Operating Officer
A
Working with the Chief Executive in developing and implementing strategy
A
Managing all aspects of the Group’s financial affairs, including: financial planning and analysis, financial
reporting, investor relations, tax, treasury and corporate finance
A
Leading other operational teams including: commercial and project management, sales operations and
inventory management, royalties, technology and websites
Global Managing
Director, Academic
and Professional
A
Defining and leading the implementation of the strategy for the Academic and Professional Division globally,
including Editorial, Sales, Marketing and Publicity, Rights and Audio
A
Acting as Group Leader and Executive Group sponsor in matters relating to Artificial Intelligence
A
Supporting the Chief Executive in developing and implementing strategy
Senior Independent
Director
A
Acting as a sounding board for the Chairman
A
Serving as an intermediary for the other Directors and Shareholders as necessary
A
Meeting with Shareholders on matters where usual channels are deemed inappropriate
A
Leading the annual evaluation of the Chairman of the Board
Non-Executive
Directors
A
Scrutinising and holding to account the performance of management and individual Executive Directors
against agreed performance objectives
A
Providing constructive challenge to the Executive Directors
A
Contributing to the development of proposals on strategy and proposed corporate initiatives
A
Monitoring the integrity of financial information, financial and non-financial controls and systems of risk
management
Company Secretary
A
Advising the Board, through the Chairman, on all governance-related matters and best practice
A
Providing advice and services to the Directors and Board Committees where requested
A
Ensuring clear and timely information flow to the Board and its Committees
A formal statement describing the division of responsibilities between the Chief Executive and the Chairman, together with details of the
roles and responsibilities for each of the Chairman, Chief Executive and Senior Independent Director, can be found at
www.bloomsbury-ir.co.uk.
www.bloomsbury.com
110
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Corporate Governance Report
continued
Activities of the Board during the year
The following key matters are standing agenda items at every
Board meeting:
A
Declarations of any potential conflicts of interest and or
significant additional time commitments pertaining to
Directors;
A
Updates from the Audit, Nomination and Remuneration
Committee Chairs;
A
Report from the Chief Executive;
A
Report from the Group Director of People and Engagement
on HR initiatives and outcomes of Employee Voice Meetings;
A
Report from the Group Finance Director/Chief Financial &
Operating Officer;
A
Consideration of how stakeholder interests and Section
172 considerations have been taken into account in Board
discussions and decision-making at that meeting.
In addition, meetings may include an ESG update and a
Corporate Governance report.
Other key areas of focus for the Board during the year were:
A
Discussion of strategy and review of progress against agreed
financial and strategic objectives and internal and external
forecasts;
A
The integration of the Rowman & Littlefield’s academic
publishing assets post acquisition;
A
Consideration of new opportunities available to the Company
as a result of developing AI technologies;
A
Approval of major projects in areas such as the
implementation of new IT systems;
A
Progress on the transition from Macmillan Distribution Limited
to Hachette UK Distribution Limited as the Group’s UK print
distributors, which completed during the year, and receiving
updates on the subsequent bedding in of the new supplier;
A
Considerations around author advances and related Board
approval levels;
A
Review of the management accounts, short- and long-term
forecasts, key performance indicators and full-year forecasts;
A
Review and approval of the annual budget;
A
Review of the Company’s sustainability strategies and TCFD
disclosures, and updates in respect of related workstreams;
A
Review of Health and Safety, including a worldwide Health
and Safety review and general staff wellbeing;
A
Review and consideration of the Company’s principal and
emerging risks and related control and mitigations;
A
Review and approval of the Annual Report and Accounts,
the half-year statements, trading updates and associated
announcements;
A
Review and approval of the Notice of AGM and resolutions
contained therein, noting the recommendations of proxy
agencies as to voting recommendations;
A
Investor feedback from Executive Director meetings with
Shareholders;
A
Approval of the interim and final dividends, including a
rebalancing of the amounts between the interim and final
dividends each year;
A
Reports by Executive Directors and other members of the
Executive Committee on strategic and operational matters;
A
Review of progress on IT projects, including the
implementation of a new royalty accounting system during
the year;
A
Review and approval of the 2025 Sharesave grant;
A
Review of the Group Treasury policy and approval of banking
matters;
A
Review of the Group’s tax strategy;
A
Review and approval of the Gender Pay Gap Report and
the Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking Statement, both
of which may be found on the Company’s Investor relations
website at: https://www.bloomsbury-ir.co.uk/governance/
governance-other.asp ;
A
Review and approval of terms of reference for all the
Committees;
A
Review and approval of the schedule of matters reserved for
the Board;
A
Review of conflicts of interest;
A
Review and approval of the fees of the Non-Executive
Directors;
A
Monitoring and understanding of organisational culture and
values;
A
Consideration of the Company’s key stakeholders and their
interests, review of stakeholder engagement and in-depth
focus on key stakeholder groups;
A
Review of other corporate governance matters, including
the requirements of Provision 29 of the 2024 Corporate
Governance Code, to take effect in respect of the Company
in 2026/2027;
A
Review of the Group’s whistleblowing procedures;
A
An internal performance review of the Board’s own
effectiveness, conducted by the Chairman.
In addition to its regular meetings throughout the year, each year
the Board holds a two-day Strategy meeting with members of
the Company’s Executive Committee and other key operational
employees. During this meeting, the Board undertakes an in-
depth review of key areas of the Company’s business, considers
the opportunities available to the Company and the challenges it
may face, and sets the strategic direction of the Company. It also
takes the opportunity to broaden its knowledge with seminars on
topics of current interest and hear the reflections of authors on
books they have written for Bloomsbury to publish.
Whistleblowing
Under the Code, the Board is responsible for approving and
overseeing the Group’s whistleblowing policy and ensuring that
adequate procedures are in place for staff to raise concerns in
confidence. The Company has an approved whistleblowing policy,
which can be viewed at www.bloomsbury-ir.co.uk, supported by
the services of an external whistleblowing monitoring service.
There were no cases raised during the year under this policy.
Stock code: BMY
Annual Report and Accounts 2026
111
OverviewGovernance
Conflicts of interest procedures
The Board operates an annual review of conflicts of interest, in
line with the requirements of the Code, to take positive steps
to identify and manage conflicts of interest. External positions
and any other known interests are considered in terms of any
potential or actual conflict of interest for Directors. In addition,
Directors are required to declare any new interests at the start
of all Board and Committee meetings. The Board’s formal policy
requires a Director, where there is a risk of such a conflict, to
absent themselves from the meeting while the relevant matter is
considered. During the year, there were no actual, or potential,
conflicts of interest arising that required a Director to take this
step. Directors may also notify the Company, via the Company
Secretary, of any actual, or potential, conflict of interest. Any
such notifications are required to be considered and, if thought
appropriate, authorised by the Board.
Director independence
The Board has reviewed the independence of each Non-
Executive Director and considers all the Non-Executive Directors
who served during the year to be independent in character and
judgement, and does not consider that there are any relationships
or circumstances that affect, or could appear to affect, their
independent judgement. The Board meets the requirement under
the Code that at least half the Board (excluding the Chairman)
should be Independent Non-Executive Directors.
Time commitments
The time commitments of Directors are considered on
appointment and annually. The Board is satisfied that each of the
Directors has sufficient time to meet their Board responsibilities.
None of the Executive Directors have a Non-Executive Director
role at another listed company, or any other appointment that is
deemed to significantly impact the time available for their duties.
Any such appointment by any Director cannot be undertaken
without the prior approval of the Board. Such a Director would
not be permitted to vote, or be counted in the quorum, for any
decision relating to such a commitment.
On appointment, the Nomination Committee reviewed the
external appointments of Keith Underwood to Digital Catapult
and Jenny Ridout on the Board of the Yale University Press and
recommended that the Board approve the same.
Board information and support
All Directors have access to the advice of the Company Secretary
where required. Directors also have access to independent
professional advice, if required, at the Company’s expense.
Attendance at Board and Committee meetings
The table below shows the attendance of Directors at Board and Committee meetings during the year ended 28 February 2026. During
the year, there were nine scheduled Board meetings. In addition, the Directors convened for a two-day Board Strategy meeting. Executive
Directors may also have attended Committee meetings, either in full or part, to update members. Nigel Newton attends the Nomination
Committee as a full member.
Committee appointments Board Remuneration Audit Nomination
Chairman
John Bason
1
A N R 9/9 5/5 1/1 4/4
Executive Directors
Nigel Newton
N 9/9 – – 4/4
Penny Scott-Bayfield
2
8/8 – – –
Keith Underwood
3
1/1 – – –
Non-Executive Directors
Dame Heather Rabbatts
4
A N R 7/7 5/5 3/3 4/4
Leslie-Ann Reed
A N R 9/9 5/5 4/4 4/4
Baroness Lola Young of Hornsey
A N R 9/9 5/5 4/4 4/4
1
John Bason retired from the Audit Committee on 14 April 2025. The
above table shows the meeting he could have attended in the year
2
Penny Scott-Bayfield retired from the Board on 2 February 2026. The
above table shows those meetings she could have attended in the year.
3
Keith Underwood joined the Board on 2 February 2026. The above table
shows those meetings he could have attended in the year.
4
Dame Heather Rabbatts joined the Board and all Committees on
14 April 2025. The above table shows those meetings she could have
attended in the year.
Committee member:
A Audit Committee
N Nomination Committee
R Remuneration Committee
www.bloomsbury.com
112
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Corporate Governance Report
continued
Board and Committee performance review
for 2025/2026
The Board
The Board conducts an annual formal review of its performance.
The outcome of the 2024/2025 review included a desire for
more director training on environmental standards and Artificial
Intelligence. Details of the training received in the year are given
under the relevant heading below.
For 2025/2026, the performance review was conducted internally
and took place towards the end of the financial year. The Deputy
Company Secretary sent out questionnaires to each Director.
These asked a range of questions on the performance of the
Board, it’s Committees and the Chairman, whether the members
worked well together, the support received from the Company
Secretary, the prioritisation of matters discussed by the Board, the
understanding of the principal risks faced by the Group and the
effectiveness of the Group’s risk management framework, and the
degree of engagement with senior management and the wider
workforce. There was an opportunity to comment and to raise
additional matters. The anonymised summary of the findings was
used to support one-to-one meetings between the Chairman and
each Director.
Board members were generally positive about all areas of the
Board and Committees’ performance. In response to feedback
it was agreed that papers relating to certain matters would be
circulated to Directors earlier and this was fed back into the Board
agenda planning process by the Company Secretary.
Board Committees
Board Committees are evaluated annually as required by their
terms of reference. For 2025/2026, the Chairs of the Committees
agreed that the process should form part of the wider Board
performance review led by the Board Chairman as described
above. The Committee reviews were positive, with no particular
concerns raised in respect of any Committee.
The Chairman
John Bason joined the Board in April 2022 as a Non-
Executive Director and was considered independent upon
his appointment. He became Chairman of the Board in July
2024, at the close of the Company’s 2024 AGM. Leslie-Ann
Reed, as the Senior Independent Director, led the review of the
Chairman’s performance for 2025/2026, and met with the other
Non-Executive Directors in order to appraise the Chairman’s
performance. The outcome was fed back to the Chairman within
the overall Board performance review process. The Directors all
agreed that the Chairman scored highly in all respects, carried
out his responsibilities in positive and collegiate manner and was
leading effectively in a highly complex environment.
Directors
The Board believes that, following the results of the Board
performance review, each of the Directors who will be standing
for re-election at the Company’s 2026 AGM continues to be an
effective Director.
Induction, training and development
Upon appointment to the Board, all Directors undertake a
comprehensive induction process, which includes dedicated
time with the Executive team and senior management. Directors
are also provided with induction materials, which comprise
an overview of the Group and its organisational structure, the
responsibilities of being a Director of a UK-listed Company, Board
policies and procedures, Company policies, minutes of previous
Board and Committee meetings and details of the Board’s
external advisors, amongst other information.
The Board and Committees receive regular updates on key legal,
governance and compliance developments during meetings. For
the Board, these included briefings on TCFD and sustainability
matters including validation via the Science Based Targets
initiative, an updated environmental policy, governance changes
introduced by Provision 29 of the 2024 Code and a meeting
dedicated to the impact of Artificial Intelligence. The Audit
Committee received updates on the FRC’s annual Corporate
Reporting Reviews, and a more detailed look at Provision 29 of
the 2024 Code; the Remuneration Committee was updated on
shareholder and proxy agencies responses to reward packages
for directors of listed companies, including in the context of
drafting a new Remuneration Policy for Shareholder approval.
The annual Board Retreat allowed members to consider such
topics as Bloomsbury’s portfolio approach to publishing, the
Company’s Artificial Intelligence strategy and its position in the
modern cultural landscape. There were also opportunities to hear
from a selection of Bloomsbury’s leading authors and other guest
speakers.
Stock code: BMY
Annual Report and Accounts 2026
113
OverviewGovernance
Relations with Shareholders
The Board, led by the Chairman, is responsible for ensuring an
effective engagement with Shareholders based on the mutual
understanding of objectives. The Group Investor Relations
Director supports the Chief Executive and Chief Financial &
Operating Officer on investor relations matters. The Annual
Report, interim reports, AGM, market updates and post-results
announcement presentations are the principal means through
which the Company communicates its strategy and performance
to Shareholders.
The Company maintains an active dialogue with its institutional
Shareholders and City analysts through a planned programme
of investor relations. Twice a year, there are formal presentations
of results, followed by a series of post-results meetings with
Shareholders. The presentations are made available at www.
bloomsbury-ir.co.uk. The outcomes of these meetings are
reported to the Board. This includes feedback from the Group
Investor Relations Director, the individual Directors who attend
the presentations and the Company’s corporate brokers or
public relations representative in respect of their discussions with
Shareholders and City analysts. There has been a programme
of engagement with Shareholders regarding the proposed
Remuneration Policy to be put the 2026 AGM. The details of that
Policy are given in the Remuneration Report on pages 127 to 132.
In addition, the Chairman invites significant Shareholders to
meet with him to discuss any matter of interest or concern. The
Senior Independent Director is also available to Shareholders
as required. Meetings with Institutional Shareholders and City
analysts are held in-person and virtually.
AGM
All Shareholders are welcome at the AGM, which includes
presentations on the business and an opportunity to ask
questions. It provides an opportunity for them to meet with the
Board and raise matters of interest. The Chairs of the Audit,
Remuneration and Nomination Committees attend and are
available to answer questions.
www.bloomsbury.com
114
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Corporate Governance Report
continued
Role and responsibilities of the
Committee
The terms of reference of the Committee set out its role and
authority. These are reviewed annually and can be found on
the Company’s website, www.bloomsbury-ir.co.uk.
The main role of the Committee is to assist the Board by
leading the process for appointments to Board roles, ensuring
that the Board has the broad mix of skills and experience
required to provide strategic guidance and positive
challenge to the Company’s leadership team. In its oversight
of the Company’s Belonging at Bloomsbury initiatives, the
Committee also plays an important role in supporting a culture
of inclusivity at the Company and promoting the development
of a diverse succession pipeline.
The Committee’s responsibilities include:
A
Reviewing the size, structure and composition of the Board
and making recommendations for changes to the Board
where deemed necessary;
A
Regularly monitoring and assessing the skills, knowledge,
and experience of the Board, taking into account the
Company’s strategic priorities and the main trends and
factors relevant to achieving these;
A
Considering the outcome of the Board performance
reviews, including reviewing the composition of the Board
and its Committees and how effectively Board members
work together to achieve objectives;
A
Reviewing annually the time required from Non-Executive
Directors and the number of external appointments held
and, in respect of any additional external appointments
notified to the Board, considering the type of role, the
expected time commitment and any impact which this
might have on the Director’s duties to the Company;
A
Ensuring plans are in place for orderly succession to Board
and senior management positions, and overseeing the
development of a diverse pipeline for succession, taking
into account the leadership requirements of the Company
in the context of the challenges and opportunities facing
the Company;
A
Overseeing, and monitoring the impact of, the Company’s
diversity and inclusion policies and strategies, including
the Board Diversity Policy;
A
Leading the process for new appointments to the Board;
A
Identifying and making recommendations to the Board on
potential candidates for appointment to the Board and
senior management positions;
A
Overseeing the induction of new Directors and monitoring
ongoing conflicts, time commitments, training and
performance review of the Board.
Dear Shareholder,
I am pleased to present my report to you as Chair of the
Nomination Committee. This report details the role of the
Nomination Committee at Bloomsbury and the important work it
has undertaken during the year ended 28 February 2026.
Composition of the Committee
The Committee is comprised of myself as Chairman of the Board
and Chair of the Committee, all the Independent Non-Executive
Directors and the Chief Executive. I was considered independent
on my appointment as Chairman to the Board and to the
Committee, at the close of Bloomsbury’s AGM on 16 July 2025.
The following Directors served on the Committee during the year:
Nigel Newton
John Bason
Leslie-Ann Reed
Baroness Lola Young
Dame Heather Rabbatts (from 14 April 2025)
Chris Blatchford joined the Committee on 19 May 2026.
The Committee met four times during 2025/2026. The attendance
record of its members can be found on page 112 of this Annual
Report.
Stock code: BMY
Annual Report and Accounts 2026
115
OverviewGovernance
Nomination Committee Report
John Bason - Non-Executive Chairman
Activities of the Committee during the year
The Committee’s key areas of focus during the year are set
out below:
A
Reviewing the size and composition of the Board and the
membership of its Committees to ensure the appropriate
balance of skills, experience and perspectives required
to support the achievement of the Company’s objectives
is maintained and corporate governance requirements
observed;
A
Succession planning for the Board and senior management
including oversight of the succession pipeline. During the
year, the Committee started the process of considering
and interviewing candidates for the role of Non-Executive
Director.
A
Reviewing the time commitments and independence of
Non-Executive Directors and monitoring potential conflicts of
interest;
A
Considering the Directors’ training needs, bearing in mind
the FRC Guidance on Board Effectiveness expects all
Directors to continually update their skills, knowledge and
familiarity with the Company to fulfil their role both on the
Board and Committees. Details of training undertaken during
the year are given in the Corporate Governance Report;
A
Considering the gender balance for direct reports to senior
management;
A
Receiving updates on the Company’s policies and initiatives
on diversity and inclusion, the development of a new
Belonging & Inclusion Action Plan and a review of the Board’s
own Diversity Policy;
A
Considering the annual review of the Board and the
Committee’s effectiveness, which was conducted by the
Chair. A questionnaire was sent to all Directors and was
followed up by one-to-one meetings between the Chair and
each Director. The overall conclusion was that the Board
and its Committees worked well. Further detail on the Board
performance review is given on page 113;
A
Reviewing the Committee’s Terms of Reference and
determining that they continue to be fit for purpose and
effective.
Diversity and Inclusion
The Board recognises the benefits which diversity of experience
and perspectives on the Board, in senior management positions
and throughout the Group can bring in supporting the
achievement of the Group’s strategic priorities and promoting the
Group’s long-term success.
The Board believes that membership of the Board should
include a diverse mix of skills, personal, professional and industry
backgrounds, on the basis that this will improve its decision-
making and better support the leadership team in achieving the
Company’s strategic priorities. The Board considers that diversity
of thought, and the opportunity to draw on different sets of
experiences and skills, adds significant value to Board discussions,
particularly for a globalised business.
The Board notes the recommendations of the FTSE Women
Leaders Review (previously the Hampton-Alexander Review)
to have at least 40% female Board members and those of
the Parker Review to have at least one Board member from a
minority ethnic background. These recommendations are aimed
at FTSE350 companies and, in the case of the Women Leaders
Review, the UK’s 50 largest private companies. While Bloomsbury
is not currently a constituent of the FTSE350, nevertheless, the
composition of the Board currently meets these targets. When
considering new appointments to the Board, the Committee
will continue to have regard to such recommendations, while
recognising that succession plans should be based on the precise
requirements of the Board from time to time and appointments
made on merit and objective criteria as recommended by the
Code. The Board Diversity Policy can be accessed on our website
at www.bloomsbury-ir.co.uk/governance/governance-other.
In addition to meeting the recommendations set out in the FTSE Women Leaders Review and the Parker Review, the Board also meets
the target set within the Listing Rules to have at least one senior Board position held by a woman. As required by Listing Rule 6.6.6R, the
Committee confirms that, as at 28 February 2026, the Board met the targets set out under Listing Rule 6.6.6R as further disclosed in the
tables below:
Gender identity or sex
Number of Board
members
1
Percentage of
the Board
Number of senior
positions on the
Board (CEO, CFO,
SID and Chair)
2
Number in
Executive
management
3
Percentage
of Executive
management
Men 3 50% 3 5 55.6%
Women 3 50% 1 4 44.4%
Not specified/prefer not to say Nil - - - -
1
For most of the year until 2 February 2026, there was a majority of women on the Board and the relevant percentage would have been Men: 40% and
Women: 60%
2
For most of the year until 2 February 2026, there was an equal number of men and women in senior positions on the Board.
3
Executive management including two Board members on the Executive Committee.
www.bloomsbury.com
116
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Nomination Committee Report
continued
Ethnic background
Number of Board
members
Percentage of
the Board
Number of senior
positions on the
Board (CEO, CFO,
SID and Chair)
Number in
Executive
management
Percentage
of Executive
management
White British or other White
(including minority white groups)
4 60% 4 7 87.5%
Mixed/multiple ethnic groups
- 0% - 1 12.5%
Asian/Asian British
- 0% - - -
Black/African/Caribbean/Black British
2 40% - - -
Other ethnic group, including Arab
- - - - -
Not specified/prefer not to say
- - - - -
The data set out in the above tables was collected by way of
questionnaire; the gender data was collected on the basis of an
individual’s legal sex as registered on their birth certificate.
The Board considers there to be a diverse pipeline of senior
management with respect to gender balance. The majority of the
Executive Committee and their direct reports are women, details
of which can be found on page 52. Further information on the
gender balance at different levels of Bloomsbury can be found in
the Company’s Gender Pay Gap Report on its website
(www.bloomsbury-ir.co.uk).
Committee oversight of the Company’s
diversity and inclusion policy and practices
The Board and Executive Committee believe that the promotion
of diversity and inclusion is fundamental to reaching and attracting
the talent necessary for the Company to achieve its long-term
objectives, and that this will lead to better performance, increased
innovation and greater employee engagement.
The Board and Executive Committee are committed to promoting
a culture of belonging and inclusion throughout the Company,
and believe that the environment in which they operate should be
one that respects individuals and their contributions, regardless of
any individual characteristic. The promotion and dissemination of
a diverse range of voices and perspectives from an international
author base to a global audience is central to the Company’s
mission and purpose. The Board and Executive Committee
believe that diversity of experience, in multiple forms, within
the Company’s workforce, and at senior levels of management,
serves this purpose and supports the delivery of the Company’s
strategic objectives. The Board recognises the importance of the
Company’s workforce and its publishing being reflective of the
society in which it operates. The Board has delegated oversight
of the Company’s diversity and inclusion strategies to the
Nomination Committee.
The Committee receives regular updates from the Group Director
of People and Engagement and from the Global Belonging and
Inclusion Manager on strategies aimed at promoting belonging
and inclusion at the Company and monitors the impact of related
initiatives. This includes consideration of Equal Opportunity
data collected by the Company in the context of evaluating the
effectiveness of initiatives which are directed at promoting a
diverse succession pipeline.
During the year, the Committee reviewed and approved the
Group’s “Belonging and Inclusion Action Plan” which will run from
March 2026 until 2030. The new action plan presents a roadmap
for how Bloomsbury can be more inclusive both as a global
employer as well as a global publisher. The Committee also
assessed the implications of U.S. federal government directives
relating to diversity, equity and inclusion in the context of the
Group’s policies and objectives in this area.
Further information on Belonging and Inclusion at Bloomsbury
can be found on pages 52 to 55 of this Annual Report.
Board composition
As at 19 May 2026
Non-Executive
Board Tenure
Chairman
Executive Directors
Non-Executive Directors
0−3 years
3−6 years
6−9 years
Board gender diversity Board ethnic diversity
Male: 50%
Female: 50%
Directors from a minority
ethnic background
White
Mixed/multiple
ethnic group
1
The appointment of Jenny Ridout on 14 April 2026 and of Chris
Blatchford on 19 May 2026 has changed the gender composition of the
Board from that set out in the table on page 116 of this Annual Report.
Stock code: BMY
Annual Report and Accounts 2026
117
OverviewGovernance
Board balance by experience and skills
Bloomsbury Board members have a wide range of experience
and skills which enables the Board to support the Company’s
leadership team and advance its strategy. A matrix of the Board’s
skills and experience is set out at the bottom of page 119.
The Committee regularly reviews the composition of the Board,
including as part of its focus on succession planning, to ensure
that the Board is best positioned to support management
in the execution of the Group’s strategy and future growth
opportunities. Further information about the Committee’s
activities in this area during the year is set out below.
Appointments to the Board
Appointments to the Board are usually selected using
independent search consultants, unless there are exceptional
circumstances where a suitable candidate has been found outside
of this process. Search consultants are requested to prepare
a longlist of high-quality, qualified and diverse candidates.
Consideration will be given to all the knowledge, experience,
skills and backgrounds of each candidate taking into account the
needs of the Board, and diversity characteristics will be taken into
consideration when evaluating these factors. Notwithstanding
this, all appointments will be made on merit with candidates’
suitability considered against objective criteria directed at
ensuring that the composition of the Board will best support the
achievement of the Group’s strategic objectives.
Further information regarding the Board recruitment process is
set out on page 119 of this Annual Report.
Succession planning
The Committee recognises the importance of proactive
succession planning and regularly reviews the composition of
the Board and the collective skills, knowledge and experience of
Directors as part of its assessment of overall Board effectiveness.
During the year, the Committee considered the evolving strategic
priorities of the Group and the complementary capabilities,
experience and perspectives that would further support the
Group’s strategic ambitions and long-term success. Against
this backdrop, and Baroness Lola Young having indicated that
she wished to retire from the Board at the 2026 Annual General
Meeting provided a suitable successor could be identified,
the Committee determined that it would be appropriate to
engage external search consultants, Russell Reynolds Associates
Limited (“Russell Reynolds”), to assist in identifying high-calibre
candidates whose capabilities and attributes would further
enhance the strength and diversity of the Board and ensure
that the Board remains well positioned to support management
in delivering the Group’s long-term strategy. The outcome of
the Committee’s review and the subsequent search process, is
described in the section below concerning Board changes.
The Board is committed to recognising and nurturing a talent
pipeline within the various management levels across the
Group to ensure that opportunities are created to develop
key individuals within the business. The Company runs a range
of Management Development Programmes targeted at line
managers across all departments within the business to support
personal development and career progression. The purpose
of these programmes is to enable individuals to develop the
critical knowledge, skills and behaviours needed in senior
business positions. More information about these Learning and
Development programmes can be found on page 50 of this
Annual Report.
The Committee believes that regular interaction between the
Board and members of the Executive Committee, including
by way of presentations by Executive Committee members to
the Board at Board meetings, and participation by Executive
Committee members at the Board’s annual strategy retreat,
serves to drive senior management development and helps
identify potential Board candidates.
Board changes
In July 2024 the Company entered into the FTSE250 index. On
account of the associated Code requirement that the Audit
Committee of a company in the index comprise a minimum
of three Independent Non-Executive Directors, I remained a
member of the Audit Committee after I became Chairman of
the Board, on an interim basis only. I stood down from that
Committee upon the appointment of Dame Heather Rabbatts to
the Board and to the Audit Committee on 14 April 2025.
During the year, Penny Scott-Bayfield advised the Board of her
intention to resign as Director, pending an orderly transition to
a new Chief Financial Officer. Following the Board appointment
process as set out on page 119, a long list of candidates was
prepared by Limited International Resources Group Limited,
trading as Odgers (“Odgers”) for review by the Committee.
Odgers has no connection with Bloomsbury or its Directors save
as a supplier of recruitment services to the Company. A short
list of exceptional candidates was selected for interview by all
the Directors, the Company Secretary and the Group Director
of People and Engagement. After due consideration, Keith
Underwood was offered the role of Chief Financial and Operating
Officer and joined the Board on 2 February 2026. Penny Scott-
Bayfield stood down on the same date and her employment by
the Company ended on 28 February 2026.
Following the Company’s long-established practice of having
the leader of the Company’s academic publishing on the
Board, Jenny Ridout, the Managing Director of the Academic
& Professional Division, joined the Board on 14 April 2026 on
the recommendation of the Nomination Committee. Jenny’s
appointment to the Board also reflects the important role she has
in leading Artificial Intelligence Initiatives at the Company.
As described above, during the year the Committee considered
it appropriate to engage external recruitment consultants Russell
Reynolds to identify potential candidates for the role of Non-
Executive Director. Following the conclusion of the search process
and resulting interviews, the Committee recommended Chris
Blatchford to the Board for appointment as a Non-Executive
Director, reflecting the depth and breadth of his relevant
experience.
Each of the Directors who has been appointed after the
conclusion of the Company’s 2025 Annual General Meeting will
stand for election at the 2026 Annual General Meeting.
Baroness Lola Young will stand down from the Board at the
conclusion of the 2026 AGM. I would like to take this opportunity
to thank Baroness Young for her valuable contribution and
insights during her term on the Board.
www.bloomsbury.com
118
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Nomination Committee Report
continued
Election and re-election of Directors
Non-Executive Directors are appointed for periods up to
four years, subject always to annual re-election at AGMs. The
intention is to achieve a progressive refreshing of the Non-
Executive Directors, in anticipation of an average duration of such
appointments of four years. The Board reviewed this policy in
2019 and decided it remained appropriate, noting that it retained
the flexibility to extend an appointment beyond four years if
required.
As noted above, during the year the Committee considered
the independence and time commitment of the Non-Executive
Directors, and considered it appropriate to recommend all Non-
Executive Directors who are standing for re-election, and the
Executive Directors, to the Board for re-election at the 2026 AGM.
The Committee has agreed that all Directors standing for
election or re-election at the 2026 AGM are or continue to be
independent and, having considered the composition of the
Board and the overall balance of knowledge, skills, experience
and diversity, that each such Director continues to make a
valuable contribution to the Board.
The notice periods by the Company of the Directors are set out
on pages 131 to 132 of this Annual Report.
John Bason
Chairman of the Board
19 May 2026
Board appointment process
The Board appointment process is as follows:
A
The Committee reviews a skills matrix, in light of the
Board’s need for a range of skills and experience
relevant to the challenges and opportunities facing
the Company and of any planned departures from
the Board. It considers the Board’s structure, balance,
diversity and succession planning needs, and the
annual performance review of Board effectiveness
further serves to identify any gaps in the skills,
knowledge and experience needed
A
An independent external recruitment consultant
is appointed, who performs a search to identify
candidates meeting criteria agreed with the
Nomination Committee. In exceptional circumstances,
the appointment of an external consultant may not be
considered necessary, if a suitable candidate has been
otherwise identified
A
A longlist of high calibre candidates is drawn up
by the external consultant for consideration by the
Directors, who select a shortlist of candidates for
interview
A
One or more Directors interview each candidate and
feed back to the external consultant on the interview
evaluation of the candidate
A
References are taken and other background checks
are made on candidates
A
The Nomination Committee selects the final
candidate and makes a recommendation to the Board
A
The Board has the final decision on appointing a
candidate
Experience and skills
Business to business operations
ESG
M&A
Global markets
Governance
Audit and risk
Executive compensation
Finance experience
CEO experience
Digital and technology
Publishing and media
Plc experience
1
54
3
2
6
7
Stock code: BMY
Annual Report and Accounts 2026
119
OverviewGovernance
Dear Shareholder,
I am pleased to present my report to you as Chair of the Audit
Committee, which describes the Committee’s responsibilities and
key activities during the year ended 28 February 2026.
Composition of the Committee
The Committee has been established by the Board, and
comprises three Independent Non-Executive Directors, in line
with the Code’s expectation in respect of the membership of
Audit Committees of companies within the FTSE350 index,
including companies that have been in that index for all or part of
the previous year.
Dame Heather Rabbatts joined the Board and the Committee
in April 2025, whereupon John Bason, who had remained on
the Committee pending Dame Rabbatts’ appointment in order
to provide continuity and ensure compliance with the minimum
membership requirements for FTSE 350 companies.
The Board is satisfied that my experience and qualifications
are sufficient for me to meet the experience and qualification
requirements for at least one member of the Audit Committee to
hold recent and relevant financial experience as required by the
Code and Listing Rules. Baroness Lola Young and Dame Heather
Rabbatts, the other members of the Committee, both have
experience relevant to the creative industries, and Dame Heather
Rabbatts currently serves as a member of the Audit Committee of
Associated British Foods plc.
The members of the Committee during the year were as follows:
Member Appointment Date
Leslie-Ann Reed
1
(Committee Chair) 21 July 2021
John Bason
2
1 April 2022
Baroness Lola Young
3
23 October 2024
Dame Heather Rabbatts
4
14 April 2025
1
Leslie-Ann Reed was appointed to the Board on 17 July 2019 and
succeeded John Warren as Chair of the Committee on the date above.
2
John Bason stood down from the Committee on 14 April 2025.
3
Baroness Lola Young was appointed to the Board on 1 January 2021.
4
Dame Heather Rabbatts joined both the Board of Directors and the Audit
Committee upon her appointment to the Board on 14 April 2025.
Chris Blatchford joined the Committee upon appointment on
19 May 2026.
Biographical details of current Committee members are set out
on pages 97 and 98 of this Annual Report.
Committee meetings
The Committee met four times during 2025/2026. The Committee
members’ attendance can be seen on page 112 of this Annual
Report. In addition to Committee members, Committee meetings
are typically attended by the Board Chair, the Chief Executive,
the Group Finance Director (now the Chief Financial & Operating
Officer) and the External Auditor. Other attendees from time to
time include the Internal Auditor, members of the Finance team,
the Global Head of Technology and external governance and risk
management specialists. There is a standing item on the agenda
for the External Auditor to meet with the Committee alone
without management present, enabling Committee members or
Auditors to share any concerns that they may have.
www.bloomsbury.com
120
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Audit Committee Report
Leslie-Ann Reed – Chair of the Audit Committee
Role and responsibilities of the
Committee
The terms of reference of the Committee set out its role
and authority. These are reviewed annually and can be
found on the Company’s website, www.bloomsbury-ir.co.uk.
The primary role of the Committee is to maintain the
integrity of the Company’s financial reporting and to ensure
an appropriate risk management framework and internal
control procedures are in place. In performing this role, the
Committee’s main responsibilities include:
A
Monitoring the integrity of the Company’s financial
reporting, including its annual and half-yearly reports,
preliminary announcements and related formal
statements. Reviewing, and challenging where
necessary, the actions and judgements of management
and reporting to the Board on significant financial
reporting issues contained in those statements, having
regard to matters communicated to it by the External
Auditor and any material accounting judgements or
estimates;
A
Considering material accounting assumptions and
estimates and any significant judgments or key audit
matters identified during the External Audit;
A
Reviewing and advising the Board on the going concern
assessment and the viability statement contained in the
Annual Report;
A
Reviewing the statement on the Annual Report, prior
to endorsement by the Board, that taken as a whole
the Annual Report is fair, balanced and understandable
and provides the information necessary to enable
Shareholders to assess the Company’s position,
performance and prospects; this is informed by the
Committee’s work throughout the year, the findings of
the External Auditor, and the processes underlying the
preparation of the Annual Report;
A
Monitoring the Company’s risk management framework
and internal controls;
A
Reviewing the effectiveness of Internal Audit, approving
Internal Audit projects, considering the outcome of
such projects and agreeing appropriate action with
management to address any identified issues;
A
Approving the selection of the External Auditor
and making recommendations to the Board and
Shareholders for the approval of the appointment of the
External Auditor, reviewing and approving the terms of
engagement and remuneration of the External Auditor,
reviewing the performance of the External Auditor
and the effectiveness of the external audit process,
and monitoring the independence and objectivity
of the External Auditor, with due regard to the FRC’s
publication ‘Audit Committees and the External Audit:
Minimum Standard’;
A
Developing and implementing policy on the
engagement of the External Auditor to supply non-
audit services, taking into account relevant guidance
regarding the provision of non-audit services by the
external audit firm;
A
Reporting to the Board on how the Committee
has discharged its responsibilities, identifying any
matters in respect of which it considers that action or
improvement is needed and making recommendations
as to the steps to be taken. The Chair of the Committee
reports to the Board at each meeting as a standing
agenda item.
Key activities of the Committee during the
year
The Committee’s key areas of focus during the year are set
out below:
A
Reviewing the External Auditor’s audit findings report in
respect of the 2024/2025 audit, including consideration of
their findings in respect of the following key audit matters:
the accounting treatment of the acquisition of Rowman &
Littlefield assets, including the measurement of the fair value
of such assets, purchase price allocation and the valuation of
the acquisition under the principles and requirements of IFRS
3; returns and inventory provisions, and an impairment review
of goodwill and parent company investments. The External
Auditor considered management’s estimates and judgements
in respect of the matters reported on to be appropriate.
A
Reviewing the Company’s accounting policies relating to
key areas of judgement (information about the Company’s
material accounting policies is set out in Note 2 and some key
additional policies in Note 29);
A
Reviewing the annual and interim financial results and
associated announcements and recommending them to the
Board for approval;
A
Considering the analysis supporting the viability statement
and the going concern assessment; considering the potential
impact of the financing arrangements related to the Rowman
& Littlefield acquisition along with the decision to extend the
term of the Company’s Revolving Credit Facility, in relation to
that assessment;
A
Considering significant accounting matters, including areas
of significant judgement and estimation, generally and
in relation to the preparation of the Company’s financial
statements and preliminary and interim announcements;
A
Considering the accounting treatment of Digital revenues,
including revenue recognition under the requirements of
IFRS 15;
A
Considering and approving the External Auditor’s audit
strategy for the year including the identification of significant
audit risk areas and the appropriate materiality threshold,
the intended audit approach relating to the integration of
the Rowman & Littlefield acquired assets, the transfer of
distribution services to Hachette UK Distribution Limited,
and the migration of the Company’s royalties system to
a new platform. The following areas were assessed as
significant audit risk areas: returns and inventory provisions,
recoverability of author advances, and impairment of
goodwill. The Committee was kept informed of the planning
and progress of the 2024/2025 and 2025/2026 audits during
the year, including the timing of the work and specialist
support in areas such as tax;
A
Receiving updates on the FRC’s Annual Review of Corporate
Reporting and governance changes arising pursuant to the
introduction of the 2024 Code.
A
Considering the basis for internal cost allocation of central
costs.
A
The appropriate indicators of engagement-level quality for
external auditors.
A
Receiving reassurance around the local tax registration in US
States following the Rowman & Littlefield acquisition.
A
Receiving updates and approving actions in respect of the
Company’s comprehensive review of its risk management
and internal controls framework in the context of Provision
29 of the 2024 Corporate Governance Code, which will take
effect in respect of the Company from the year starting
1 March 2026. Further information on this project is set out in
Stock code: BMY
Annual Report and Accounts 2026
121
OverviewGovernance
the Internal Audit section on page 124 of this Annual Report.
During 2025/2026, each regular meeting of the Committee
received a progress report on this project, with an additional
Committee meeting being dedicated to a review of the
material controls framework in place and a report on the
Company’s compliance readiness in respect of Provision 29;
A
Assessing the Company’s cybersecurity controls, including
receiving regular updates on the measures taken by the
Company to mitigate against cybersecurity risk and the
arrangements for incident response and business continuity;
A
At each meeting, reviewing the Group’s internal controls
policies and associated risk management framework to assess
their scope and effectiveness. The approach to these matters
is further elaborated on below while the principal risks facing
the Company are described in the Principal Risks and Risk
Management section on pages 83 to 92, which also explains
how each risk is managed and mitigated;
A
Reviewing the terms of reference for the Committee;
A
Recommending to the Board that Crowe U.K. LLP be put
forward for reappointment as the Company’s External Auditor
at the 2025 AGM.
Financial reporting
The Committee is responsible for reviewing the content and
tone of the Company’s financial statements to ensure their
accuracy and clarity, giving consideration to the requirement
that the Annual Report is fair, balanced and understandable and
provides the information necessary for Shareholders to assess
the Company’s position and performance, business model and
strategy. In performing its responsibilities, the Committee has
regard for the processes used by management in the preparation
of the Annual Report, which include:
A
Complying with relevant accounting standards and regulatory
reporting requirements;
A
Ensuring that accounting policies and practices are applied;
A
Considering material accounting assumptions and estimates,
significant judgements and any key audit matters identified
during the external audit process;
A
Reviewing the application and effectiveness of internal
financial controls;
A
Ensuring that the Annual Report is drafted by appropriately
qualified colleagues and advisors, including a detailed review
of the Directors’ Remuneration Report by the Company’s
remuneration consultants.
Significant accounting matters considered
In discharging its responsibilities in respect of the 2025/2026
interim financial statements and Annual Report, the Committee
considered the following:
A
The adequacy of provisions made in relation to key balance
sheets estimates (including the revenue returns provision),
unearned author advances provision and inventory provision.
Inventory provision continued to be an area of attention,
with the completion of the transition of the Company’s UK
print distribution arrangements from Macmillan Distribution
Limited to Hachette UK Distribution Limited and the
integration of the acquired Rowman & Littlefield assets into
the Company’s systems and processes. Having reviewed
the assumptions made by the Executive team in these key
areas and their consistency year-on-year, the Committee was
satisfied as to the adequacy of the provisions;
A
Revenue recognition under IFRS 15 in respect of Digital
revenue;
A
The adequacy of sensitivity disclosures in relation to
Consumer and Academic & Professional goodwill (Note 11).
Academic & Professional goodwill is the largest balance
within goodwill and the most sensitive to the level of profit
generated. After careful consideration, the Committee was
satisfied that the assumptions used in the evaluation were
appropriate and that no impairment of the goodwill had
occurred; and
A
An assessment of the Group’s viability and the
appropriateness of using the going concern basis of
accounting in preparation of the financial statements. The
Executive team prepared a detailed forecast of future
cash flows under different scenarios to model the possible
impact of key risks to the business. The Committee reviewed
these assumptions and was pleased to note that going
concern headroom was retained in all likely scenarios and
before any steps taken in mitigation of downside scenarios.
The Committee was therefore able to recommend these
assessments to the Board for adoption in the accounts.
In addition, the Committee assessed that the Group’s annual and
interim financial statements, after review and taken as a whole,
are fair, balanced and understandable, and provide the necessary
information to assess the Group’s position and performance,
business model and strategy. It also considered that they met the
necessary legal and regulatory requirements.
External Auditor
The Audit Committee has primary responsibility for making
a recommendation on the appointment, reappointment and
removal of the External Auditor and approving their remuneration
and terms of engagement. It is also required to consider its
performance, objectivity and independence.
Crowe U.K. LLP (“Crowe”) is the Company’s External Auditor, and
was first appointed at Bloomsbury’s 2022 AGM. A resolution to
reappoint Crowe will go before Shareholders at the 2026 AGM.
There is no contractual term imposed upon Bloomsbury that
limits its selection of auditor.
Matthew Stallabrass has been the Company’s audit partner for the
year to February 2026. He was unable to attend one of the three
regular meetings of the Committee during the year and a senior
member of the audit team attended in his place. He did not
attend the additional meeting dedicated to Bloomsbury’s material
controls and internal control framework.
During the year, the Committee assessed the effectiveness of the
external audit process and was satisfied with the scope, direction
and outcome of work. In forming its view, the Committee
considered:
A
The External Auditor’s planning report for the conduct of the
External Audit;
A
The scope of the External Auditor’s work and whether the
External Auditor deployed sufficient resources including
specialist support to complete their agreed programme;
A
The External Auditor’s focus and challenge to management
on key judgements and material risks, and the responses
received from the External Auditor to questions from the
Committee;
A
The robustness and efficiency of the audit;
A
Feedback about the effectiveness of the External Audit
process from management;
A
The independence and objectivity of the External Auditor,
with internal checks within Crowe on matters such as any
conflict of interest being advised to the Committee as part
www.bloomsbury.com
122
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Audit Committee Report
continued
of the audit preparations, and later confirmed in a letter
addressed to the Committee.
Details of the amounts paid to Crowe are provided in Note 4.
External Auditor non-audit services
The Committee has approved a formal policy on the provision of
non-audit services to safeguard the independence and objectivity
of the External Auditor and in order to review the level of any
non-audit fees relative to audit fees. There is no minimum fees
threshold for non-audit contracts before any such review. The full
policy can be found on the Company’s website www.bloomsbury-
ir.co.uk. A list has been approved by the Committee of services
that the External Auditor is prohibited from undertaking. No non-
audit services were provided to the Group by Crowe in the year.
Interaction with the FRC
During the year, the FRC advised the Company that its 2025
Annual Report and Accounts had been selected in the sample
for a thematic review of IFRS 2 share-based payment disclosures.
The review found opportunities for improvement for almost
all companies but cited Bloomsbury in its examples of better
disclosures. Following the review, the FRC stated that it had no
questions or queries that it wished to raise with the Company.
Bloomsbury had no other interaction with the FRC.
Internal controls and risk management
The Audit Committee assists the Board in fulfilling its oversight
responsibilities regarding risk management and internal controls
(including financial controls), and the effectiveness of the Internal
Audit function.
The Board has put in place a risk management framework for
identifying, evaluating and managing the significant risks faced
by the Group. More information about this framework and the
process to identify, evaluate and manage the most significant
risks, and details of the Group’s principal risks can be found on
pages 83 to 92 of this Annual Report. This system has been in
place for the year under review and up to the date of approval of
this Annual Report.
The Audit Committee reviews the internal control and risk
management systems and internal financial controls, while the
Board considers the principal and emerging risks to the business,
the countermeasures in place and the Group’s appetite for risk.
The Board retains overall responsibility for the Group’s internal
controls and for reviewing their effectiveness, and for approving
all related policy.
The Group takes a risk-based approach to internal controls to
ensure that internal controls policies and procedures directly,
and adequately, address the specific risk factors relevant to the
Company. The Group’s system of internal controls is designed to
manage material risks by addressing their cause and mitigating
their potential impact. It can only provide reasonable, and not
absolute, assurance against material loss, and recognises that
the cost of control procedures should not exceed their expected
benefits.
Internal controls are reviewed regularly by management
throughout the year in consultation with the heads of relevant
business areas and consideration is given to identifying any
actions required to improve the effectiveness of the key controls.
The Audit Committee received reports on the internal controls
and progress in respect of any actions identified as necessary to
improve the system of controls at each meeting during the year.
The Company’s system of internal financial controls aims to
safeguard the Group’s assets, ensures that proper accounting
records are maintained, that the financial information used within
the business and for reporting externally is reliable, that business
risks are identified and managed, and that compliance with
appropriate legislation and regulation is maintained.
The Audit Committee monitors the scope, development and
performance of cyber security controls and receives regular
reports on the progress of related projects. During the year the
Committee received regular reports on improvements undertaken
to critical controls, the outcomes of penetration testing, staff
training against phishing, disaster recovery measures, supplier risk
and progress improvements around multi-factor identification and
mobile device management.
The preparation of the consolidated financial statements of the
Company is the responsibility of the Chief Financial & Operating
Officer and is overseen by the Audit Committee with overall
responsibility resting with the Board. This includes responsibility
for ensuring appropriate internal controls are in place over
financial reporting processes and related IT systems. The Audit
Committee monitors the risks and associated controls over
financial reporting processes, including the consolidation process.
The Principal Risks and Risk Management section on pages 83
to 92 sets out how the Board has taken account of the Group’s
current position and principal risks and how it has assessed the
prospects of the Group over a period of three years. The Board
has a reasonable expectation that the Group will be able to
continue in operation and meet its liabilities as they fall due over
the assessment period.
Relevant features of the Company’s system of internal controls
and risk management in relation to the financial reporting process
and preparation of the Group financial statements include:
A
Organisational culture: The Company has a highly skilled,
professional and committed workforce. The Board is
committed to developing a culture of openness, integrity,
competence and responsibility. The Company has in place
a Group Whistleblower Policy and an Anti-Bribery and
Corruption Policy.
A
Organisational structure: Bloomsbury’s global structure
of two publishing divisions (Consumer and, Academic &
Professional), supported by Group functions such as Finance,
IT, production, operations, HR and Legal, continue to function
as an internal control service to the business within the
Group’s internal control framework.
A
Risk and control review: The framework for oversight of
the Group’s internal controls and risk management process
by the Board and the Audit Committee is described above.
In addition, the Executive Committee (which comprises the
Divisional and Group function heads and Executive Directors)
formally reviews and updates the Group risk register and
accompanying controls and actions for each risk twice a
year. This ensures that risks and control issues from around
the Group worldwide are reported openly to the senior
management team and addressed. The Board regularly
reviews the significant Group risks to ensure appropriate
action is taken to address them. The Audit Committee
reviews the risks, in particular the financial risks and issues that
could impact on reporting, when considering the financial
statements. In addition, work has been ongoing during the
year on reviewing material controls and internal control
framework, as already stated above.
A
Financial internal control and risk review: The Chief
Financial & Operating Officer formally reviews the internal
financial controls, taking account of the risks within the
financial information systems, and reports the findings of this
Stock code: BMY
Annual Report and Accounts 2026
123
OverviewGovernance
review to the Audit Committee. Analytical review of operating
results and reviews of key risks and controls for each division
supplement management’s knowledge of the business for the
evaluation of the risks and assessment of the internal financial
controls. The Audit Committee receives other reports from
management relevant to the internal financial controls, such
as reports on the progress of key projects.
A
Authority levels: The Board maintains a detailed register of
delegated authorities and sets the level of authority required,
before Board approval is needed, to commit the Company
or to undertake transactions. It also approves budgets and
other performance targets. The publishing divisions and
Group functions operate within these authority levels and
budgets. The Executive Directors determine the authority to
be delegated to individual managers.
A
Financial management reporting: The Board approves
the annual Group budget. Sales are reported daily, weekly
and monthly. Financial results of the business are reported
monthly and compared to budget and forecasts. Detailed
forecasts for the Company are updated regularly and
reviewed by the Board.
A
Book title acquisition and other significant contract
procedures: Established procedures, such as the review and
approval by an Executive Director of acquisition proposals of
rights to new books, and approval by the Chief Financial &
Operating Officer of acquisitions over a specific threshold, are
operated within set authority limits and used for transactions
in the ordinary course of business. Acquisitions exceeding
delegated authority limits require approval by the Board.
Significant acquisitions of companies and businesses or other
significant contracts not in the ordinary course of business
are approved by the Board. The Board has set authorised
limits for the total author advances held on the Statement of
Financial Position as a percentage of net assets and for the
total value of committed, but unpaid, advances.
A
Accountability: The Company has clearly defined lines of
responsibility headed by the Chief Executive and Executive
Committee to control the publishing divisions and business
functions. Detailed operational and financial performance
data are monitored by supervisory management to ensure the
performance of operations is in line with targets. The reasons
for variances and underperformance are established by
supervisory line management and followed up with managers
and staff.
A
Overseas offices: Each overseas office has a local President
or Managing Director who is responsible for operational
effectiveness and local internal controls. Accounting for
the Group is centralised. Senior managers and Executive
Directors visit the overseas offices as appropriate.
A
Internal Audit: A risk-based audit approach is used to
identify and assess the key internal controls across the Group
worldwide and to determine the Internal Audit plan for each
year. The Audit Committee considers reports from External
and Internal Audit to ensure that adequate measures are
being taken by management to address risk and control
issues.
The Group’s overall risk management process and systems of
internal control, including material financial, operational and
compliance controls, are reviewed at least annually by the
Committee to ensure they remain effective; where appropriate,
recommendations are made to management to improve the
procedures. During the year, the Committee considered actions
required in respect of the requirements of Provision 29 of the
2024 Code in respect of the Company’s financial year 2026/2027
onwards.
Internal Audit
In 2019/2020, the Committee determined that it would be
appropriate to co-source the Internal Audit function using both
internal and external resources, while retaining its oversight, and
the Committee approved the engagement of Grant Thornton for
this purpose. Grant Thornton was appointed, reporting to the
Chair of the Audit Committee.
The Internal Audit function is responsible for providing
independent assurance to management and the Audit
Committee on the design and effectiveness of internal controls
to mitigate key strategic, financial, operational and compliance
risks. The Internal Audit mandate and plan for the relevant year
is approved by the Committee and is aligned to the Company’s
greatest areas of risk.
During the year, the Committee determined that it would
be appropriate to focus on a comprehensive review of the
Company’s risk management and internal controls framework in
the context of Provision 29 of the 2024 Corporate Governance
Code, which will take effect in respect of the Company from
1 March 2026. Governance and risk management specialists,
Brave Within LLP, were engaged to provide support with this
project, including confirming the material controls for the Group,
identifying current level of assurance over those controls and
agreeing and implementing further actions. The Audit Committee
received regular reports on the proposed timetable for the
project, approved the identification of material controls, and
reviewed and approved recommended actions arising out of this
comprehensive review.
In view of the duration of Grant Thornton’s engagement, the
Committee determined that it would be appropriate to undertake
a competitive tender process in respect of the externally provided
element of the co-sourced internal audit function; at the time of
the preparation of this Annual Report this tender is underway and
Grant Thornton remains engaged to provide the relevant services.
Overall, the Board confirms it has monitored the Group’s risk
management and internal control systems and carried out
a review of their effectiveness covering all material controls,
including financial, operational and compliance controls.
Effectiveness of the risk management and
internal controls framework
The Committee confirms it has monitored the Group’s risk
management and internal controls systems and carried out
a review of their effectiveness during the year. Following its
review, the Committee has concluded that the systems of risk
management and internal controls are adequate for the Group,
including all the Group companies. There were no significant
internal control weaknesses identified that challenged the Group
in achieving its objectives.
Committee effectiveness
The Committee’s annual evaluation review, which was conducted
as part of the 2025/2026 internal Board evaluation, confirmed that
the Committee continued to function effectively.
Leslie-Ann Reed
Chair of the Audit Committee
19 May 2026
www.bloomsbury.com
124
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Audit Committee Report
continued
Dear Shareholder,
As Chair of the Remuneration Committee (the “Committee”) and
on behalf of the Board, I am pleased to present the Directors’
Remuneration Report (the “Report”) for the year ended
28 February 2026.
As well as detailing how we have operated remuneration
arrangements for the Board, this year’s Report also sets out an
updated Remuneration Policy (“Policy”). We engaged with our
major Shareholders prior to finalising this Policy, and further detail
is set out below. Under the normal three-year renewal timetable,
we will be seeking shareholder approval for the new Policy at the
2026 AGM.
This Report includes:
A
Part A: The new Policy being put forward to Shareholders for
approval at the 2026 AGM (pages 127 to 132); and
A
Part B: The annual report on remuneration (pages 133 to
145) describing how the current Policy has been applied
for the year ended 28 February 2026 and how we intend to
implement the proposed Policy for 2026/2027.
Performance and Reward for 2025/2026
As outlined in the Chairman’s Statement and the Chief Executive’s
Review, Bloomsbury achieved 2025/26 Group revenue of
£325.9m and profit up 7% to £44.9m. This reflected a successful
pursuit of a long-term strategy of combining consumer and
academic publishing which continues to provide Bloomsbury with
diversification and resilient success.
Annual bonus
Annual bonus payments to the Executive Directors are based on
a combination of financial and strategic targets. 70% of the bonus
is based on profit before tax and highlighted items (“Adjusted
Profit”) and 30% is based on strategic objectives, which includes
sustainability. There is in place a bonus plan which covers all
colleagues and has the benefit of delivering more alignment to
reward across the Group.
The Committee set bonus targets to take into account a range of
factors including both internal and external factors. The Adjusted
Profit achieved in the year to 28 February 2026 was 7% ahead
of the prior year. This funded the all employee bonus pool to
the extent of 20%, reflecting the stretch of targets set. Executive
Directors performed strongly in a demanding environment,
though the measured outcome under the incentive framework
resulted in a bonus of 18.4% of the maximum opportunity. The
vast majority of colleagues will benefit from the bonus pool
funding.
Performance Share Plan (“PSP”) vesting
The PSP awards granted in 2023 are due to vest on
29 August 2026. These awards were subject to the following
performance measures: EPS (60%), Non-Consumer Operating
Profit (17.5%), Consumer Operating Profit (17.5%) and
International Revenue (5%). The Group EPS (before highlighted
items) of 44.57p, Non-Consumer Operating Profit of £23.5m, and
International Revenue of £179.5m all exceeded their maximum
targets set in 2023. Consumer Operating Profit of £22.6m was
between the threshold and maximum targets. (Consumer
Operating profit as adjusted to include Special Interest Operating
Profit within Non-Consumer Operating Profit, in order to ensure
consistency with earlier targets). Overall, the 2023 PSP Award will
vest at 86.2% of maximum.
Considering the financial performance, the achievement of the
strategic objectives, and the significant value to Shareholders
from both dividend and share price growth, the Committee is
satisfied that the maximum outcomes under both the bonus and
PSP are a fair reflection of performance during the corresponding
performance periods. Further detail on the bonus and PSP
outcomes are provided on pages 134 to 135.
Board changes
Penny Scott-Bayfield
Following an announcement on 18 September 2025, after over
seven years of service, Penny Scott-Bayfield stepped down as
Chief Financial Officer on 2 February 2026, with her employment
ending on 28 February 2026. The Committee has treated Penny
as a “good leaver” for the purposes of her unvested LTIP awards,
and she did not receive a payment in lieu of notice. Further
information is set out on page 136.
Keith Underwood
Keith Underwood joined the Board as Chief Financial and
Operating Officer on 2 February 2026. His salary on appointment
has been set at £400,000 to reflect the broader scope of his role
and responsibilities as CFOO. No buyout or replacement awards
were required in relation to his appointment. All other elements
of his remuneration were set in accordance with the current Policy.
Jenny Ridout
As announced following the end of the year, Jenny Ridout,
Bloomsbury’s Global Managing Director of Bloomsbury’s
Academic and Professional Division, joined the Board as an
Executive Director on 14 April 2026. The Committee has set her
salary to £300,000. All other elements of her remuneration were
set in accordance with the current Policy.
Stock code: BMY
Annual Report and Accounts 2026
125
OverviewGovernance
Directors’ Remuneration Report
Leslie-Ann Reed – Chair of the Audit Committee
Review of the Remuneration Policy –
proposed change to variable pay quantum
The current Policy was approved by Shareholders at the 2023
AGM, with a vote in favour of 97%. In line with the UK reporting
regulations, the Company is required to submit a new Policy to
Shareholders for approval at the 2026 AGM.
Since the last Policy review, Bloomsbury has continued to
grow and strengthen its business model for long-term success
and reaching its 2030 vision, demonstrating robust financial
performance and strategic expansion. Strategic acquisitions,
notably Rowman & Littlefield’s academic publishing assets in
2024, have significantly strengthened its US academic presence
and accelerated growth in humanities, social sciences, and higher
education digital content, directly contributing to Bloomsbury’s
2030 vision. Its diversified portfolio continues to expand across
the Consumer and Academic & Professional Divisions, with
increased International revenue and a broadened global footprint
through a new Singapore office.
To accelerate business growth and ensure sustained success in
a dynamic and evolving market, the Committee recognises the
need for a highly competitive, performance-driven remuneration
framework. This framework should strongly incentivise Executive
Directors to deliver on strategic priorities while supporting robust
succession planning. The Policy review has therefore focussed
on ensuring that it is effective in incentivising and driving the
achievement of Bloomsbury’s 2030 vision and deliver sustainable,
long-term value for Shareholders.
While Bloomsbury’s overall pay framework, combining annual
bonus and long-term PSP, remains appropriate and aligned with
strategy and market practice, the Committee is updating the
Policy with a modest increase to variable incentive opportunities.
This aims to further sharpen performance, support Bloomsbury’s
growth trajectory, and ensure sufficient headroom for future
succession planning. The proposed Policy includes an increase
to the maximum bonus opportunity from 120% to 150% of salary
and sets the normal grant level for PSP awards at 150% of salary,
aligning with the maximum permitted under the current policy.
These award levels are chosen to align executive performance
with the 2030 vision and ensure that the remuneration policy
remains competitive. While these represent an increase, the
Committee considers them a proportionate and necessary
adjustment to remain competitive and adequately incentivise the
delivery of Bloomsbury ambitious 2030 vision, especially given the
scale of recent growth and market dynamics.
In determining these award levels, the Committee undertook a
review of market practice. As Bloomsbury does not have directly
comparable UK listed peers, the Committee considered pay
practices across a range of FTSE-listed companies of similar size
to Bloomsbury, with market capitalisations ranging from £300m
to £690m, built around Bloomsbury’s current market capitalisation
of c.£500m. The Committee is mindful that no single comparator
group will provide the ‘right answer’ but this helped provide
an indication of the competitiveness of Executive Directors’
remuneration packages in comparison to similar sized UK-listed
companies. The proposed increase to award levels would position
the CEO’s total maximum pay opportunity around the median of
this group.
In line with shareholder and proxy expectations for variable pay
increases, the charts from the Shareholder letter have been
included in the Chair letter.
Remuneration arrangements for 2026/2027
During the year, the Committee reviewed salary levels for
the Chief Executive in the context of the approach for other
employees. The Board approached a Group-wide salary increase
of 2.5%, effective 1 March 2026. The CE’s salary increased by 2.5%
to £569,933 effective 1 March 2026.
The newly appointed CFOO is not eligible for a salary increase
and his salary will remain at £400,000.
Pensions and benefits remain unchanged from 2024/2025.
The maximum opportunity of the bonus and PSP award will both
be set at 150% of salary, subject to Shareholder approval of the
new Policy. Further information on the performance measures for
2026 bonus and PSP awards are set out on pages 134 to 136.
Concluding remarks
The Committee continues to look to take a measured approach
to pay, regularly engaging with Shareholders on key decisions,
and we intend to maintain this approach.
We hope that you will find this 2025/2026 Report clear and
helpful, and welcome any feedback or questions.
Leslie-Ann Reed
Chair of the Audit Committee
19 May 2026
0%
50%
100%
150%
200%
250%
300%
Annual bonus maximum
0%
100%
200%
300%
400%
PSP usual maximum
£0.0m
£1.0m
£2.0m
£3.0m
£4.0m
£5.0m
Total maximum compensation
Companies with market cap below £500m
Companies with market cap above £500m
Executive proposed positioning
www.bloomsbury.com
126
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Directors’ Remuneration Report
continued
Part A – Remuneration Policy Report
Introduction
The Directors’ Remuneration Policy is set out in this section. The
Policy will be put to a binding Shareholder vote at the AGM on
15 July 2026 and, if approved, will immediately come into force
from this date.
In determining the Remuneration Policy, the Committee applied
the key principles that remuneration should:
A
Attract and retain suitably high-calibre Executive Directors
and ensure that they are motivated to achieve the highest
levels of performance, including delivering strategic initiatives
and objectives and driving sustainable long-term value for
Shareholders;
A
Align the interests of Executive Directors with those of the
Shareholders and wider stakeholders; and
A
Not pay more than is necessary.
The current Policy was approved by Shareholders at the Annual
General Meeting on 18 July 2023, with strong support from
97.07% of Shareholders. It took effect from 1 March 2023 and was
formally effective immediately after the AGM.
Having reviewed its key design features, the Committee is
satisfied that the overall structure of remuneration remains
appropriate. The combination of an annual bonus and long-term
performance share plan (PSP) is strongly aligned to execution of
the strategy and remains consistent with mainstream market and
best practice. However, we are proposing a modest increase to
the leverage within the package, to provide greater performance
focus and reflect the enhanced size and scale of the business.
Key changes to the new Policy regarding the incentive
opportunities:
A
Annual bonus – Increase to the ongoing maximum for the
annual bonus from 120% to 150% of salary; and
A
PSP - Increase to the ongoing maximum for the annual bonus
from 120% to 150% of salary.
Other minor changes have been made to the Policy to increase
flexibility and transparency as well as aid its operation and to
reflect evolving market practice.
Consideration of Shareholder views
As part of this year’s Policy review, theRemuneration
Committee engaged directly with major Shareholders and their
representative bodies. Overall Shareholders were supportive of
the changes proposed, and all feedback received during this
process was carefully considered by the Committee.
The Remuneration Committee will seek to engage directly with
major Shareholders and their representative bodies should any
material changes be proposed to the Remuneration Policy at
any time.
Remuneration Policy for Executive Directors – Policy Table
The following table summarises each element of the Remuneration Policy for the Executive Directors, explaining how each element
operates and links to the corporate strategy.
Element Purpose and
link tostrategy
Operation Maximum opportunity Performance targets
Salary
A
Reflects the value
of the individual
and their role.
A
Reflects skills
and experience
over time.
A
Provides an
appropriate level of
basic fixed income
avoiding excessive
risk taking arising
from over-reliance
on variable income.
A
Normally reviewed
annually and effective
1 March, although salaries
may be reviewed more
frequently or at different
times of the year if the
Committee determines
that this is appropriate.
A
Takes into account the
role, personal experience
and performance,
business performance,
wider workforce policies,
and comparisons against
companies with similar
characteristics and sector
comparators.
A
No maximum base
salary or maximum
salary increase
operated.
A
Annual increases
are typically linked
to those of the
wider workforce,
but with scope for
higher increases
in circumstances
including (but not
limited to):
–
Change in role
–
Where salaries
are below
market levels
–
Enhanced
performance and
experience of the
individual.
A
N/A
Stock code: BMY
Annual Report and Accounts 2026
127
OverviewGovernance
Element Purpose and
link tostrategy
Operation Maximum opportunity Performance targets
Pension
A
Provides role-
appropriate
retirement benefits.
A
Opportunity for
Executive Directors
to contribute
to their own
retirement plan
A
Defined contribution/
salary supplement or cash
payment in lieu of pension
contribution.
A
The maximum
contribution rate
will be in line with
the employer
contribution rate
available to the wider
UK workforce. For
wider UK employees,
this is currently 7%,
but can be higher
where employer NIC
savings arising from
pension contributions
made through salary
sacrifice are shared
with the participant.
A
N/A
Other
benefits
A
To aid retention
and recruitment.
A
Benefits include but are
not limited to: company
car or car allowance, and
the provision of private
medical/permanent
health insurance and life
assurance.
A
There is no maximum
but benefits will be
appropriate in the
context of the role.
A
N/A
Annual
bonus
A
Incentivises annual
delivery of financial
and strategic goals.
A
Maximum bonus
only payable
for achieving
demanding targets.
A
Normally paid in cash.
A
In the event that an
Executive Director
does not meet their
shareholding guideline at
the time of payment, any
bonus earned in excess
of 100% of salary will
normally be deferred into
shares for two years.
A
Not pensionable.
A
Performance assessed
over a one year period.
A
Measures and targets are
set each year, normally
based on the Group’s
business plan as at the
start of the financial year.
A
Annual bonus outcomes
are typically determined
by the Committee
following the year end
based on performance
against pre-determined
objectives.
A
Where awards are
deferred into shares,
dividends (or equivalents)
may be payable on any
shares that vest.
A
150% of salary.
A
Group financial objectives
(majority).
A
Strategic objectives, including
personal objectives (minority).
A
Performance measures may
be varied year-on-year based
on the Company’s strategic
priorities.
A
The level of payout for
threshold performance will vary
depending on the nature of
the measure and the stretch of
the targets. For performance
between threshold and
maximum hurdles, award levels
are appropriately scaled.
A
The Committee may adjust
the formulaic outcome where
it believes the outcome does
not reflect the Committee’s
assessment of the underlying
financial or non-financial
performance of the Company/
individual or is not appropriate
in the context of circumstances
that were unexpected or
unforeseen at the start of the
bonus year.
A
Malus and clawback provisions
apply. Further details set
out below.
www.bloomsbury.com
128
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Directors’ Remuneration Report
continued
Element Purpose and
link tostrategy
Operation Maximum opportunity Performance targets
Long term
incentives:
Performance
Share
Plan (PSP)
A
Aligned to main
strategic objectives
of delivering
sustainable profit
growth and
Shareholder return.
A
Annual grant of nil cost
options or conditional
awards (or economic
equivalent) which normally
vest subject to continued
service and performance
targets assessed over
three years.
A
Any vested shares must
normally be held by the
Executive for a further
two years.
A
Dividend (or equivalents)
may be payable to the
extent that shares under
award vest.
A
150% of salary.
A
Vesting of PSP awards will be
based on performance against
relevant financial and strategic
non-financial metrics as
determined by the Committee.
A
For awards granted in 2026,
vesting will be based on EPS
(before highlighted items)
(60%), Academic & Professional
Adjusted Profit (17.5%),
Consumer Adjusted Profit
(17.5%) and Total revenue (5%).
A
Up to 25% of awards will vest
at threshold performance
increasing to full vesting at
maximum performance levels.
A
The Committee may adjust
the formulaic outcome where
it believes the outcome does
not reflect the Committee’s
assessment of the underlying
financial or non-financial
performance of the Company/
individual or is not appropriate
in the context of circumstances
that were unexpected or
unforeseen at the time
of grant.
A
Malus and clawback provisions
apply. Further details set
out below.
All-
employee
share plans
A
To encourage
employee share
ownership and
therefore alignment
with Shareholders.
A
Eligible to participate
in any HMRC-approved
all-employee plan on
the same basis as other
employees.
A
The Company currently
operates an HMRC
tax-advantaged savings
plan to fund the exercise
of share options over
three- or five-year savings
arrangements (Sharesave).
A
Currently, the exercise
price may be discounted
by up to 20%.
A
Provides tax advantages
to UK employees.
A
Prevailing HMRC
limitsapply.
A
N/A
Notes to the Policy table:
1
A description of how the Company intends to implement this Policy in 2026/2027 is set out in the Annual Report on Remuneration.
2
The choice of the performance metrics applicable to the annual bonus or long-term incentive scheme will reflect the Company strategy at the time of grant.
Targets are set by the Committee taking into account internal and external reference points, including the Company’s business plan, to ensure that they are
appropriately stretching.
Stock code: BMY
Annual Report and Accounts 2026
129
OverviewGovernance
Annual bonus – The annual bonus metrics are designed
to provide an appropriate balance between incentivising
Executive Directors to meet financial targets for the year and to
deliver on specific strategic objectives to ensure the business
is well positioned to deliver sustainable financial growth and
Shareholder value in the future. The annual bonus performance
targets are therefore based on a combination of financial,
operational and strategic objectives, which provide clear
alignment to the Company’s KPIs and strategic priorities.
PSP - For the 2026 PSP Award, the Committee has taken the
opportunity to review performance metrics to ensure that they
continue to support the strategic ambitions of the Company as
well as the creation of sustainable value for Shareholders. The
Committee continues to consider EPS an appropriate measure
that encourages management to grow earnings for Shareholders
over the longer term. Consumer and Academic & Professional
Adjusted Profit targets have been included to incentivise the
delivery of financial performance in each business. The revenue
measure recognises the current focus on revenue growth in all
territories. The Committee will keep the measures and weightings
under review for future awards granted under the Policy to ensure
that they support the long-term success of the Company
Malus and clawback provisions
The annual bonus and PSP incorporate malus and clawback
provisions. These enable the Company to reduce the size of
unvested awards and to claw back awards for up to three years
following the date when the performance outcome is determined,
and in respect of the PSP, three years from the date of vesting.
The circumstances under which malus and clawback may be
applied include:
A
Material misstatement in the Company’s financial results;
A
Assessment of performance conditions based on an error, or
on inaccurate or misleading information;
A
Serious misconduct on the part of the participant;
A
Serious reputational damage; or
A
Material corporate failure.
The above circumstances apply for all annual bonus and PSP
awards made from 2020 onwards. The Committee is satisfied
that the above provisions provide robust safeguards against
inappropriate payment of incentive awards.
A clawback period of three years following payment of an annual
bonus and vesting of PSP awards is considered appropriate on
the basis that:
A
it is reasonable to assume that any of the circumstances
outlined above would be discovered within a three-year
period;
A
it is considered a reasonable period to support the
enforceability of clawback; and
A
it is aligned to typical market practice.
Further details
The Committee reserves the right to make remuneration
payments and payments for loss of office (which includes
exercising related discretions) that are not in line with this 2026
Policy if the terms of the payment were agreed:
1. Before the Policy came into effect, if the payment was made
in line with the policy in force at the time or was otherwise
approved by Shareholders; and
2. At a time when the recipient was not subject to the Policy,
provided the Committee does not consider the payment to
have been made in consideration of the recipient becoming
subject to the Policy.
For these purposes “payment” means any payment that would
otherwise be subject to the Policy and, in relation to a share
award, will not be considered to have been “agreed” any
later than the date of grant. The Committee may make minor
amendments to the Policy (e.g. for regulatory, exchange control,
tax or administrative purposes or to take account of a change
in legislation) without obtaining Shareholder approval for that
amendment.
Awards granted under the Company’s share plans will be
operated in accordance with the relevant plan rules and
applicable regulations. Under the plan rules, the Committee
retains a number of discretions concerning the operation of the
Company’s share plans. This includes:
A
Determining the participants (including for Executive
Directors and below the Board), timing of grants, size of
awards and performance conditions;
A
Determining the vesting of awards, including both the timing
and level of vesting;
A
Where possible under the plan rules, determining that
awards may be settled in cash rather than shares, where
the Committee considers this appropriate (e.g. due to local
securities law); and
A
Making adjustments in accordance with the relevant
provisions of the relevant plan rules, including adjustments to
awards to reflect one off corporate events, such as a change
in the Group’s capitalstructure
Reward scenarios
The remuneration package comprises both fixed elements (base
salary, pension and benefits) and performance-based variable
elements (cash bonus and PSP). The structure of the remuneration
packages for on-target and stretch performance for each of the
Executive Directors for 2026/2027, in line with the Remuneration
Policy, is illustrated in the bar charts below.
0
£500,000
£1,000,000
£1,500,000
£2,000,000
£2,500,000
£3,000,000
100%
£631,827
£1,486,725
£2,341,623
£2,769,072
Nigel Newton
Minimum Target Maximum Maximum+
share price
42%
29%
37%
31%
37% 31%
15%
29%
26% 23%
Fixed elements
Bonus Performance Share Award Share price appreciation
www.bloomsbury.com
130
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Directors’ Remuneration Report
continued
1
The minimum performance scenario comprises the fixed elements of
remuneration only, based on salary, pension and benefits as per policy for
2026/2027.
2
The target level of bonus is assumed to be 50% of the maximum bonus
opportunity (150% of salary), and the target level of PSP vesting is assumed
to be 50% of the face value assuming a normal grant level (150% of
salary). These values are included in addition to the components/values of
minimumremuneration.
3
Maximum assumes full bonus payout (150% of salary) and the full face value of
the PSP (150% of salary), in addition to fixed components of remuneration.
4
In addition, a further performance scenario, comprising fixed pay and the
maximum value of incentive arrangements with 50% share price growth applied
to the PSP, has been included.
5
Annualised salary and pension figures used are effective as at 1 March 2026, or
from date of appointment if later. Benefits figures are in respect of 2025/2026.
6
For simplicity, no share price growth (other than in the scenario stated above)
has been factored into the calculations. The value of any Sharesave awards and
notional dividends accruing on vested PSP shares has been excluded
Executive Director share ownership guidelines
Under the guidelines, the Executive Directors are expected to build
and maintain a shareholding equivalent to 200% of basic salary with
no upper limit on the number of shares they may hold. Executive
Directors are expected to retain all shares arising from vested
PSP awards (net of tax) or purchase shares until the shareholding
guideline is met. Any annual bonus earnt in excess of 100% of salary
will be deferred into shares for a two-year holding period until the
relevant Executive Director has met their shareholding guideline.
Executive Directors are also subject to a post-employment
Shareholding Guideline. After ceasing to be an Executive
Director, individuals will be expected to maintain a shareholding
equivalent to 200% of salary (or actual shareholding at the point
of stepping down if lower), tapering down to nil over two years.
This guideline applies to shares vesting after the 2020 AGM and
may be disapplied in certain cases (e.g. due to compassionate
circumstances).
Approach to recruitment and promotions
The remuneration package for any new Executive Director would
be set in accordance with the terms of the Company’s approved
Remuneration Policy at the time of appointment and would take
into account the skills and experience of the individual, the market
rate for a candidate of that experience and the importance of
securing the relevant individual.
All remuneration components, as set out in the Policy Table above,
would typically apply to a new Executive Director appointment.
Salary would be provided at such a level as required to attract the
most appropriate candidate and may be set initially at a below
market level on the basis that it may progress once expertise
and performance have been proven and sustained. Pensions
and related benefits would normally be set in line with the wider
workforce. New appointments would be eligible to participate in
the incentive plans up to the maximum limits set out in the Policy
Table. In addition, the Committee may offer additional cash and/or
share-based elements to replace remuneration and/or contractual
terms forfeited on joining the Company. It would seek to ensure,
where possible, that these awards would be consistent with
awards forfeited in terms of vesting periods, expected value and
performance conditions. Where possible any replacement award
will be accommodated under the Company’s existing incentive
plans, but it may be necessary to utilise the exemption provided in
the Listing Rules.
For an internal Executive Director appointment, any variable pay
element awarded in respect of the prior role may be allowed to
pay out according to its terms. In addition, any other ongoing
remuneration obligations existing prior to appointment may
continue.
For external and internal appointments, the Committee may agree
that the Company will meet certain relocation and/or incidental
expenses as appropriate.
If appropriate the Committee may agree, on the recruitment of a
new Executive Director, a notice period in excess of 12 months but
to reduce this to 12 months over a specified period.
The remuneration package for a newly appointed independent
Non-Executive Director would be set in accordance with the
approved remuneration policy in force at that time. Newly
appointed Independent Non-Executive Directors would not receive
pension benefits or variable remuneration.
Service contracts for Executive Directors and
payments for loss of office
Service contracts of the Executive Directors are not of a fixed term
and are terminable by either the Company or the Director under a
notice period of up to 12 months by either party.
At the Board’s discretion, early termination of an Executive
Director’s service contract may be undertaken by way of payment
of salary and benefits in lieu of the required notice period (or
shorter period where permitted by the contract of service or where
agreed with the Executive Director) and the Committee would
take such steps as necessary to mitigate the loss to the Company
and to ensure that the Executive Director observed their duty to
mitigate loss.
0
£500,000
£1,000,000
£1,500,000
£2,000,000
£2,500,000
100%
£430,000
£1,030,000
£1,630,000
£1,930,000
Keith Underwood
Minimum Target Maximum Maximum+
share price
42%
29%
37%
31%
37% 31%
16%
29%
26% 23%
Fixed pay
Annual Bonus Performance Share Award Share price appreciation
Fixed pay
Annual Bonus Performance Share Award Share price appreciation
0
£500,000
£1,000,000
£1,500,000
£2,000,000
£2,500,000
100%
£323,000
£773,000
£1,223,000
£1,448,000
Jenny Ridout
Minimum Target Maximum Maximum+
share price
42%
29%
37%
31%
37%
31%
16%
29%
26% 23%
Stock code: BMY
Annual Report and Accounts 2026
131
OverviewGovernance
On termination the Committee may also make payments in lieu of
accrued holiday, incidental expenses, outplacement services and
payments relating to post-termination restrictions as appropriate.
Any statutory entitlements or sums to settle or compromise claims
in connection with a termination (including, at the discretion of the
Committee, reimbursement for legal advice) would be paid as the
Committee considers necessary.
Annual bonus may be payable, at the discretion of the Committee,
with respect to the period of the financial year served, although it will
normally be prorated for time and paid at the normal payout date.
Any share-based entitlements granted to an Executive Director
under the Company’s share plans will be determined based on the
relevant plan rules. However, in certain prescribed circumstances,
such as death, ill health, injury, disability, redundancy, retirement,
sale of employing business or other circumstances at the discretion
of the Committee, “good leaver” status may be applied. For
good leavers, PSP and deferred bonus awards will normally vest
at the normal vesting date, with PSP awards vesting subject to the
satisfaction of any relevant performance conditions at that time
and reduced pro rata to reflect the proportion of the performance
period actually served. However, the Committee has the discretion
to determine that awards vest at cessation of employment and/or
not to prorate awards.
The service contracts for Executive Directors are available for
inspection at the Company’s registered office.
Remuneration Policy for Non-Executive
Directors
The Policy on Non-Executive Director fees is set out below.
Purpose and
link tostrategy
A
Reflects responsibilities and time
commitments of each role.
A
Reflects fees paid by similarly sized
companies.
Operation
A
The Non-Executive Chair of the Board
and Non-Executive Directors receive an
annual fee for carrying out their duties.
A
Additional fees may be payable for
chairing Board Committees and/or to
reflect additional time commitments and
responsibilities if appropriate.
A
Fees are normally paid monthly in cash.
A
Where appropriate, certain benefits
(including travel, expenses and
associated taxes) may be provided.
A
Fee levels are reviewed on a periodic
basis, with reference to the time
commitment and responsibilities of the
role and market levels in companies of
comparable size and complexity
Maximum
opportunity
A
No maximum fee or maximum fee
increase operated.
A
Annual increases are typically linked
to those of the wider workforce, time
commitment and responsibility levels.
A
Details of current fee levels are set out in
the Annual Report on Remuneration.
Performance
targets
A
N/A
The annual fees of Non-Executive Directors, excluding the
Chair, are determined by the Chair and the Executive Directors.
The annual fee of the Chair is determined by the Committee
(excluding the Chair).
The Non-Executive Directors do not participate in the Company’s
incentive schemes.
Each of the Non-Executive Directors has similar general terms for
their agreement, which can be found on Bloomsbury’s website
at www.bloomsbury-ir.co.uk. The agreements provide for three
months’ notice by the Director or by the Company with the
option for the Company to terminate an appointment at any time
on payment of three months’ fees in lieu of notice. All Directors’
appointments are subject to annual reappointment at each AGM.
Termination of the agreements is without compensation.
Consideration of employment conditions
elsewhere in the Group
The Committee is updated during the year on workforce
remuneration policies, including variable pay schemes and
benefits for employees across the Company as a whole, and takes
these into account when setting the Policy for Executive Directors.
Remuneration arrangements below Board tend to be skewed
more towards fixed pay with less of a focus on share-based
long-term incentive pay. These differences have arisen from the
development of remuneration arrangements that are market
competitive for the various categories of individuals. For example,
participation in the PSP is limited to the most senior employees.
Under its terms of reference, the Committee is responsible
for approving the design of, and determining targets for,
performance-related pay schemes operated by the Company,
including the Group bonus scheme. The Committee is also
responsible for determining the level of bonus outturns for all
those who participate in the Group bonus scheme, including
Executive Directors and managers below Board. The Committee
also considers the general basic salary increase for the wider
workforce when determining the annual salary increases for the
Executive Directors. The Company’s CEO pay ratio as well as the
relative increase in the Chief Executive’s pay for the year under
review as compared with that of the general workforce is set out
in the Annual Report on Remuneration. The Committee also
considers environmental, social and governance issues and risk
when reviewing Executive pay quantum and structure.
www.bloomsbury.com
132
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Directors’ Remuneration Report
continued
Part B
1 (AUDITED INFORMATION) Single total figure table of remuneration for 2025/2026
Directors’ remuneration for 2025/2026
Details of the remuneration of each of the Directors are as follows:
Year ended
28 February
Basic salary
or fees
£’000
Benefits
£’000
Annual
Bonus
6
£’000
Long-term
incentives
7,8
£’000
Pension
benefits
£’000
Total
£’000
Total
fixed
remuneration
£’000
Total
variable
remuneration
£’000
Executive Directors
Nigel Newton
2026 556 22 123 674 38 1,413 616 797
2025 542 23 557 543 38 1,703 603 1,100
Penny Scott-Bayfield
1
2026 320 2 77 421 22 842 344 498
2025 339 2 336 339 24 1,040 365 675
Keith Underwood
2
2026 33 0 – – 2 35 35 –
2025 – – – – – – – –
Non-Executive Directors
Sir Richard Lambert
3
2026 - – – – – - - –
2025 65 – – – – 65 65 –
John Bason
4
2026 176 – – – – 179 176 –
2025 131 – – – – 131 131 –
Leslie-Ann Reed
2026 72 – – – – 72 72 –
2025 68 – – – – 68 68 –
Baroness Lola Young of
Hornsey
2026 55 – – – – 55 55 –
2025 54 – – – – 54 54 –
Dame Heather Rabbatts
5
2026 49 – – – – 49 49 –
2025 – – – – – – – –
Total
2026 1,261 24 200 1,095 62 2,642 1,347 1,295
2025 1,199 25 893 882 62 3,061 1,286 1,775
1
Penny Scott-Bayfield stepped down as Chief Financial Officer on 2 February 2026. Her 2026 remuneration is shown up to this date. She remained an employee
until 28 February 2026. Further information on her leaving arrangements are set out on page 136.
2
Keith Underwood was appointed as Chief Financial and Operating Officer on 2 February 2026. His 2026 remuneration is shown from the date of his
appointment.
3
Sir Richard Lambert retired as Chairman of the Board and as a Director of the Company on 16 July 2024. His fees for the year to 28 February 2025 are up to the
date of his retirement.
4
John Bason was appointed as Chairman of the Board on 16 July 2024. As from this date, John’s annual fee, as Chairman, was increased to £171,600.
5
Dame Heather Rabbatts joined the Board on 14 April 2025.
6
Figures shown for bonus payments relate to performance during the relevant financial year.
7
Figures shown for 2026 relate to PSP Awards granted in 2023 (at a share price of 419p), which will vest following completion of the three-year performance
on 29 August 2026. These awards have been valued using a three-month average share price to 28 February 2026 of 476.87p and are inclusive of dividend
equivalents. Of these values, £74,520 and £46,547 relate to share price growth over the performance period for Nigel Newton and Penny Scott-Bayfield,
respectively. Vested awards are subject to an additional two-year holding period, and therefore the value of awards will continue to be aligned with the share
price over this period.
8
Figures shown for 2025 relate to the PSP Awards granted in 2022 (at a share price of 418p), inclusive of dividend equivalents, which vested following
completion of the three-year performance on 10 August 2025. The value of the award has been restated to reflect the share price on the day of vesting
of 482.5p. Of these values, £66,752 and £41,695 relate to share price growth over the performance period for Nigel Newton and Penny Scott-Bayfield,
respectively. Awards are subject to a further holding period.
Further details on each element of remuneration are set out under the relevant heading below.
Basic salary
As reported last year, the Executive Directors (Nigel Newton and Penny Scott-Bayfield) received an increase in basic salary of 2.5% with
effect from 1 March 2025, which was in line with the salary increases for all employees across the Group. They did not receive any further
increases during the year.
The basic salaries from 1 March 2025 was £556,032 and £358,033 for Nigel Newton and Penny Scott-Bayfield respectively. Keith Underwood
joined the Board on 2 February 2026 on an annual salary of £400,000.
Stock code: BMY
Annual Report and Accounts 2026
133
OverviewGovernance
Other benefits
Benefits comprised a car or car allowance (for Nigel Newton), medical cover, permanent health cover, life assurance, the home working
allowance, and Company schemes offered to staff generally, such as buying books for private use at the staff discount rate and joining the
Save-As-You-Earn share plan.
Pensions
The Executive Directors pension contributions were 7.0% of salary, in line with the rate for the wider workforce.
Directors may elect to receive a cash alternative in lieu of payments by the Company into their private pension arrangements.
Bonus for 2025/2026
The maximum bonus potential for 2025/2026 for Nigel Newton and Penny Scott-Bayfield was 120% of salary. Keith Underwood did not
participate in the bonus in respect of 2025/2026 due to the timing of his appointment.
The bonus is structured so that a portion of the bonus is funded at achievement of the Adjusted Profit target. Any outperformance of this
target is used to fund the remaining portion of the bonus pool. Where the full bonus pool is not funded, bonuses are prorated. For the
Executive Directors, 70% of the bonus relates to the profit element, and 30% relates to other strategic objectives.
Profit element
For 2025/2026 the Adjusted Profit target was set at £44.9m. No bonus would have been payable if this level of performance was not
achieved. The maximum award was payable for Adjusted Profit performance of £48.2 million. Bloomsbury delivered revenue of £325.9m
for the year ended 28 February 2026, achieving Adjusted Profit of £44.9 million. Therefore, the bonus was funded at 20% of the maximum
possible.
Strategic element
For the year to 28 February 2026, the Committee approved six objectives for the year based on the strategic goals the Board had set, with
different targets for Nigel Newton and for Penny Scott-Bayfield. These are set out below.
Objective Description/Metric Achievement
Achieved Nigel
Newton
Achieved Penny
Scott-Bayfield
Future growth
strategy
Maximise Consumer brand
opportunities by building
Bloomsbury’s reputation and brands
for current and future years
Significant progress on marketing and
publicity in respect of key brands.
Completed successful integration of
R&L assets.
Secured high-value AI licensing deal
for academic content.
Good progress on key infrastructure
projects.
Planned corporate restructure,
announced in April 2026.
17%/17% 14%/14%
Grow Bloomsbury Academic and
BDR brands
Achieve 2025/2026 milestones for
Bloomsbury 2030
Consumer
profitability
Assessment focussed on performance
of broader consumer portfolio, based
on profit performance excluding
contribution of key titles.
Targets not achieved 0%/8% 0%/8%
Inventory reduction Net finished goods
1
50% earned
5% reduction vs FY25, full element
earned for 10% reduction vs FY25.
Net finished goods reduced by 18% in
FY26 on a constant currency basis
2%/2% 5%/5%
Sustainability Scope 1 and 2 emissions reduction
targets, as defined in the Annual
Report
2
.
64 tCO
2
e 3%/3% 3%/3%
Total (out of
maximum 30%)
3
22% 22%
1
Based on net finished goods stock, on a like-for-like basis, excluding acquisitions and on a constant exchange rate basis.
2
Reduction targets are to market based emissions.
3
Where the profit element is not achieved in full, the outcome under this element is scaled in line with the outcome from the profit element.
www.bloomsbury.com
134
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Directors’ Remuneration Report
continued
Based on the above performance, both Nigel Newton and Penny Scott-Bayfield earned their bonuses at 18.4% of the maximum of 120%
of salary. The Committee believes these outcomes fairly reflect the performance of the Group for the year as well as the experience of
Bloomsbury’s Shareholders and employees.
Under the Remuneration Policy approved at the 2023 AGM, a portion of the bonus is deferred into shares when an Executive Director has
not met their shareholding guideline at the time of payment. As at 28 February 2025 both Nigel Newton and Penny Scott Bayfield had met
their shareholding guideline.
Vesting of PSP Awards
The PSP Awards granted on 29 August 2023 (“2023 PSP Award”) are set to vest on 29 August 2026 based on performance in the final
financial year of a three-year period ending 28 February 2026.
The level of vesting for the 2023 PSP Awards is given below. The Committee is satisfied that these outcomes reflect the significant
achievements made over the last three years and are consistent with the experience of Shareholders and employees.
Metric Performance condition
0%
vesting
25%
vesting
100%
vesting Actual % Vesting
1
EPS
(60% of awards)
EPS (before highlighted items)
(final financial year) 28.7p 32.0p 41.9p 44.57p
60% (out of a
maximum of 60%)
Non-Consumer Division
Operating Profit (17.5% of
awards)
Operating profit (final
financial year) £11.4m £12.7m £16.7m £23.5m
2
17.5% (out of a
maximum of 17.5%)
Consumer Division Operating
Profit (17.5% of awards)
Operating profit (final
financial year) £20.4m £23.0m £30.6m £22.6m
3.7% (out of a
maximum of 17.5%)
Bloomsbury International
Revenue (BIR) (5% of awards)
BIR revenue (final financial year) £115.9m £123.6m £146.5m £179.5m
5% (out of a
maximum of 5%)
Total estimated vesting of 2023
PSP Awards 86.2%
1
Vesting is subject to an underpin whereby the Committee will consider the underlying performance of the business and may apply discretion should it
conclude it is appropriate to do so. On review, the Committee was satisfied that the outcome was consistent with Company performance over the last
three years.
2
Adjusted to include Special Interest within Non-Consumer (to ensure consistency with original targets).
3
Where performance is between the targets set out in the table above, vesting is calculated on a straight-line basis.
4
As disclosed in last year’s Remuneration Report, the PSP granted in prior years incorporated targets including an element of inorganic growth.Due to the level
of outperformance for the period, the Rowman & Littlefield acquisition did not have a material impact on the overall vesting outcome for the 2023 PSP award.
Based on the above, values for the 2023 PSP Awards to vest are as follows:
Executive Type of award
Number of
shares at
grant
Number of
shares to
lapse
Number of
shares to
vest
Number of
Dividend
Shares
1
Total
Estimated
value
£’000
2
Nigel Newton
PSP (Conditional awards)
149,385 20,616 128,769 12,507 141,276 674
Penny Scott-Bayfield
93,310 12,877 80,433 7,812 88,245 421
1
Dividend Shares are in lieu of dividends that would have accrued on the “Number of shares to vest” if held by the participants from the date of grant up to the
date of vesting of awards.
2
Estimated value is calculated using a three-month average share price to 28 February 2026 of £4.7687. The actual value of shares received will vary depending
on the share price at the vesting date (i.e. 29 August 2026).
Vested shares will be subject to a two-year holding period to ensure the Executive Directors remain aligned with our Shareholders.
Stock code: BMY
Annual Report and Accounts 2026
135
OverviewGovernance
PSP Awards granted during 2025/2026
Details of PSP Awards granted in 2025/2026 under the Bloomsbury Executive Share Plan are as follows:
Executive Scheme Date of grant Date of vest
Basis of
award (% of
base salary)
Face value
1
£’000
Vesting at
threshold
Vesting at
maximum
Performance
period
Nigel Newton
PSP
(Conditional
awards)
28 Aug 2025 28 Aug 2028 120% 667 0% 100%
3 years to
28 February 2028
Penny
Scott-Bayfield
28 Aug 2025 28 Aug 2028 120% 417 0% 100%
1
Face value was determined using a share price of 488.5p (closing mid-market price of a share on the dealing day before the grant was made).
Performance conditions in respect of the 2025 PSP Award:
Metric Weighting 0% vesting 25% vesting 100% vesting
EPS (before highlighted items) 60% 41.8p 45.6p 57.0p
Non-Consumer Operating Profit 17.5% £14.5 million £15.6 million £19.0 million
Consumer Operating Profit 17.5% £30.5 million £33.4 million £42.0 million
Bloomsbury International Revenue
5% £217.7 million £231.8 million £273.9 million
Where performance is between the points shown in the table, vesting will be pro rata on a straight-line basis. The awards for Executive
Directors are subject to malus and clawback provisions and to a two-year post-vesting holding period. During the holding period, an
Executive Director may not sell their vested shares, which will remain subject to a clawback provision. The Committee has discretion to
adjust formulaic outcomes where it believes the outcome does not reflect the Committee’s assessment of the underlying performance of
the Company/individual.
Payments to past Directors
There were no payments to past Directors during the year other than those relating to termination of employment as set out in the next
section.
Payments for loss of office
Penny Scott-Bayfield stepped down as a Chief Financial Officer and Director on 2 February 2026. Penny’s employment by Bloomsbury
ended on 28 February 2026 and she received her salary, pension and benefits during the remainder of her employment with health care
benefits ceasing on 31 August 2026. She did not receive any payment in lieu of notice.
Penny remained eligible for a bonus for 2025/2026 based on performance achieved, as set out on pages 134 to 135. Penny was treated
a “good leaver” in respect of her outstanding PSP awards. She will retain these awards, which will be subject to the achievement of the
performance conditions (as assessed at the end of the relevant performance period) and time pro-rating based on the proportion of the
relevant performance period she completed in employment. Post-vesting holding periods will continue to apply.
Penny will be subject to the post-employment shareholding guidelines in line with the Directors’ Remuneration Policy. Penny is required to
retain a shareholding in the Company for two years after stepping down from the Board.
www.bloomsbury.com
136
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Directors’ Remuneration Report
continued
Outstanding share awards
PSP Awards
PSP conditional share awards have been granted for nil consideration over Ordinary shares of 1.25 pence in the Company under the
Bloomsbury 2014 Performance Share Plan (“2014 PSP”) and the Bloomsbury 2023 Executive Share Plan (“ESP”). The number of conditional
shares awarded is normally calculated based on the closing mid-market share price prevailing on the day before the date of grant. The
following conditional shares awarded to the Executive Directors were outstanding during the year:
Date of
PSP/ESP
award
Due
date of
exercise/
expiry
Price at
grant date
(pence)
At 1
March
2025
Awarded
during
the year
Exercised
during
the year
Lapsed
during
the year
Share price
on date of
exercise
(pence)
At 28
February
2026, or
if earlier,
the date of
stepping
down
Nigel Newton 10 August
2022
10 August
2025 418.00p 118,957 – 103,492 15,465 482.5 –
29 August
2023
29 August
2026 419.00p 149,385 – – – – 149,385
7 August
2024
7 August
2027 686.00p 94,892 – – – – 94,892
28 August
2025
28 August
2028 488.5p – 136,589 – – – 136,589
Penny Scott-
Bayfield
10 August
2022
10 August
2025 418.00p 74,303 – 64,643 9,660 482.5 –
29 August
2023
29 August
2026 419.00p 93,310 – – – – 93,310
7 August
2024
7 August
2027 686.00p 59,272 – – – – 59,272
28 August
2025
28 August
2028 488.5p – 85,317 – – – 85,317
PSP Awards performance targets
Performance measures and targets for the 2023 PSP Award are detailed on page 135, and for the 2025 PSP Award are detailed on page 136
Performance measures and targets for the 2024 PSP Award are set out below:
Metric Weighting 0% vesting 25% vesting 100% vesting
EPS (before highlighted items) 60% 36.0p 41.5p 58.1p
Non-Consumer Operating Profit 17.5% £14.2 million £16.8 million £24.4million
Consumer Operating Profit 17.5% £24.6 million £27.2 million £35.1 million
Bloomsbury International Revenue (BIR) Revenue
5% £145.2 million £162.1 million £212.6 million
Sharesave options
Bloomsbury operates an HMRC-approved Sharesave scheme in respect of which all UK employees are eligible to participate. There were no
Sharesave options outstanding in respect of either Executive Director at the year-end (2025: nil).
Directors’ interests in shares
Under the current Remuneration Policy, Executive Directors are required to build up a shareholding in the Company equal to 200% of their
salary (“Shareholding Guideline”) to align their interests with that of Shareholders. Executive Directors are expected to retain any vested
shares (net of tax) until the Shareholding Guideline has been achieved.
Executive Directors are also subject to a post-employment Shareholding Guideline. After ceasing to be an Executive Director, individuals
will be expected to maintain a shareholding equivalent to 200% of salary (or actual shareholding if lower), tapering down to nil over two
years. This guideline applies to shares vesting after the 2020 AGM and may be disapplied in certain cases (e.g. due to compassionate
circumstances).
Shareholding Guidelines do not apply to the Chairman or Non-Executive Directors.
Stock code: BMY
Annual Report and Accounts 2026
137
OverviewGovernance
The interests of the Directors who served on the Board during the year are set out in the table below. There have been no changes to those
interests between 28 February 2026 and the date of this report.
Owned
2
PSP & ESP Awards
Sharesave
options
unvested
Total 28 February
2026, or if earlier,
the date of
stepping down
Shareholding
Guideline
achieved
1
%
28 February
2026, or if
earlier, date of
stepping down
28 February
2025 Unvested Vested
Nigel Newton
3
1,710,896 1,628,991 380,866 – – 2,091,762 >200
Penny Scott-Bayfield
4
264,324 227,257 237,899 – - 502,223 >200
Keith Underwood
5
– – – – – – <200
John Bason 23,109 11,089 – – – 23,109 N/A
Leslie-Ann Reed 29,077 12,139 – – – 29,077 N/A
Baroness Young – – – – – – N/A
Dame Heather Rabbatts
6
– – – – – – N/A
Total 2,027,406 1,879,476 – – 2,646,171
1
The Guideline requires that the Executive Director must retain shares vesting from the PSP Awards net of tax until the Shareholding Guideline of 200% has
been met. The number of shares needed to satisfy a shareholding is normally recalculated at the close of the next business day following the announcement
of the full year results (the “Review Date”). The share price used above is 496 pence (determined by the closing price of shares the day after annual results are
announced), and to calculate the actual shareholding of each Executive Director their salary as at 28 February 2026 has been used.
2
Owned includes shares held directly by the Director and indirectly by a nominee on behalf of the Director where the Director has the beneficial interest. It
includes the shares of the Director and of connected persons.
3
In respect of the vesting of the 2022 PSP Award, Nigel Newton acquired 112,472 shares (comprising 103,492 vested PSP shares and 8,980 dividend equivalent
shares), out of which 50,867 shares were sold to fund the tax liability and administrative fees arising on vesting. He retained the balance of 61,605 shares.
4
In respect of the vesting of the 2022 PSP Award, Penny Scott-Bayfield acquired 70,252 shares (comprising 64,643 vested PSP shares and 5,609 dividend
equivalent shares) out of which 33,185 shares were sold to fund the tax liability, National Insurance liability and administrative fees arising on vesting. She
retained a balance of 37,067 shares.
5
Keith Underwood joined the Board on 2 February 2026.
6
Dame Heather Rabbatts joined the Board on the 14 April 2025.
No Director has or has had any interest, direct or indirect, in any transaction, contract or arrangement (excluding service agreements),
which is, or was, unusual in its nature or conditions or significant to the business of the Group during the current or immediately preceding
financial year.
Overall, the Committee considers that the Remuneration Policy has operated as it intended during 2025/2026 and that the pay outcomes
are aligned with the experience of Shareholders, employees, and other stakeholders over the relevant performance period.
Implementation of the Remuneration Policy in 2025/2026
Salary
Annual salary increases for the Executive Directors and senior management are normally aligned with the approach adopted for the wider
workforce, other than in specific circumstances (e.g. adjustments to reflect change in role).
From 1 March 2026, Nigel Newton received a pay increase of 2.5%, in line with the increase for the general workforce. Keith Underwood
received no increase given the timing of his recruitment. Jenny Ridout’s salary on appointment to the Board was set at £300,000.
Basic salaries for the Executive Directors are as follows:
Executive Director
From 1 March 2026,
or if later, date of
appointment
£’000
Nigel Newton 570
Keith Underwood 400
Jenny Ridout
300
www.bloomsbury.com
138
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Directors’ Remuneration Report
continued
Pension and benefits
In 2026/2027, pension contributions (as a percentage of base salary) for Executive Directors will remain in line with the employer contribution
rate available to the UK workforce. For the wider UK workforce, this is currently 7%, but can be higher where employer NIC savings arising
from pension contributions made through salary sacrifice are shared with the participant.
There will be no changes to other benefits.
Annual bonus
The maximum annual bonus opportunity for 2026/2027 will be set at 150% of salary, subject to Shareholder approval of the Policy.
The maximum bonus will be measured against achieving a Group profit target for the majority segment and strategic objectives for a
minority segment. Sustainability forms a key part of the Company’s overall strategy; therefore, the strategic element will include targets
relating to reduced Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions across the Group by 2030. When considering annual bonus outcomes, the Committee
looks at both the financial and strategic performance of the Group over the year and takes into account their affordability. In line with
market best practice, the Committee may adjust targets or outcomes to reflect significant one-off events (e.g. major transactions or material
changes to plan assumptions) to ensure that the bonus continues to operate as intended. Specific measures and targets will be disclosed
retrospectively in the Annual Report on Remuneration.
Where an Executive Director has not met their Shareholding Guidelines, any bonus in excess of 100% of salary will normally be expected to
be deferred into shares for two years.
To the extent any annual bonus is payable to the Executive Directors, the Committee will be mindful of the experience of all stakeholder
groups over the year, in particular the wider employee population.
Any bonus payable will be subject to malus and clawback provisions.
Long-term incentives
PSP Awards will be granted to Executive Directors in 2026/2027 (“2026 PSP Award”) at 150% of salary, subject to Shareholder approval of
the Policy. When granting awards, the Committee will consider the share price on the grant date as well as the average price used to grant
awards over multiple years.
For the 2026 PSP Award, the Committee reviewed the performance metrics to ensure they continue to support the strategic ambition of the
Company as well as the creation of sustainable value for Shareholders. Following this review, the definition for the Consumer and Academic
& Professional profit measures has been updated from operating profit to Adjusted Profit, which aligns more closely with internal and
external reporting of performance. The revenue target has been set at Group level, rather than international revenue only, to incentivise
revenue growth in all territories. It was decided that the vesting schedule would commence at 25% of the maximum possible.
The 2026 PSP Award will be subject to the following performance measures:
Metric Weighting
25% of award
vesting
50% of award
vesting
100% of award
vesting
EPS (before highlighted items)
60% 40.0p 46.0p 58.0p
Academic & Professional Adjusted Profit
17.5% £15.0m £18.3m £25.0m
Consumer Adjusted Profit
17.5% £25.0m £29.2m £37.5m
Total Revenue
5% £330.0m £350.0m £390.0m
The awards for Executive Directors will be subject to malus and clawback provisions and to a two-year post-vesting holding period. During
the holding period, an Executive Director may not sell their vested shares, which will remain subject to a clawback provision. The Committee
has discretion to adjust formulaic outcomes where it believes the outcome does not reflect the Committee’s assessment of the underlying
performance of the Company/individual. Under the share plan rules and consistent with normal market practice, the Committee retains the
ability to make adjustments to the targets where appropriate (e.g. to reflect M&A activity) to ensure that they remain aligned with strategic
priorities and are appropriately stretching.
The Remuneration Committee has approved that the Executive Directors may participate in the Company’s Sharesave scheme. No
Executive Director participated in the Company’s Sharesave scheme for the year to 28 February 2026.
Stock code: BMY
Annual Report and Accounts 2026
139
OverviewGovernance
Non-Executive Chairman and Non-Executive Director fees
From 1 March 2026, the Chairman fee and Non-Executive Director base fee have been increased by 2.5%, in line with the increase for the
general workforce. The Non-Executive Directors and Chairman fees are as follows:
Non-Executive Chairman and Non-Executive Director fees
From
1 March 2026
£
From
1 March 2025
£
Non-Executive Chairman fee £180,287 £175,890
Base fee £56,818 £55,432
Committee Chair
£8,741 £8,528
The Chairman of the Board does not receive any additional fee for chairing the Nomination Committee. There is no additional fee for acting
as the Senior Independent Director.
Chris Blatchford was appointed to the Board as a Non-Executive Director on 19 May 2026, following the year end, on an annual fee of
£56,818.
www.bloomsbury.com
140
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Directors’ Remuneration Report
continued
Part B
2 (UNAUDITED INFORMATION)
Performance graph and table
The chart below shows the Company’s Total Shareholder Return for the period from 28 February 2016 to 28 February 2026 compared to
that of the FTSE SmallCap Media sector index and the FTSE 250 Media sector. Both indices have been selected as the Company was a
constituent of the FTSE 250 for part of the financial years of 2025 and 2026.
The total remuneration figures for the Chief Executive during each of the financial years of the relevant period are shown in the table below.
The annual bonus payout and PSP vesting level as a percentage of the maximum opportunity are also shown for each of these years.
Year ending:
28 Feb
2017
28 Feb
2018
28 Feb
2019
29 Feb
2020
28 Feb
2021
28 Feb
2022
28 Feb
2023
29 Feb
2024
28 Feb
2025
28 Feb
2026
Total remuneration
(£’000) 689 909 951 1,102 1,492 1,948 2,077 2,168 1,703 1,411
Annual bonus (%) 42% 88% 92.5% 0% 30% 100% 97% 100% 85.5% 18.4%
PSP vesting (%)
0% 0% 0% 96% 100% 100% 100% 91% 87% 86.2%
Feb 23
Feb 24
Feb 25 Feb 26
Feb 22
Feb 21
Feb 20
Feb 19
Feb 18
Feb 17Feb 16
Bloomsbury
FTSE SmallCap MediaFTSE 250 Media
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
Total Shareholder Return (rebased)
Stock code: BMY
Annual Report and Accounts 2026
141
OverviewGovernance
Percentage change in remuneration of Directors and employees
The table below shows the percentage change in the base salary/fees, benefits and annual bonus between the financial years ended 28 or
29 February 2021 against 2022, 2022 against 2023, 2023 against 2024, 2024 against 2025 and 2025 against 2026, in respect of all Directors of
the Company compared to that of the average percentage change for all UK employees of the Company for each of these elements of pay.
The average employee change has been calculated by reference to the mean of employee pay on a full-time equivalent basis. In 2023, the
fees for the Chairman and the Non-Executive Directors were reviewed and increased. Keith Underwood has been excluded from the table
below as he joined the Board on 2 February 2026.
Average change
2025 and 2026
Average change
2024 and 2025
Average change
2023 and 2024
Average change
2022 and 2023
Average change
2021 and 2022
Salary/
Fees Benefits
8
Bonus
9
Salary/
Fees Benefits
8
Bonus
9
Salary/
Fees Benefits
8
Bonus
9
Salary/
Fees Benefits
8
Bonus
9
Salary/
Fees Benefits
8
Bonus
9
Average
employee
1
3% 75% 19% 8% 328% (14)% 2% (33)% (28)% 2% (5)% (67)%
Executive
Directors
Nigel Newton 2.5% (1%) (60.5%) 4% (12%) (11%) 4% (11)% 29% 5% 3% 2% 2% 7% 240%
Penny Scott-
Bayfield
2
(5.6)% 23% (57.65) 4% 0% (14%) 4% (35)% 29% 5% (13)% 2% 10% 21% 266%
Non-Executive
Directors
Sir Richard
Lambert
3
2.5% n/a n/a 4% n/a n/a 18% n/a n/a 5% n/a n/a 2% n/a n/a
John Bason
4
2.5% n/a n/a 4% n/a n/a 16% n/a n/a – – – – – –
Leslie-
Ann Reed
5
2.5% n/a n/a 4% n/a n/a 16% n/a n/a 5% n/a n/a 6% n/a n/a
Dame
Rabbatts
6
2.5% n/a n/a – – – – – – – – – – – –
Baroness
Young
7
2.5% n/a n/a 4% n/a n/a 12% n/a n/a 5% n/a n/a (1)% n/a n/a
1
The average employee salary and benefits figures reflect the salary mix impact of leavers and joiners during the financial year. In practice, salaries were
generally increased by 2.5% across the business in the year. Benefits are based on taxable benefits. Part way through 2024, the Company offered all UK
employees the opportunity to join a medical insurance scheme. This was widely taken up and is reflected in the high increase to benefits for that year. The
further high increase for 2025 is mainly due to this benefit being taken for the whole of the year in question.
2
Penny Scott-Bayfield retired as a Director on 2 February 2026 and remained employed by Bloomsbury to 28 February 2026. Her salary decrease for the year
reflects the shorter period in office.
3
Sir Richard Lambert retired as Chairman of the Board on 16 July 2024. His percentage increase is shown as if he had been Chairman throughout the year in
order to provide a meaningful comparison.
4
John Bason became a Director on 1 April 2022; therefore, no year-on-year comparison is possible with prior years. On 20 July 2022, he became Chair of the
Remuneration Committee and was entitled to an additional annual fee for this role. To show a meaningful comparison, he is treated here as if he had become
both a Director and Committee Chair on 1 March 2023. On 16 July 2024, he became the Chairman of the Board and for comparison purposes is shown as if he
had been Chairman throughout the year.
5
Leslie-Ann Reed was appointed to the Board on 17 July 2019. On 21 July 2021, Leslie-Ann became Chair of the Audit Committee and Senior Independent
Director and was entitled to an additional annual fee for the Chair role. On 16 July 2024, Leslie-Ann Reed became Chair of the Remuneration Committee and
was entitled to a further additional fee as Chair of that Committee. For comparison purposes, she is shown as if she had the same roles throughout the year.
6
Dame Heather Rabbatts joined the Board on 14 April 2025. Her percentage increase for the year has been annualised for comparison purposes
7
Baroness Young was appointed to the Board on 1 January 2021. In order to provide a meaningful comparison with remuneration for 2021/2022, Baroness
Young’s salary for 2020/2021 has been annualised.
8
The benefits for the Executive Directors remained broadly unchanged and the fluctuations reported primarily relate to changes in insurance premiums. The
introduction of an all employee UK medical insurance scheme has led to reduced premiums for Executive Directors.
9
In 2020/2021, the company introduced a Group-wide bonus scheme.
www.bloomsbury.com
142
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Directors’ Remuneration Report
continued
Chief Executive’s pay ratio
The table below discloses the ratio of the Chief Executive’s pay, using the single total figure remuneration as disclosed on page 133 to
the comparable, full-time equivalent total remuneration of all UK employees whose pay is ranked at the 25th percentile, median and 75th
percentile.
Year Method
1
25th
percentile
pay ratio
2
Median pay
ratio
3
75th
percentile
pay ratio
4
2020 A 39.5 : 1 30.8 : 1 21.6 : 1
2021 A 51.1 : 1 40.5 : 1 28.8 : 1
2022 A 63.9 : 1 50.7 : 1 35.8 : 1
2023 A 65.7 : 1 51.4 : 1 33.5 : 1
2024 A 62.1 : 1 48.3 : 1 33.8 : 1
2025
5
A 49.2 : 1 38.6 : 1 26.5 : 1
2026 A 40.6 : 1 31.8 : 1 22.1 : 1
1
Method A, as set out in the Companies (Miscellaneous Reporting) Regulations 2018, was selected as this is considered the most statistically accurate and
robust methodology. The 25th percentile, median and 75th percentile UK employees were determined based on total remuneration for the year ended
28 February 2026 using the single total figure valuation methodology. The elements used to calculate total remuneration comprised salary, pensions, bonus
and benefits. The value of Sharesave options granted in the year has been excluded when calculating total remuneration for UK employees.
2
The relevant 25th percentile values are £31,775 salary and £34,806 total pay and benefits.
3
The relevant median values are £41,000 salary and £44,443 total pay and benefits.
4
The relevant 75th percentile values are £58,758 salary and £63,543 total pay and benefits.
5
The 2025 ratios have been recalculated in accordance with normal practice to reflect the adjusted single total figure remuneration valuation for Nigel Newton,
taking into account the final valuation for his 2022 PSP Award based on the share price at vesting, rather than the estimated share price shown in the 2025
Annual Report.
The Company believes the median pay ratio for the year ended 28 February 2026 is consistent with the pay, reward and progression policies
for the Company’s UK employees taken as a whole.
A greater proportion of the Chief Executive’s and senior management’s overall remuneration is linked to performance (via the annual bonus
and PSP awards), when compared to the wider workforce due to the nature of their roles. The Committee, therefore, noted that pay ratios
are likely to fluctuate depending on the performance of the business and associated outcomes of incentive plans and movements in share
price in each year. This can be seen in the changes in pay ratios in recent years.
Consideration of the wider workforce
During the year, the Committee was updated on workforce remuneration policies, including the staff bonus arrangements, the salary
increase for the wider workforce and the elements of the reward package belonging to staff at three different reward tiers against that of the
Chief Executive. The Board receives regular updates from the Group Director of Engagement on workforce policies (including pay policies),
and the feedback from Employee Voice meetings, where issues raised include pay and benefits.
Relative importance of spend on pay
The following table shows the Company’s actual spend on pay (for all employees) relative to dividends.
Year ended
28 February
2026
Year ended
28 February
2025
Staff costs (£m) 77.5 84.2
Dividends declared (£m) 13.1 12.5
Retained profits (£m)
11.8 10.6
Stock code: BMY
Annual Report and Accounts 2026
143
OverviewGovernance
1
During the year, the Company made no purchases of its own shares.
Voting at the Annual General Meeting
At the Annual General Meeting of 16 July 2025, the Annual Statement by the Chair of the Remuneration Committee and the Annual Report
on Directors’ Remuneration for the financial year ended 28 February 2025 was put to an advisory vote. The voting outcomes were as follows:
Number of
shares
Percentage
of the vote
Votes cast in favour 53,467,523 94.66%
Votes cast against 3,016,867 5.34%
Total votes cast 56,484,390 100.00%
Abstentions on voting cards
898,374
The Remuneration Policy was last put to Shareholders at the Annual General Meeting held on 18 July 2023 as an ordinary resolution. The
voting outcomes were as follows:
Number of
shares
Percentage
of the vote
Votes cast in favour 55,661,670 97.07%
Votes cast against 1,682,662 2.93%
Total votes cast 57,344,332 100.00%
Abstentions on voting cards
423,880
Remuneration Committee
Composition of the Committee
The Committee is comprised of at least three Independent Non-Executive Directors and the Chairman of the Board. The members of the
Committee during the year were John Bason, Leslie-Ann Reed, Baroness Lola Young and Dame Heather Rabbatts. Leslie-Ann Reed became
Chair of the Committee at the close of the Company’s AGM in 2024. Dame Heather Rabbatts joined the Committee upon becoming a
Director on 14 April 2025.
The Committee met five times during 2025/2026. The Committee members’ attendance can be seen on page 112 of this Annual
Report. Only members of the Remuneration Committee have the right to attend Committee meetings; however, the Chief Executive
and Group Chief Financial & Operating Officer may attend Committee meetings at the request of the Chair of the Committee for
specific items on the agenda. Remuneration consultants may attend where needed to provide technical support.
Role and responsibilities of the Committee
The terms of reference of the Committee set out its role and authority. These are reviewed annually and can be found on the
Company’s website, www.bloomsbury-ir.co.uk. In summary, the Committee’s responsibilities include:
A
Determining the Remuneration Policy for the Chairman and Executive Directors.
A
Determining the remuneration packages for the Executive Directors and Chairman within the terms of the Remuneration Policy.
A
Monitoring the level and structure of remuneration for other members of senior management
A
Reviewing workforce remuneration and related policies across the Company.
A
Approving the design of, and determining targets for, performance-related pay schemes operated by the Company.
www.bloomsbury.com
144
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Directors’ Remuneration Report
continued
A
Reviewing the design of share incentive plans for Board
approval for Executive Directors and other members of
senior management. For any such plans, the Committee
shall determine whether the awards will be made, and, if so,
approve the overall amount of such awards, the individual
awards to Executive Directors, Company Secretary and
designated senior managers and the performance targets to
be used.
A
Developing a formal policy for shareholding guidelines
in employment and post-employment shareholding
requirements.
Activities of the Committee during the year
During the year, amongst other matters, the Committee
considered the following:
A
Review and recommendation for approval of the Directors’
Remuneration Report for the Annual Report and Accounts for
the financial year ended 28 February 2025, including further
analysis of the CEO Pay Ratio against the breakdown of pay
and benefits for employees over three years.
A
The approval of increases to the Executive Directors’ salaries
and the Chairman of the Board’s fee
A
Review and approval of the Executive Directors’ remuneration
packages, including for the appointment of the Chief
Financial & Operating Officer.
A
Review of the bonus plan achievement for 2024/2025
A
Review and approval of the bonus plan proposal and
objectives for 2026/2027.
A
Review and approval of performance targets for the 2025
PSP Award.
A
Review and approval of Penny Scott-Bayfield’s leaving
arrangements.
A
Review of the performance outcome of the 2022 PSP Award
vesting, giving consideration to the impact of the R&L
acquisition
A
Review of workforce remuneration policies including the all
staff bonus scheme.
A
Review of the Committee’s annual evaluation
A
Review and approval of the Committee’s terms of reference
A
Considering changes to the Remuneration Policy and
undertaking a Shareholder consultation exercise in regards to
the same.
The Committee Chair has a standing item on the agenda at each
main Board meeting, enabling remuneration matters to be raised
for discussion by the Board if required.
The Committee believes that the Executive Directors are best
placed to assess the appropriate level of remuneration of senior
managers based on their performance and contribution to the
Company’s success and on the Executive Directors’ knowledge
of market rates of pay, and Executive Directors therefore remain
responsible for remuneration for senior management. The Board
considers that this delegation to the Executive Directors is
appropriate. However, the Remuneration Committee continues
to retain its oversight function in respect of the remuneration
of senior managers and remains responsible for approving the
granting and vesting of share incentives.
Advisors to the Committee
In carrying out its responsibilities, the Committee was
independently advised by external advisors. Deloitte LLP was
appointed as the Committee’s external remuneration consultants
in September 2019 following a competitive tender process.
Deloitte LLP is a founding member of the Remuneration
Consultants’ Group and adheres to its Code of Conduct. In
respect of their services to the Committee, fees charged by
Deloitte LLP amounted to £54,850 (excluding VAT).
During the year, Deloitte also provided broader HR consulting
services, share plan advice, including valuations for share-based
payments, and tax advisory services. The Committee is satisfied
that the advice provided by Deloitte LLP was objective and
independent, that the provision of other services in no way
compromised their independence and that there was no potential
conflict of interest. The individual consultants who work with the
Committee do not provide advice to the Executive Directors or
act on their behalf.
The Committee received assistance from the Company Secretary
and, where specifically requested by the Committee, the Chief
Executive and Group Finance Director.
The Committee has considered any feedback received from
the major Shareholders during the year as part of Bloomsbury’s
ongoing investor relations programme and considers the reports
and recommendations of Shareholder representative bodies and
corporate governance analysts.
Approved by the Board of Directors and signed on its behalf.
Leslie-Ann Reed
Chair of the Remuneration Committee
19 May 2026
Stock code: BMY
Annual Report and Accounts 2026
145
OverviewGovernance
Independent Auditor’s Report 147
Consolidated Income Statement 151
Consolidated Statement of
Comprehensive Income
152
Consolidated Statement of Financial
Position
153
Consolidated Statement of Changes
in Equity
154
Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows 155
Notes to the Financial Statements 156
Company Statement of Financial
Position
193
Company Statement of Changes
in Equity
194
Company Statement of Cash Flows 195
Notes to the Company Financial
Statements
196
Additional Information
Five Year Financial Summary 211
Company Information 212
Legal Notice 213
Financials
www.bloomsbury.com
146
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Opinion
We have audited the financial statements of Bloomsbury
Publishing Plc (the “Company”) and its subsidiaries (the “Group”)
for the year ended 28 February 2026 which comprise the
Consolidated income statement, the Consolidated statement
of comprehensive income, the Consolidated and Company
statements of financial position, the Consolidated and Company
statements of changes in equity, the Consolidated and Company
statements of cash flows and Notes to the financial statements,
including a summary of material accounting policies. The financial
reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation
is applicable law and UK-adopted international accounting
standards.
In our opinion, the financial statements:
A
give a true and fair view of the state of the Group’s and of the
Company’s affairs as at 28 February 2026 and of the Group’s
profit for the year then ended;
A
have been properly prepared in accordance with UK adopted
international accounting standards; and
A
have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of
the Companies Act 2006.
Basis for opinion
We conducted our audit in accordance with International
Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our
responsibilities under those standards are further described in the
Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements
section of our report. We are independent of the Group in
accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our
audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC’s
Ethical Standard as applied to listed public interest entities, and
we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance
with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we
have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for
our opinion.
Conclusions relating to going concern
In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the
directors’ use of the going concern basis of accounting in the
preparation of the Group and Company financial statements is
appropriate. Our evaluation of the Directors’ assessment of the
Group and Company’s ability to continue to adopt the going
concern basis of accounting included:
A
Challenging projections to assess the cash flow requirements
of the Group over the duration of the viability statement,
being the 36-month period to 28 February 2029;
A
Performing tests on the mathematical accuracy of projections;
A
Considering how inflation and a potential economic downturn
have been factored into the projections prepared by
management;
A
Obtaining evidence of the review and approval of the
budgets by the Board; and
A
Considering the potential severe but plausible downside
scenario and the resultant impact on available funds.
Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified
any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that,
individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the
Group and Company’s ability to continue as a going concern
for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial
statements are authorised for issue.
In relation to the Group reporting on how they have applied the
UK Corporate Governance Code, we have nothing material to
add or draw attention to in relation to the Directors’ statement in
the financial statements about whether the Directors considered
it appropriate to adopt the going concern basis of accounting.
Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the Directors with
respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of
this report.
Overview of our audit approach
Materiality
In planning and performing our audit we applied the concept of
materiality. An item is considered material if it could reasonably
be expected to change the economic decisions of a user of the
financial statements. We used the concept of materiality to both
focus our testing and to evaluate the impact of misstatements
identified.
Based on our professional judgement, we determined overall
materiality for the Group financial statements as a whole to be
£1.8m based on 5% of the Group’s average profit before tax over
the last three years. This approach has been taken to ensure a
stable benchmark for the assessment of materiality. Materiality
for the Company financial statements as a whole was set at £1.7m
based on 2% net assets.
We use a different level of materiality (‘performance materiality’)
to determine the extent of our testing for the audit of the financial
statements. Performance materiality is set based on the audit
materiality as adjusted for the judgements made as to the entity
risk and our evaluation of the specific risk of each audit area
having regard to the internal control environment. For the Group
performance materiality was set at £1.3m and £1.2m for the
Company.
Where considered appropriate performance materiality may be
reduced to a lower level, such as, for related party transactions
and Directors’ remuneration.
We agreed with the Audit Committee to report to it all identified
errors in excess of £0.1m. Errors below that threshold would
also be reported to it if, in our opinion as auditor, disclosure was
required on qualitative grounds.
Overview of the scope of our audit
The scope of the audit work and the design of the audit tests
undertaken were solely for the purpose of forming an audit
opinion on the consolidated financial statements of the Group
and of the Company. The Group contains three (2025: four)
components: the UK, US, and other overseas territories (being
Australia and India combined). The UK and US components were
subject to audit procedures on the entire financial information (full
scope audit procedures) with specific procedures performed over
significant financial statement line items in the other component.
OverviewFinancials
Stock code: BMY
Annual Report and Accounts 2026
147
Independent Auditor’s Report
To the members of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Full scope and specific audit procedures provided coverage of
100% of Group revenue, 97% of Group profit before tax and 99%
of Group total assets.
All procedures performed were undertaken by the Group audit
team. Specialists were used to assist with the audit of taxation
and impairment under the direction and supervision of the Group
audit team.
The audit work performed was predominantly substantive in
nature.
Key Audit Matters
Key audit matters are those matters that, in our professional
judgement, were of most significance in our audit of the financial
statements of the current period and include the most significant
assessed risks of material misstatement (whether or not due to
fraud) we identified, including those which had the greatest effect
on the overall audit strategy, the allocation of resources in the
audit; and directing the efforts of the engagement team. These
matters were addressed in the context of our audit of the financial
statements as a whole, and in forming our opinion thereon, and
we do not provide a separate opinion on these matters.
This is not a complete list of all risks identified by our audit.
Sales return liability (Note 18)
The Group will typically make print sales on a sale or return basis
with revenue presented net of estimated returns. The Group has
disclosed the £11.7m (2025: £18.6m) sales return liability, and
sensitivity estimated in Note 18.
The sales return liability is estimated using a standard model
based on contractual terms and historical data. Changes to the
standard model are applied for specific titles or categories of
books where management have evidence to suggest that the
returns profile may be materially different to the normal pattern.
The valuation of the sales return liability has a high degree of
estimation uncertainty, with a potential range of reasonably
possible outcomes greater than our materiality for the financial
statements as a whole.
Our procedures included:
A
Assessing whether the Group’s sales return policy has been
consistently applied and challenging the rationale for any
exceptions made to the policy;
A
Substantively testing the inputs used in the returns calculation
by agreeing sales and returns to underlying records;
A
Recalculating the value of the liability to ensure correct
calculation;
A
Reviewing the accuracy of the liability from prior years to
assess the reasonableness of the Group’s policy and previous
judgements applied;
A
Evaluating the basis for specific amendments to the standard
policy, including considering historic evidence in relation to
the performance of certain sales categories and customers, to
assess whether the amendment was appropriate; and
A
Calculating a point estimate using a predictive analytics
model applying historic trend information to assess the
reasonableness of the liability recognised.
We concluded that the resulting estimate of the sales return
liability is acceptable.
Inventory provision (see Note 16)
The Group makes provisions against inventory to arrive at the
net realisable value. Inventory provisions and write-offs totalling
£11.5m (2025: £16.5m) have been charged to the Income
Statement and recognised in Cost of Sales. Further detail is
included in Note 16.
The Group estimates future sales, incorporating all available
information including past performance and non-financial data in
order to estimate the inventory provision. Management exercise
judgement to make overrides to standard calculations where there
are specific factors where the standard policy may not sufficiently
provide for unsaleable inventory.
By their nature the level of future sales cannot be guaranteed
and hence there is a high degree of estimation uncertainty, with a
potential range of reasonably possible outcomes greater than our
materiality for the financial statements as a whole.
Our procedures included:
A
Challenging the key assumptions used in the provision
calculations, such as determining the point at which reliable
data is available to estimate titles’ future sales;
A
Reviewing the accuracy of inputs in the provision calculations
and recalculating them to ensure mathematical accuracy;
A
Evaluating the reasonableness of different stock turns used
for various divisions by analysing historic accuracy and market
trends;
A
Challenging the appropriateness of any overrides to the
general policy and corroborating them with external and
internal evidence; and
A
Reviewing the accuracy of prior year provisions to obtain
comfort around the appropriateness of the policy and
judgements made and disclosed within the financial
statements.
We concluded that the resulting estimate of the inventory
provision is acceptable.
www.bloomsbury.com
148
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Independent Auditor’s Report
To the members of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
continued
These matters were addressed in the context of our audit of
the financial statements as a whole, and in forming our opinion
thereon, and we do not provide a separate opinion on these
matters.
Other information
The other information comprises the information included in
the annual report, other than the financial statements and our
auditor’s report thereon. The directors are responsible for the
other information contained within the annual report. Our opinion
on the financial statements does not cover the other information
and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report,
we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon.
Our responsibility is to read the other information and, in
doing so, consider whether the other information is materially
inconsistent with the financial statements, or our knowledge
obtained in the audit or otherwise appears to be materially
misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or
apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine
whether this gives rise to a material misstatement in the financial
statements themselves. If, based on the work we have performed,
we conclude that there is a material misstatement of the other
information, we are required to report that fact.
We have nothing to report in this regard.
Opinions on other matters prescribed by the
Companies Act 2006
In our opinion the part of the directors’ remuneration report to
be audited has been properly prepared in accordance with the
Companies Act 2006.
In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of our
audit:
A
the information given in the strategic report and the directors’
report for the financial year for which the financial statements
are prepared is consistent with the financial statements
and those reports have been prepared in accordance with
applicable legal requirements;
A
the information about internal control and risk management
systems in relation to financial reporting processes and
about share capital structures, given in compliance with rules
7.2.5 and 7.2.6 in the Disclosure Rules and Transparency
Rules sourcebook made by the Financial Conduct Authority
(the FCA Rules), is consistent with the financial statements
and has been prepared in accordance with applicable legal
requirements; and
A
information about the Company’s corporate governance code
and practices and about its administrative, management and
supervisory bodies and their committees complies with rules
7.2.2, 7.2.3 and 7.2.7 of the FCA Rules.
Matters on which we are required to report
by exception
In light of the knowledge and understanding of the Group and
the Company and their environment obtained in the course of the
audit, we have not identified material misstatements in:
A
the strategic report or the directors’ report; or
A
the information about internal control and risk management
systems in relation to financial reporting processes and about
share capital structures, given in compliance with rules 7.2.5
and 7.2.6 of the FCA Rules.
We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in
relation to which the Companies Act 2006 requires us to report to
you if, in our opinion:
A
adequate accounting records have not been kept by the
Company, or returns adequate for our audit have not been
received from branches not visited by us; or
A
the Company financial statements and the part of the
directors’ remuneration report to be audited are not in
agreement with the accounting records and returns; or
A
certain disclosures of directors’ remuneration specified by law
are not made; or
A
we have not received all the information and explanations we
require for our audit; or
A
a corporate governance statement has not been prepared by
the Company.
Corporate governance statement
We have reviewed the Directors’ statement in relation to going
concern, longer-term viability and that part of the Corporate
Governance Statement relating to the Company’s compliance
with the provisions of the UK Corporate Governance Statement
specified for our review by the Listing Rules.
Based on the work undertaken as part of our audit, we have
concluded that each of the following elements of the Corporate
Governance Statement is materially consistent with the financial
statements, or our knowledge obtained during the audit:
A
Directors’ statement with regards the appropriateness of
adopting the going concern basis of accounting and any
material uncertainties identified on page 92;
A
Directors’ explanation as to its assessment of the Group’s
prospects, the period this assessment covers and why the
period is appropriate set out on page 92;
A
Directors’ statement on whether it has a reasonable
expectation that the Group will be able to continue in
operation and meet its liabilities set out on page 92;
A
Directors’ statement on fair, balanced and understandable set
out on page 107;
A
Board’s confirmation that it has carried out a robust
assessment of the emerging and principal risks set out on
pages 83 to 92;
A
The section of the annual report that describes the review of
effectiveness of risk management and internal control systems
set out on pages 123 to 124; and
A
The section describing the work of the Audit Committee set
out on pages 120 to 124.
Responsibilities of the Directors for the
financial statements
As explained more fully in the Directors’ responsibilities statement
set out on pages 106 to 107, the Directors are responsible for the
OverviewFinancials
Stock code: BMY
Annual Report and Accounts 2026
149
preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied
that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as
the Directors determine is necessary to enable the preparation
of financial statements that are free from material misstatement,
whether due to fraud or error.
In preparing the financial statements, the Directors are
responsible for assessing the Group and Company’s ability to
continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters
related to going concern and using the going concern basis of
accounting unless the Directors either intend to liquidate the
Group or Company or to cease operations, or have no realistic
alternative but to do so.
Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the
financial statements
Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether
the financial statements as a whole are free from material
misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an
auditor’s report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance
is a high level of assurance but is not a guarantee that an audit
conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a
material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise
from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or
in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence
the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these
financial statements.
Explanation as to what extent the audit was
considered capable of detecting irregularities,
including fraud
Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance
with laws and regulations. We design procedures in line with our
responsibilities, outlined above, to detect material misstatements
in respect of irregularities, including fraud. The extent to which
our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including
fraud, is detailed below however the primary responsibility for
the prevention and detection of fraud lies with management and
those charged with governance of the Company.
A
We obtained an understanding of the legal and regulatory
frameworks that are applicable to the Group and the
procedures in place for ensuring compliance. The most
significant identified were the Companies Act 2006,
General Data Protection Regulations, employment law and
laws and regulations pertaining to intellectual property,
copyrights, infringements and trademarks. Our work included
direct enquiry of the Group General Counsel, reviewing
Board and relevant committee minutes and inspection of
correspondence.
A
As part of our audit planning process, we assessed the
different areas of the financial statements, including
disclosures, for the risk of material misstatement. This
included considering the risk of fraud where direct
enquiries were made of management and those charged
with governance concerning both whether they had any
knowledge of actual or suspected fraud and their assessment
of the susceptibility of fraud. We considered the risk was
greater in areas involving significant management estimate
or judgement. Based on this assessment we designed
audit procedures to focus on the key areas of estimate
or judgement, this included specific testing of journal
transactions, both at the year end and throughout the year.
A
We used data analytic techniques to identify any unusual
transactions or unexpected relationships, including
considering the risk of undisclosed related party transactions.
A
We integrated some unpredictability testing through scoping
in specific procedures on balances or components that would
otherwise have been outside the scope of our work plan sent
to the Audit Committee.
Owing to the inherent limitations of an audit, there is an
unavoidable risk that some material misstatements of the
financial statements may not be detected, even though the
audit is properly planned and performed in accordance with the
ISAs (UK).
The potential effects of inherent limitations are particularly
significant in the case of misstatement resulting from fraud
because fraud may involve sophisticated and carefully organised
schemes designed to conceal it, including deliberate failure to
record transactions, collusion or intentional misrepresentations
being made to us.
A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of
the financial statements is located on the Financial Reporting
Council’s website at: www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This
description forms part of our auditor’s report.
Other matters which we are required to
address
Following the recommendation of the audit committee, we were
initially appointed in July 2022 to audit the financial statements
for the year ending 28 February 2023. The period of total
uninterrupted engagement is four years.
The non-audit services prohibited by the FRC’s Ethical Standard
were not provided to the Group or the Company and we remain
independent of the Company in conducting our audit.
Our audit opinion is consistent with the additional report to the
audit committee.
Use of our report
This report is made solely to the Company’s members, as a body,
in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act
2006. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might
state to the Company’s members those matters we are required
to state to them in an auditor’s report and for no other purpose.
To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or
assume responsibility to anyone other than the Company and the
Company’s members as a body, for our audit work, for this report,
or for the opinions we have formed.
Matthew Stallabrass
(Senior Statutory Auditor)
For and on behalf of Crowe U.K. LLP, Statutory Auditor
London
19 May 2026
www.bloomsbury.com
150
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Independent Auditor’s Report
To the members of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
continued
Notes
Year ended
28 February
2026
£’m
Year ended
28 February
2025
£’m
Revenue 3 325.9 361.0
Cost of sales (134.3) (157.1)
Gross profit 191.6 203.9
Marketing and distribution costs (42.7) (54.6)
Administrative expenses (113.5) (115.9)
Share of result of joint venture – (0.1)
Operating profit before highlighted items 46.1 42.9
Highlighted items 4 (10.7) (9.6)
Operating profit 4 35.4 33.3
Finance income 6 0.7 1.3
Finance costs 6 (1.9) (2.1)
Profit before taxation and highlighted items 44.9 42.1
Highlighted items 4 (10.7) (9.6)
Profit before taxation 34.2 32.5
Taxation 7 (7.2) (7.1)
Profit for the year attributable to owners of the Company 27.0 25.4
Earnings per share attributable to owners of the Company
Basic earnings per share 9 33.12p 31.14p
Diluted earnings per share 9 32.80p 30.71p
The accompanying notes form part of these financial statements.
OverviewFinancials
Stock code: BMY
Annual Report and Accounts 2026
151
Consolidated Income Statement
For the year ended 28 February 2026
Year ended
28 February
2026
£’m
Year ended
28 February
2025
£’m
Profit for the year 27.0 25.4
Other comprehensive income
Items that may be reclassified to the income statement:
Exchange differences on translating foreign operations (9.6) 0.9
Other comprehensive income for the year net of tax (9.6) 0.9
Total comprehensive income for the year attributable to the owners of the Company 17.4 26.3
Items in the statement above are disclosed net of tax. The income tax relating to each component of other comprehensive income is
disclosed in Note 7.
The accompanying notes form part of these financial statements.
www.bloomsbury.com
152
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income
For the year ended 28 February 2026
Notes
28 February
2026
£’m
28 February
2025
£’m
Assets
Goodwill 11 74.9 77.3
Other intangible assets 12 50.4 60.1
Property, plant and equipment 13 2.9 2.5
Right-of-use assets 14 12.9 7.6
Deferred tax assets 15 14.5 16.9
Trade and other receivables 17 0.5 0.7
Total non-current assets 156.1 165.1
Inventories 16 39.0 46.3
Trade and other receivables 17 125.4 133.3
Cash and cash equivalents 44.0 40.6
Total current assets 208.4 220.2
Total assets 364.5 385.3
Liabilities
Borrowings 14.8 23.6
Lease liabilities 25 13.1 7.3
Deferred tax liabilities 15 2.0 2.3
Provisions 20 0.8 0.9
Total non-current liabilities 30.7 34.1
Trade and other liabilities 18 113.4 133.0
Lease liabilities 25 1.9 1.5
Provisions 20 2.6 1.9
Total current liabilities 117.9 136.4
Total liabilities 148.6 170.5
Net assets 215.9 214.8
Equity
Share capital 21 1.0 1.0
Share premium 21 47.3 47.3
Translation reserve 21 2.2 11.8
Other reserves 21 12.5 13.6
Retained earnings 21 152.9 141.1
Total equity attributable to owners of the Company 215.9 214.8
The accompanying notes form part of these consolidated financial statements.
The financial statements were approved by the Board of Directors and authorised for issue on 19 May 2026.
J N Newton
Director
K Underwood
Director
OverviewFinancials
Stock code: BMY
Annual Report and Accounts 2026
153
Consolidated Statement of Financial Position
As at 28 February 2026
Share
capital
£’m
Share
premium
£’m
Translation
reserve
£’m
Merger
reserve
£’m
Share-
based
payment
reserve
£’m
Own shares
held by
EBT
£’m
Retained
earnings
£’m
Total equity
£’m
At 29 February 2024 1.0 47.3 10.9 1.8 11.7 (0.7) 130.5 202.5
Profit for the year – – – – – – 25.4 25.4
Other comprehensive income
Exchange differences on
translating foreign operations – – 0.9 – – – – 0.9
Total comprehensive income
for the year – – 0.9 – – – 25.4 26.3
Transactions with owners
Dividends to equity holders of
the Company – – – – – – (12.2) (12.2)
Purchase of shares by the
Employee Benefit Trust – – – – – (3.8) – (3.8)
Share options exercised – – – – – 3.1 (2.7) 0.4
Deferred tax on share-based
payment transactions – – – – – – 0.1 0.1
Share-based payment
transactions – – – – 1.5 – – 1.5
Total transactions with
owners of the Company – – – – 1.5 (0.7) (14.8) (14.0)
At 28 February 2025 1.0 47.3 11.8 1.8 13.2 (1.4) 141.1 214.8
Profit for the year – – – – – – 27.0 27.0
Other comprehensive income
Exchange differences on
translating foreign operations – – (9.6) – – – – (9.6)
Total comprehensive income
for the year – – (9.6) – – – 27.0 17.4
Transactions with owners
Dividends to equity holders of
the Company – – – – – – (12.7) (12.7)
Purchase of shares by the
Employee Benefit Trust – – – – – (4.8) – (4.8)
Share options exercised – – – – – 2.6 (2.2) 0.4
Deferred tax on share-based
payment transactions – – – – – – (0.3) (0.3)
Share-based payment
transactions – – – – 1.1 – – 1.1
Total transactions with
owners of the Company – – – – 1.1 (2.2) (15.2) (16.3)
At 28 February 2026 1.0 47.3 2.2 1.8 14.3 (3.6) 152.9 215.9
The accompanying notes form part of these financial statements.
www.bloomsbury.com
154
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Consolidated Statement of Changes in Equity
For the year ended 28 February 2026
Notes
Year ended
28 February
2026
£’m
Year ended
28 February
2025
£’m
Cash flows from operating activities
Profit for the year 27.0 25.4
Adjustments for:
Depreciation of property, plant and equipment 13 0.9 1.1
Depreciation of right-of-use assets 14 2.1 2.0
Amortisation of other intangible assets 12 14.3 12.5
Finance income 6 (0.7) (1.3)
Finance costs 6 1.9 2.1
Share of loss of joint venture – 0.1
Share-based payment charges 22 1.1 1.9
Tax expense 7 7.2 7.1
53.8 50.9
Decrease/(increase) in inventories 5.6 (7.8)
Decrease in trade and other receivables 0.3 32.8
Decrease in trade and other liabilities (15.5) (17.9)
Cash generated from operating activities 44.2 58.0
Income taxes paid (3.4) (16.1)
Net cash generated from operating activities 40.8 41.9
Cash flows from investing activities
Purchase of property, plant and equipment (1.4) (1.4)
Purchase of other intangible assets (7.5) (4.8)
Purchase of business, net of cash acquired – (64.8)
Purchase of share in a joint venture – (0.1)
Interest received 0.7 1.2
Net cash used in investing activities (8.2) (69.9)
Cash flows from financing activities
Equity dividends paid 19 (12.7) (12.2)
Purchase of shares by the Employee Benefit Trust 19 (4.8) (3.8)
Proceeds from exercise of share options 19 0.4 0.4
Proceeds from borrowings 19 – 29.4
Repayment of borrowings 19 (7.4) (6.2)
Interest paid on borrowings 19 (1.1) (1.6)
Principal paid on lease liabilities 19 (1.1) (2.3)
Interest paid on lease liabilities 19 (0.7) (0.3)
Other interest paid 19 (0.1) (0.2)
Net cash (used in)/ generated from financing activities 19 (27.5) 3.2
Net increase/(decrease) in cash and cash equivalents 5.1 (24.8)
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of year 40.6 65.8
Exchange loss on cash and cash equivalents (1.7) (0.4)
Cash and cash equivalents at end of year 44.0 40.6
The accompanying notes form part of these financial statements.
OverviewFinancials
Stock code: BMY
Annual Report and Accounts 2026
155
Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows
For the year ended 28 February 2026
1. General Information
a) Reporting entity
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc (the “Company”) is a public limited company incorporated in England and Wales and domiciled in the United
Kingdom. The address of the Company’s registered office can be found on page 212. The consolidated financial statements of the
Company as at and for the year ended 28 February 2026 comprise the Company and its subsidiaries (together referred to as the “Group”).
The Group is primarily involved in the publication of books and other related services.
b) Statement of compliance
The Group financial statements have been prepared and approved by the Directors in accordance with UK-adopted international
accounting standards (“IFRS”) and the requirements of the Companies Act 2006.
c) Basis of preparation
The consolidated financial statements have been prepared on a going concern basis (see Note 1d)) and under the historical cost convention
as modified by the revaluation of financial assets and liabilities at fair value.
These consolidated financial statements were approved for issue by the Board of Directors on 19 May 2026.
d) Going concern
The Group’s business activities, together with the factors likely to affect its future development, performance and position are set out
in the Strategic Report on pages 10 to 92. The financial position of the Group, its cash flows and liquidity position are described in the
Financial Review on pages 32 to 36. In addition, Note 24 to the financial statements includes the Group’s objectives, policies and processes
for managing its capital, its financial risk management objectives, details of its financial instruments, and its exposures to credit risk and
liquidity risk.
The Directors have a reasonable expectation that the Group has adequate resources to continue in operational existence at least 12 months
from the date of approval of the financial statements, being the period of the detailed going concern assessment reviewed by the Board,
and, therefore, continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing the consolidated financial statements.
The Board has modelled a severe but plausible downside scenario. This assumes that:
A
print revenues are reduced by 20% during 2026/2027 with recovery during 2027/2028;
A
digital revenues are reduced by 10–20% during 2026/2027 with recovery during 2027/2028;
A
print costs are increased by 2% from 2026/2027, distribution costs are increased by 5% from 2026/2027 and staff costs are increased by
2% from 2027/2028;
A
downside assumptions about extended debtor days during 2026/2027, with recovery during 2027/2028; and
A
cash preservation measures are implemented and variable costs are reduced.
At 28 February 2026, the Group had available liquidity of £64.0m, comprising central cash balances and its undrawn £20m Revolving Credit
Facility (“RCF”). On 20 March 2026, the RCF was increased to £30 million and its maturity extended to March 2029. Under the severe but
plausible downside scenario, the Group would maintain sufficient liquidity headroom even before modelling the mitigating effect of actions
that management would take in the event that these downside risks were to crystallise. Details of the bank facility and its covenants are
shown in Note 24c).
e) Use of estimates and judgements
The preparation of the consolidated financial statements in conformity with IFRS requires management to make judgements, estimates and
assumptions that affect the application of accounting policies and the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, income and expenses. Actual
results may differ from these estimates.
Estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognised in the period in
which the estimate is revised and in any future periods affected. Critical judgements and areas where the use of estimates is significant are
disclosed in Note 2s).
www.bloomsbury.com
156
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Notes to the Financial Statements
2. Material accounting policies
The material accounting policies applied in the preparation of these financial statements are set out below. These policies have been
consistently applied to all the periods presented unless otherwise stated.
a) Application of new and amended standards and interpretations
The following amendments and interpretations were introduced to accounting standards relevant to the Group during the year ended
28 February 2026. The table below summarises the impact of these changes to the Group:
Accounting standard Impact on financial statements
Amendments to IAS 21 “Lack
of exchangeability”
These amendments provide guidance on assessing when a currency is exchangeable and require an entity
to estimate a spot exchange rate when exchangeability is lacking, together with enhanced disclosures.
The amendments have not had a material impact on the Company.
The Group has not early adopted the following new and revised accounting standards, interpretations or amendments issued by the
International Accounting Standards Board that have been issued but are not yet effective and unless otherwise indicated, have been
endorsed:
Accounting standard Impact on financial statements
IFRS 18 Presentation and
Disclosure in Financial
Statements
IFRS 18 will replace IAS 1 Presentation of Financial Statements for reporting periods beginning on or after
1 January 2027. The new standard introduces revised requirements for the presentation of the statement
of profit or loss, including defined categories and new sub-totals. It also requires management-defined
performance measures to be disclosed in a single note to the financial statements. In addition, the
statement of cash flows will use operating profit as the starting point, and there will be further changes
to the way information is aggregated and presented in the financial statements. The Group is currently
assessing the impact of adopting this standard.
Annual improvements to IFRS –
Volume 11;
The Group is currently assessing the impact of these changes but they do not expect the application
of these standards and amendments will have a material impact on the Group’s consolidated financial
statements.
Amendments to IFRS 9 and
IFRS 7 – ‘Classification and
measurement of financial
instruments’;
Amendments to IFRS 9 and IFRS
7 – ‘Contracts referencing
nature-dependent
electricity’; and
IFRS 19 “Subsidiaries without
Public Accountability:
Disclosures”
b) Basis of consolidation
i. Business combinations
Business combinations are accounted for using the acquisition method as at the acquisition date, which is the date on which control is
transferred to the Group. Control is the power to govern the financial and operating policies of an entity so as to obtain benefits from its
activities.
The Group measures goodwill at the acquisition date as:
A
the fair value of consideration transferred; plus
A
the recognised amount of any non-controlling interest in the acquiree; less
A
the net recognised amount (generally fair value) of the identifiable assets acquired and liabilities assumed.
Where the excess is negative, a bargain purchase gain is recognised immediately in the income statement.
Transaction costs, other than those associated with the issue of debt or equity securities, that the Group incurs in connection with the
business combination are expensed as incurred.
OverviewFinancials
Stock code: BMY
Annual Report and Accounts 2026
157
Any contingent consideration payable is measured and recognised at fair value at the acquisition date. Subsequent changes to the fair value
of contingent consideration are recognised in the income statement.
Management exercises judgement in determining the classification of its investments in its businesses, in line with the following:
ii. Subsidiaries
The consolidated financial statements comprise the financial information of the Company and its subsidiaries.
Subsidiaries are entities controlled by the Group. The Group controls an entity when it is exposed to, or has rights to, variable returns
from its involvement with the entity and has the ability to affect those returns through its power over the entity. The financial statements of
subsidiaries are included in the consolidated financial statements from the date on which control commences until the date on which control
ceases.
Accounting policies of subsidiaries are aligned with accounting policies adopted by the Group to ensure consistency.
All subsidiaries, except Bloomsbury Publishing India Private Limited, have a reporting period year end of 28/29 February. Bloomsbury
Publishing India Private Limited has a reporting period year end of 31 March, which aligns with the Indian Government’s financial year. The
Group financial statements include the results for Bloomsbury Publishing India Private Limited for the year to 28 February.
iii. Transactions eliminated on consolidation
Intra-Group balances and transactions, and any unrealised income and expenses arising from intra-Group transactions, are eliminated.
Unrealised gains arising from transactions with equity-accounted investees are eliminated against the investment to the extent of the
Group’s interest in the investee. Unrealised losses are eliminated in the same way as unrealised gains, but only to the extent that there is no
evidence of impairment.
c) Revenue
Revenue represents the fair value of consideration received from the provision of goods, services and rights falling within the Group’s
ordinary activities, after deduction of trade discounts, value added tax and anticipated returns.
Customer billings for all revenue streams are generally at or near the contract inception or when sales reports are received from the
customer. Payment terms are typically 1 – 3 months with no significant element of financing.
Where the goods or services promised within a contract are distinct, they are identified as separate performance obligations and are
accounted for separately. Where contractual arrangements consist of two or more performance obligations, such as access to multiple titles,
the transaction price is allocated between the distinct performance obligations on the basis of their relative stand-alone selling prices.
i. Print:
A
Print sales: Revenue from the sale of printed books is recognised at the point in time when control passes. This is at the point of
shipment when the title passes to the customer, when the Group has a present right to payment and has satisfied the relevant
performance obligations under the contract.
A provision for anticipated returns is made based primarily on historical return rates and customer trends in each territory. If these do
not reflect actual returns in future periods, then revenues could be understated or overstated for a particular period. The provision for
anticipated future sales returns is recognised in trade and other liabilities in the statement of financial position. A returns asset is recognised
in Finished Goods, Inventory for the Group’s right to recover products from customers on settling the returns liability.
ii. Digital:
A
Audio, Ebook and AI licensing sales: Revenue from these sales are recognised when content is delivered, i.e. access has been given to
the customer.
A
Subscription income: Revenue is generated from customers through the sale of digital materials to educational establishments, libraries
and professionals. Revenue for digital subscriptions is derived from the periodic subscription or update of the product. Revenue is
recognised on a straight-line basis over the period of subscription, or if less, the expected useful economic life of the product, unless
the product is downloadable or the goods or services are not delivered in a consistent manner over time, in which case revenue is
recognised based on the value received by the customer.
iii. Rights and services
A
Revenue from the licence of publishing and distribution rights, including film, paperback, electronic, overseas publishing rights, and
sponsorship, is recognised when the Group has provided the associated material and collectability is probable.
A
Management services contracts: Revenue is primarily generated from multi-year contractual arrangements related to the delivery of
online platform build, editorial and management services. Revenue is recognised over time based on contractual milestones as the
customer gains benefit from the assets created or services provided.
2. Material accounting policies continued
www.bloomsbury.com
158
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Notes to the Financial Statements
d) Foreign currencies
i. Functional and presentation currency
Items included in the financial statements of each of the Group’s entities are measured using the currency of the primary economic
environment in which the entity operates (“the functional currency”). These consolidated financial statements are presented in sterling as
this is the most representative currency of the Group’s operations. All financial information presented in sterling has been rounded to the
nearest one hundred thousand, except where otherwise stated.
ii. Transactions and balances
Transactions in currencies other than the functional currency are recorded in the functional currency at the rates of exchange prevailing on
the dates of the transactions. Assets and liabilities in foreign currencies are translated into sterling at the closing rates of exchange at the
date of the statement of financial position.
Exchange differences are charged or credited to the income statement within administrative expenses.
iii. Group companies
The results and financial position of all the Group entities that have a functional currency different from the presentation currency are
translated into the presentation currency as follows:
A
Assets and liabilities for each statement of financial position presented are translated at the closing rate at the date of that statement of
financial position.
A
Income and expenses are translated each month at the relevant monthly exchange rate.
A
All resulting exchange differences are recognised in other comprehensive income and presented in the translation reserve in equity. On
disposal of a foreign entity, these exchange differences are recycled to the income statement.
Goodwill and fair value adjustments arising on the acquisition of a foreign entity are treated as assets and liabilities of the foreign entity and
are translated at the closing rate. Exchange differences arising are recognised in other comprehensive income.
e) Taxation
The tax expense represents the sum of the tax currently payable and deferred tax.
i. Current tax
The tax currently payable is based on taxable profit for the year. Taxable profit differs from net profit as reported in the income statement
because it excludes items of income or expense that are taxable or deductible in other periods and it further excludes items that are never
taxable or deductible. The Group’s liability for current tax is calculated using tax rates that have been enacted, or substantively enacted, at
the reporting date.
The Group recognises liabilities for anticipated tax issues based on estimates of the additional taxes that are likely to become due, which
require judgement. Amounts are accrued based on the Directors’ interpretation of specific tax law in the relevant country and the likelihood
of settlement. The Directors use in-house tax experts, professional firms and previous experience when assessing tax risks. Where the final
tax outcome of these matters is different from the amounts that were initially recorded, such differences will impact the current tax and
deferred tax provisions in the period in which such determination is made.
ii. Deferred tax
Deferred tax is recognised on temporary differences between the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities in the consolidated financial
statements and the corresponding tax bases used in the computation of taxable profit. Deferred tax liabilities are generally recognised
for all taxable temporary differences. Deferred tax assets are generally recognised for all deductible temporary differences to the extent
that it is probable that taxable profit will be available against which those deductible temporary differences can be utilised. Such deferred
tax assets and liabilities are not recognised if the temporary difference arises from goodwill or from the initial recognition (other than in a
business combination) of other assets and liabilities in a transaction that affects neither the taxable profit nor the accounting profit and does
not give risk to an equal taxable and deductible temporary difference.
Deferred tax liabilities are recognised for taxable temporary differences arising on investments in subsidiaries, except where the Group is
able to control the reversal of the temporary difference and it is probable that the temporary difference will not reverse in the foreseeable
future. The carrying amount of deferred tax assets is reviewed at each reporting date and reduced to the extent that it is no longer probable
that sufficient taxable profits will be generated to allow all, or part, of the asset to be recovered.
Deferred tax is calculated at the tax rates that are expected to apply to the period when the asset is realised or the liability is settled based
upon tax rates that have been enacted, or substantively enacted, by the end of the reporting period.
OverviewFinancials
Stock code: BMY
Annual Report and Accounts 2026
159
iii. Current and deferred tax for the year
Current and deferred tax is charged or credited in the income statement, except when it relates to items credited or charged directly
to other comprehensive income or equity, in which case the deferred tax is also recognised in other comprehensive income or equity,
respectively.
f) Goodwill and other intangible assets
i. Goodwill
Goodwill arising on an acquisition of a business is carried at cost as established at the date of acquisition of the business (see Note 2b)i) less
accumulated impairment losses, if any.
For the purpose of impairment testing, goodwill is allocated to each of the Group’s cash-generating units (or groups of cash-generating
units) that are expected to benefit from the synergies of the combination. During the year, the Special Interest Division has been integrated
into the Consumer Division, with the strategic focus now on the consumer market as a whole. The change in both operational structure,
resource allocation and internal reporting resulted in a trigger for a change in CGUs, with Special Interest moving into the Consumer cash-
generating unit (“CGU”).
A cash-generating unit to which goodwill has been allocated is tested for impairment annually, or more frequently where there is an
indication that the unit may be impaired. If the recoverable amount of the cash-generating unit is less than its carrying amount, the
impairment loss is allocated first to reduce the carrying amount of any goodwill allocated to the unit and then to the other assets of the unit
pro rata based on the carrying amount of each asset in the unit. Any impairment loss for goodwill is recognised directly in profit or loss in
the consolidated income statement. An impairment loss recognised for goodwill is not reversed in subsequent periods.
On disposal of the relevant cash-generating unit, the attributable amount of goodwill is included in the determination of the profit or loss
on disposal.
ii. Other intangible assets
Other intangible assets that are acquired by the Group and have finite useful lives are measured at cost less accumulated amortisation and
accumulated impairment losses.
Except for goodwill and assets under construction, intangible assets are amortised on a straight-line basis in the income statement over
their expected useful lives by equal annual instalments at the following rates:
Publishing rights – 5% to 20% per annum
Imprints – 3% to 33% per annum
Subscriber and customer relationships – 7% to 10% per annum
Trademarks – over the life of the trademark
Product and systems development – 10% to 50% per annum
Assets under construction represent costs in developing a system or product, typically an online platform, that is not yet operational. Once
the asset is live it is transferred to the appropriate asset category and amortisation begins.
Amortisation methods, useful lives and residual values are reviewed at each reporting date and adjusted prospectively if appropriate.
iii. Product and systems development
Costs that are directly associated with the purchase and implementation of systems, such as software products, are recognised as intangible
assets. Likewise, costs incurred in developing a product, typically an online platform or production files, are recognised as intangible assets.
Expenditure is only capitalised if costs can be measured reliably, the product is technically and commercially feasible, future economic
benefits are probable, and the Group has sufficient resources to complete development and use the asset.
2. Material accounting policies continued
www.bloomsbury.com
160
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Notes to the Financial Statements
g) Property, plant and equipment
Property, plant and equipment are stated at cost less accumulated depreciation and any accumulated impairment loss.
Property, plant and equipment are depreciated in order to write down their cost less residual value using the straight-line method over their
expected useful lives at the following rates:
Short leasehold improvements – over the remaining life of the lease
Furniture and fittings – 10% per annum
Computers and other office equipment – 33% per annum
Depreciation is prorated in the years of acquisition and disposal of an asset. The estimated useful lives, residual value and depreciation
method are reviewed at the end of each reporting period, with the effect of any changes in estimate accounted for on a prospective basis.
An item of property, plant and equipment is derecognised on disposal or when no future economic benefits are expected to arise from the
continued use of the asset. The gain or loss arising on the disposal or retirement of an asset is determined as the difference between the
sales proceeds and the carrying amount of the asset and is recognised in the income statement.
h) Leases
The Group assesses whether a contract contains a lease at the inception of the contract. A contract is, or contains, a lease if the contract
conveys the right to control the use of an identified asset for a period of time in exchange for consideration. The Group recognises a
right-of-use asset and a lease liability at the lease commencement date with respect to all lease arrangements, except for short-term
leases (leases with a lease term of 12 months or less) and leases of low-value assets. For these leases, lease payments are recognised as an
operating expense on a straight-line basis over the term of the lease.
The right-of-use asset is initially measured at cost, comprising the initial amount of the lease liability, any initial direct costs incurred and an
estimate of costs to restore the underlying asset to the conditions required by the terms of the lease, less any incentives received. The right-
of-use asset is subsequently depreciated on a straight-line basis from the lease commencement date to the earlier of the end of the useful
life or the end of the lease term. The Group applies IAS 36 to determine whether a right-of-use asset is impaired.
The lease liability is initially measured at the present value of the lease payments that are not paid at the commencement date, discounted
using the interest rate implicit in the lease or, where that rate cannot be readily determined, the Group’s incremental borrowing rate. The
lease liability is subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method.
Management exercises judgement in determining the lease term where extension and termination options are included in lease contracts.
i) Impairment of tangible and intangible assets excluding goodwill
At the end of each reporting period, the Group reviews the carrying amounts of its tangible and intangible assets to determine whether
there is any indication that those assets have suffered an impairment loss. If any such indication exists, the recoverable amount of the
asset is estimated in order to determine the extent of the impairment loss (if any). Where the asset does not generate cash flows that are
independent from other assets, the Group estimates the recoverable amount of the cash-generating unit to which the asset belongs.
Recoverable amount is the higher of fair value less costs to sell and value in use. In assessing value in use, the estimated future cash flows
are discounted to their present value using a pre-tax discount rate that reflects current market assessments and the risks specific to the asset
for which the estimates of future cash flows have not been adjusted.
If the recoverable amount of an asset (or cash-generating unit) is estimated to be less than its carrying amount, the carrying amount of the
asset (or cash-generating unit) is reduced to its recoverable amount. An impairment loss is recognised immediately in the income statement.
Non-financial assets other than goodwill that suffered an impairment are reviewed for possible reversal of the impairment at the end of each
reporting period. Impairment reversals are included in the income statement, except to the extent they reverse gains previously recognised
in other comprehensive income.
j) Inventories
The cost of work in progress and finished goods represents the amounts charged to the Group for origination, inbound freight, paper,
printing and binding. Inventories are valued at the lower of cost and net realisable value. Cost is determined using the weighted average
cost method. Net realisable value represents the estimated selling price for inventories less all estimated costs of completion and costs
necessary to make the sale. Provisions are made for slow-moving and obsolete stock. A returns asset is recognised in Finished Goods,
Inventory for the Group’s right to recover products from customers on settling a returns liability.
OverviewFinancials
Stock code: BMY
Annual Report and Accounts 2026
161
k) Royalty advances to authors
Royalty advances paid to authors are recognised within current trade and other receivables at cost less any provision required to reduce the
balance to net realisable value. Advances are offset against royalties earned only once the relevant royalty run has been executed and are
expensed at the contracted royalty rate as the related revenues are earned.
A provision is recognised against gross advances (paid and contractually payable) to the extent that they are not expected to be fully earned
from anticipated future sales of a title and related subsidiary rights. Provisions against gross advances paid are netted against the advance
within trade and other receivables. Provisions against gross advances payable are recognised within Provisions in the Statement of Financial
Position.
l) Provisions
A provision is recognised if, as a result of a past event, the Group has a present legal or constructive obligation that can be estimated
reliably, and it is probable that an outflow of economic benefits will be required to settle the obligation. When a provision is measured using
the cash flows estimated to settle the present obligation, its carrying amount is the present value of those cash flows (when the effect of the
time value of money is material).
m) Financial instruments
Financial assets and financial liabilities are recognised when the Group has become a party to the contractual provisions of the instrument.
The Group’s financial assets and liabilities are as below:
Trade receivables
Trade receivables and other receivables are measured on initial recognition at fair value, and are subsequently measured at amortised cost
using the effective interest rate method, less any impairment. Provisions for bad and doubtful debts are based on the expected credit loss
model. The “simplified approach” is used with the expected loss allowance measured at an amount equal to the lifetime expected credit
losses.
Cash and cash equivalents
Cash and cash equivalents in the statement of cash flows comprise cash in hand and at bank, other short-term deposits held by the Group
with maturities of three months or less and bank overdrafts. Bank overdrafts are included in current liabilities in the statement of financial
position.
Trade payables
Trade payables are not interest bearing and are initially recognised at fair value and subsequently at amortised cost using the effective
interest method.
Borrowings
Borrowings are recognised initially at fair value, which is proceeds received net of transaction costs incurred. Borrowings are subsequently
stated at amortised cost with any difference between the proceeds (net of transaction costs) and the redemption value being recognised
in the income statement over the period of the borrowings using the effective interest method. Accrued interest is included as part of
borrowings.
n) Share capital
Ordinary shares are classified as equity.
Equity instruments issued by the Company are recorded at the proceeds received, net of direct issue costs.
o) Employee benefits
i. Defined contribution plans
Pension costs relating to defined contribution pension schemes are recognised in the income statement in the period for which related
services are rendered by the employee.
ii. Termination benefits
Termination benefits are recognised as an expense when the Group is demonstrably committed, without realistic possibility of withdrawal,
to a formal detailed plan either to terminate employment before the normal retirement date, or to provide termination benefits as a result
of an offer made to encourage voluntary redundancy.
2. Material accounting policies continued
www.bloomsbury.com
162
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Notes to the Financial Statements
iii. Share-based payment transactions
The Group issues equity-settled share-based payment instruments to certain employees. Equity-settled share-based payment transactions
are measured at fair value at the date of grant. The fair value determined at the grant date of equity-settled share-based payments is
charged to the income statement on a straight-line basis over the vesting period, based on the Group’s estimate of the shares that will
eventually vest.
Options granted under the Sharesave Plan are equity-settled. The fair values of such options have been calculated using the Black–Scholes
model based on publicly available market data.
Awards granted under the Group’s Performance Share Plan are equity-settled. Awards granted in 2022 are subject to the following
performance conditions: Earnings Per Share (60%); Non-Consumer operating profit (15%); Consumer operating profit (15%); and BDR
revenue (10%). Awards granted in 2023, 2024 and 2025 are subject to the following performance conditions: Earnings Per Share (60%);
Non-Consumer operating profit (17.5%); Consumer operating profit (17.5%); and Bloomsbury International Revenue (5%). The fair value of
the awards is calculated using the Black–Scholes model. Where the awards are subject to a holding period, we have used the Chaffe or
Ghaidarov model to determine a discount for lack of marketability.
p) Employee benefit trust
The Company operates an employee benefit trust and has de facto control of shares held by the trust and bears their benefits and risks. The
Group considers the trust to be substantially under its control and so consolidates the financial information of the trust as stated in Note
2b). The Group records the assets and liabilities of the trust as its own and shares held by the trust are recorded at cost as a deduction from
Shareholders’ equity. Finance costs and administrative expenses are charged as they accrue.
q) Segmental reporting
Operating segments, which have not been aggregated, are reported in a manner that is consistent with the internal reporting provided to
the Board of Directors (“Board”), regarded as the Chief Operating Decision Maker.
During the period, the Group’s operating segment structure changed following a revision to the internal reporting reviewed by the Board
(see Note 3).
The Board views the Group primarily from a nature-of-business basis, reflecting the Divisional performance of Consumer and Academic &
Professional. Segment results that are reported to the Board include items directly attributable to a segment as well as those that can be
allocated on a reasonable basis. Performance is evaluated based on operating profit contributions using the same accounting policies as
adopted for the Group’s financial statements.
r) Dividends
Final dividends are recognised as liabilities once they are appropriately authorised by the Company’s Shareholders. Interim dividends are
recorded when paid.
s) Critical accounting estimates and judgements
Estimates and judgements are continually evaluated and are based on historical experience and other factors, including reasonable
expectations of future events. The resultant estimates will, by definition, not necessarily equal the related actual results and may require
adjustment in subsequent accounting periods.
The estimates and assumptions that may cause a material adjustment to the carrying amount of assets and liabilities in the next financial
year are:
i. Book returns
The level of sales return liability is set out in Note 18.
Printed books are normally sold on a sale-or-return basis. The timing of returns of unsold books is uncertain. A provision is made against
sales for the expected future returns of books that have not occurred by the end of an accounting period. The sales return liability
represents 5.5% of annual gross title sales (2025: 7.0%).
This is an estimate as it requires management to estimate the level of expected future returns. As books are returnable by customers, the
Group makes a provision against books sold in the accounting period which is then carried forward in anticipation of book returns received
subsequent to the period end. The provision is recorded by sub-division and is based on the estimated time lag following a sale before a
return is made, based on the historic returns data. The provision is calculated by reference to historical returns rates, customer trends and
expected future returns.
If these estimates do not reflect actual returns in future periods, then revenues could be understated or overstated for a particular period. In
Note 18 we have disclosed the impact on revenue of a 10% increase or decrease in actual returns in the year.
OverviewFinancials
Stock code: BMY
Annual Report and Accounts 2026
163
ii. Author advances
Trade and other receivables in the Group Statement of Financial Position, in Note 17, include royalty advances (i.e. net unearned advances
to authors). A provision is made against gross advances (paid and payable) to the extent that they are not expected to be fully earned from
anticipated future sales of a title and subsidiary rights receivable.
This is an estimate as it requires management to estimate the future sales of a title. Management review all royalty advances for triggers
indicating that a provision may be required and, additionally, at the end of each financial year, a review is carried out on advances for all
published titles where the initial publication date is 6 months or earlier from the reporting period end date to assess whether a provision is
required.
If it is unlikely that royalties from future title sales and subsidiary rights will fully earn down the advance, a provision is made in the income
statement on a title-by-title basis, with regard to historical net sales, expected future net sales and taking account of the life cycle of a book,
for the difference between the carrying value and the anticipated recoverable amount from future earnings.
In Note 4, we have disclosed the provision made against advances in the year.
iii. Impairment reviews
The carrying value of goodwill arising on the acquisition of businesses combinations by the Group is set out in Note 11. The carrying value
of the Company’s Investment in subsidiary companies is set out in Note 35.
This is an estimate as it requires an estimation of future cash flows relating to each CGU or investment. IFRS require management to
undertake an annual test for impairment of indefinite life assets and, for finite life assets, to test for impairment if events or changes in
circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of an asset may not be recoverable. The Group currently undertakes an annual impairment
test covering goodwill and reviews finite life assets to consider whether a full impairment review is required. The Company tests the
recoverability of investments annually.
Intangible assets and investment recoverability are areas involving management judgement, requiring assessment as to whether the
carrying value of assets can be supported by the net present value of future cash flows derived from such assets using cash flow projections
that have been discounted at an appropriate rate. In calculating the net present value of the future cash flows, certain assumptions are
required to be made. Note 11 details the assumptions used, and sensitivities analysis performed, on the value-in-use calculations for
goodwill. The key assumptions used in the cash flow projections for Investments are discount rates, long-term growth rates, revenue growth
rates and forecast operating profits.
iv. Inventory
The level of inventories and the inventory provision are set out in Note 16 to the financial statements.
For each line of inventory, a provision is made against the cost of the inventory, where the Net Realisable Value is less than cost. Net
Realisable Value is the estimated selling price for inventories less all estimated costs of completion and costs necessary to make the sale.
This is an estimate as it requires management to estimate the net realisable value for inventory. At the end of each reporting period a review
is carried out on all published titles where inventory is held. A provision is made by the Group against unsold inventory on a title-by-title
basis, with regard to historical net sales and expected future net sales, to value the inventories at the lower of cost and net realisable value.
There is an estimation uncertainty in respect of the inventory provision for certain key titles, as the assessment of net realisable value is
dependent on future sales performance. Based on reasonably possible changes in assumptions, the provision for these titles could vary
within a range of £(3.4)m to £2.3m (credit)/cost to profit, which could have a material impact on the carrying value of inventory and profit.
3. Revenue and segmental analysis
The Group is comprised of two worldwide publishing divisions: Consumer and Academic & Professional, reflecting the core customers for
our different operations.
Previously, Academic & Professional was part of the Non-Consumer Division, which comprised two operating segments: Academic &
Professional and Special Interest. During the period, the operational structure of the Group was changed and Special Interest is now part of
the Consumer Division. This change reflects the publishing similarities, operational synergies and overlapping nature of the Consumer and
Special Interest listswith the strategic focus on the Consumer market as a whole. The operating results for the Consumer Division as a whole
are now regularly reviewed by the Board of Directors to make decisions about resources and assess performance. As a result, management
determined that there was a trigger for a change in operating segments. Comparative information for prior periods has been restated to
reflect this change.
We have allocated goodwill between reportable segments. These divisions are the basis on which the Group primarily reports its segment
information. Segments derive their revenue from book publishing, sale of publishing and distribution rights, management and other
publishing services.
2. Material accounting policies continued
www.bloomsbury.com
164
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Notes to the Financial Statements
The analysis by segment is shown below:
Academic & Consumer Professional Unallocated Total Year ended 28 February 2026£’m£’m£’m£’mExternal revenue 218.2 107.7 – 325.9Cost of sales (107.2) (27.1) – (134.3)Gross profit 111.0 80.6 – 191.6Marketing and distribution costs (35.3) (7.4) – (42.7)Contribution before administrative expenses 75.7 73.2 – 148.9Administrative expenses excluding highlighted items (54.8) (48.0) – (102.8)Operating profit before highlighted items/segment results 20.9 25.2 – 46.1Amortisation of acquired intangible assets (0.6) (8.4) – (9.0)Other highlighted items – – (1.7) (1.7)Operating profit/(loss) 20.3 16.8 (1.7) 35.4Finance income – – 0.7 0.7Finance costs (0.4) (0.2) (1.3) (1.9)Profit/(loss) before taxation and highlighted items 20.5 25.0 (0.6) 44.9Amortisation of acquired intangible assets (0.6) (8.4) – (9.0)Other highlighted items – – (1.7) (1.7)Profit/(loss) before taxation 19.9 16.6 (2.3) 34.2Taxation – – (7.2) (7.2)Profit/(loss) for the year 19.9 16.6 (9.5) 27.0Operating profit before highlighted items/segment results 20.9 25.2 – 46.1Depreciation 1.9 1.1 – 3.0Amortisation of internally generated intangibles 1.9 3.4 – 5.3EBITDA before highlighted items 24.7 29.7 – 54.4
Academic & Consumer Professional Unallocated Total Year ended 28 February 2025 (*restated)£’m£’m£’m£’mExternal revenue 277.7 83.3 – 361.0Cost of sales (132.8) (24.3) – (157.1)Gross profit 144.9 59.0 – 203.9Marketing and distribution costs (45.9) (8.7) – (54.6)Contribution before administrative expenses 99.0 50.3 – 149.3Administrative expenses excluding highlighted items (68.5) (37.8) – (106.3)Share of joint venture result – – (0.1) (0.1)Operating profit/(loss) before highlighted items/segment results 30.5 12.5 (0.1) 42.9Amortisation of acquired intangible assets (0.7) (7.7) – (8.4)Other highlighted items – – (1.2) (1.2)Operating profit/(loss) 29.8 4.8 (1.3) 33.3Finance income – 0.1 1.2 1.3Finance costs (0.2) (0.1) (1.8) (2.1)Profit/(loss) before taxation and highlighted items 30.3 12.5 (0.7) 42.1Amortisation of acquired intangible assets (0.7) (7.7) – (8.4)Other highlighted items – – (1.2) (1.2)Profit/(loss) before taxation 29.6 4.8 (1.9) 32.5Taxation – – (7.1) (7.1)Profit/(loss) for the year 29.6 4.8 (9.0) 25.4Operating profit/(loss) before highlighted items/segment results 30.5 12.5 (0.1) 42.9Depreciation 2.3 0.8 – 3.1Amortisation of internally generated intangibles 1.7 2.4 – 4.1EBITDA before highlighted items 34.5 15.7 (0.1) 50.1
OverviewFinancials
Stock code: BMY
Annual Report and Accounts 2026
165
Total assets
28 February 28 February 2025 2026 (*restated) £’m£’mConsumer 44.0 52.8Academic & Professional 116.7 127.5Unallocated 203.8 205.0Total assets 364.5 385.3
Unallocated primarily represents centrally held assets, including system development; property, plant and equipment; right-of-use assets;
receivables; and cash.
External revenue by source and destination
SourceUnited North Kingdom America Australia India Total Destination£’m£’m£’m£’m£’mYear ended 28 February 2026United Kingdom 81.4 2.8 – – 84.2North America 18.3 147.8 – – 166.1Continental Europe 26.6 8.0 – – 34.6 Australasia 5.2 0.1 13.0 – 18.3Middle East and Asia 13.8 0.5 – 6.2 20.5Rest of the world 1.1 1.1 – – 2.2Overseas countries 65.0 157.5 13.0 6.2 241.7Total 146.4 160.3 13.0 6.2 325.9
Year ended 28 February 2025United Kingdom 74.1 4.1 – – 78.2North America 11.9 186.7 – – 198.6Continental Europe 31.3 2.0 – – 33.3 Australasia 3.2 – 16.8 – 20.0Middle East and Asia 11.7 0.3 – 5.9 17.9Rest of the world 11.4 1.6 – – 13.0Overseas countries 69.5 190.6 16.8 5.9 282.8Total 143.6 194.7 16.8 5.9 361.0
During the year, sales to one customer exceeded 10% of Group revenue (2025: one customer). The value of these sales was £88.8m (2025:
£119.5m). This customer purchases from all operating segments and represents 8% (2025: 8%) of gross trade receivables.
Analysis of non-current assets (excluding deferred tax assets and financial instruments) by geographic location
28 February 28 February 2026 2025 £’m£’mUnited Kingdom (country of domicile) 63.2 65.3North America 77.8 82.0Other 0.1 0.2Total 141.1 147.5
3. Revenue and segmental analysis continued
www.bloomsbury.com
166
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Notes to the Financial Statements
Group revenues by product type
Academic & Consumer Professional Total Year ended 28 February 2026£’m£’m£’m1Print163.8 37.7 201.52Digital38.1 66.2 104.33Rights and services16.3 3.8 20.1Total 218.2 107.7 325.9
Academic & Consumer Professional Total Year ended 28 February 2025 (*restated)£’m£’m£’m1Print211.8 37.9 249.72Digital55.9 42.2 98.13Rights and services10.0 3.2 13.2Total 277.7 83.3 361.0
1
Print includes print books and games.
2
Digital includes ebooks, audio, digital resources and AI licensing income.
3
Rights and services revenue includes revenue from copyright and trademark licences, management contracts, advertising and publishing services.
* Restated to show the Special Interest Division move to the Consumer Division.
Contract balances
Online digital platforms sales within the Digital revenue stream, generally, entail customer billings at, or near, the contract’s inception and,
accordingly, Digital contract liability balances are primarily related to subscription performance obligations to be delivered over time.
Ebook sales within the Digital revenue stream are, generally, derived from ebook aggregators, who provide periodic sales reports over time. The
extent of contract assets is related to the timing of receiving these reports.
Within the Rights and services revenue stream are licences for multiple titles at a fixed price. As the performance obligations within these
arrangements are, generally, when the customer is granted access, the extent of contract assets will ultimately depend upon the difference
between revenue recognised and billings to date.
Refer to Note 17 for opening and closing balances of contract assets. Refer to Note 18 for opening and closing balances of contract liabilities.
Revenue recognised during the period from changes in contract liabilities was driven primarily by the release of revenue over time from digital
subscriptions and the delivery of print books invoiced, but not delivered, in the previous financial year.
£9.1m of revenue recognised in the year ended 28 February 2026 related to amounts that were included in the opening contract liability balance.
The below table depicts the remaining transaction price on unsatisfied, or partially unsatisfied, performance obligations from contracts with
customers:
Total remaining Contract Committed transaction 2029 and Salesliabilitiessalesprice 20272028laterYear ended 28 February 2026 £’m £’m £’m£’m £’m£’m £’mPrint 201.5 1.4 2.5 3.9 3.9 – –Digital 104.3 9.6 2.2 11.8 8.3 1.6 1.9Rights and services 20.1 0.6 2.1 2.7 2.4 0.2 0.1Total 325.9 11.6 6.8 18.4 14.6 1.8 2.0
Total remaining Contract Committed transaction 2028 and Salesliabilitiessalesprice 20262027laterYear ended 28 February 2025 £’m £’m £’m£’m £’m£’m £’mPrint 249.7 1.3 1.5 2.8 2.8 – –Digital 98.1 9.4 2.6 12.0 8.2 1.4 2.4Rights and services 13.2 0.4 0.8 1.2 0.7 0.40.1Total 361.0 11.1 4.9 16.0 11.7 1.82.5
OverviewFinancials
Stock code: BMY
Annual Report and Accounts 2026
167
4. Operating profit
Operating profit is stated after charging the following amounts:
Year ended Year ended 28 February 28 February 2026 2025 Notes£’m£’mPurchase of goods and changes in inventories 16 60.5 80.3Provision made against advances 9.2 10.0Depreciation of property, plant and equipment 13 0.9 1.1Depreciation of right-of-use assets 14 2.1 2.0Highlighted items (see below) 10.7 9.6Exchange (gain)/loss (1.0) 0.2Loss allowance for financial assets – (0.1)Staff costs (excluding termination benefits) 5 77.5 78.8
Highlighted items
Year ended Year ended 28 February 28 February 2026 2025 £’m£’mLegal and other professional fees on acquisitions – 0.7Integration and restructuring costs 1.7 0.5Other highlighted items 1.7 1.2Amortisation of acquired intangible assets 9.0 8.4Total highlighted items 10.7 9.6
Highlighted items charged to operating profit comprise significant non-cash charges and major one-off initiatives, which are highlighted in
the income statement because, in the opinion of the Directors, separate disclosure is helpful in understanding the underlying performance
and future profitability of the business.
All highlighted items are included in administrative expenses in the income statement.
For the year ended 28 February 2026, integration and restructuring costs of £1.7m were incurred in respect of the integration of the Rowman
& Littlefield acquisition, the UK distributor move to Hachette UK Distribution and the implementation of the new royalty system.
For the year ended 28 February 2025, legal and other professional fees of £0.7m were incurred as a result of the Rowman & Littlefield
acquisition. Integration and restructuring costs primarily relate to the integration of the Rowman & Littlefield acquisition and restructuring.
Auditor’s remuneration
Amounts payable to Crowe U.K. LLP and its associates in respect of both audit and non-audit services for the year ended 28 February 2026
and 28 February 2025 are as follows:
Year ended Year ended 28 February 28 February 2026 2025 £’m£’mFees payable to the Company’s Auditor for the audit of the Parent Company and consolidated financial statements 0.4 0.4
The External Auditor did not provide any non-audit services during the year (2025: none).
www.bloomsbury.com
168
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Notes to the Financial Statements
5. Staff costs
Staff costs, including Directors, during the year were:
Year ended Year ended 28 February 28 February 2026 2025 Notes£’m£’mSalaries (including bonuses) 65.2 67.4Social security costs 8.0 6.7Pension costs 23 3.2 2.8Share-based payment charge 22 1.1 1.9Staff costs (excluding termination benefits) 77.5 78.8Termination benefits 0.2 0.6Total 77.7 79.4
For the year ended 28 February 2026, £0.2 million (year ended 28 February 2025: £0.2 million) of termination benefits are included in
restructuring within highlighted items.
The average monthly number of employees during the year was:
Year ended Year ended 28 February 28 February 20262025Editorial, production and selling 1,033 967Finance and administration 205 194Total 1,238 1,161
Staff costs are charged to administrative expenses.
During the year, three (2025: two) Directors were accruing benefits under defined contribution pension arrangements.
Total emoluments for Directors was:
Year ended Year ended 28 February 28 February 2026 2025 £’m£’mShort-term employee benefits 1.5 2.1Post-employment benefits 0.1 0.1Total 1.6 2.2
The Group considers key management personnel as defined under IAS 24 “Related Party Disclosures” to be the Directors of the Company;
this includes Non-Executive Directors and the heads of the global divisions, major geographic regions and departments who are actively
involved in strategic decision making that make up the Executive Committee (for further details on membership, see pages 99 to 101).
Total emoluments for Executive Directors and other key management personnel were:
Year ended Year ended 28 February 28 February 2026 2025 £’m£’mShort-term employee benefits 3.9 5.8Post-employment benefits 0.2 0.2Share-based payment charge 0.8 1.2Total 4.9 7.2
OverviewFinancials
Stock code: BMY
Annual Report and Accounts 2026
169
6. Finance income and finance costs
Year endedYear ended28 February28 February20262025Notes£’m£’mFinance incomeInterest on bank deposits 0.5 1.1Other interest receivable 0.2 0.2Total 0.7 1.3Finance costsInterest on bank loans 1.1 1.6Interest on lease liabilities 25 0.7 0.3Other interest payable 0.1 0.2Total 1.9 2.1
7. Taxation
a) Tax charge for the year
Year ended Year ended 28 February 28 February 2026 2025 Notes£’m£’mCurrent taxation UK corporation taxCurrent year 0.3 – Adjustment in respect of prior years 0.1 (0.2)Overseas taxationCurrent year 6.7 11.6Adjustment in respect of prior years (1.0) (0.8)6.1 10.6Deferred tax 15 UK Origination and reversal of temporary differences 0.7 (2.0) Adjustment in respect of prior years 0.3 0.1OverseasOrigination and reversal of temporary differences 0.1 (1.8)Adjustment in respect of prior years – 0.21.1 (3.5)Total taxation expense 7.2 7.1
www.bloomsbury.com
170
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Notes to the Financial Statements
b) Factors affecting tax charge for the year
The tax on the Group’s profit before tax differs from the standard rate of corporation tax in the United Kingdom of 25% (2025: 25%). The
reasons for this are explained below:
Year ended Year ended 28 February 202628 February 2025£’m % £’m %Profit before taxation 34.2 100.0 32.5 100.0Profit on ordinary activities multiplied by the standard rate of corporation tax in the UK of 25% (2025: 25%) 8.5 25.0 8.1 25.0Effects of: Non-deductible revenue expenditure 0.1 0.2 0.6 1.9Non-taxable income (0.7) (2.1) (1.9) (5.9)Different rates of tax in foreign jurisdictions (0.1) (0.3) 0.8 2.6Adjustment to tax charge in respect of prior yearsCurrent tax (0.9) (2.6) (1.0) (3.1)Deferred tax 0.3 0.9 0.3 0.9Tax charge for the year before disallowable costs on highlighted items 7.2 21.1 6.9 21.4Highlighted itemsDisallowable costs – – 0.2 0.5Tax charge for the year 7.2 21.1 7.1 21.9
Non-taxable income mainly relates to tax deduction claims for the Foreign-Derived Intangible Income deduction available in the US.
Different rates of tax in foreign jurisdictions is where we are paying tax at a lower rate in the US (including paying state taxes) and higher rate
in Australia.
Adjustments to prior periods primarily arise where an outcome is obtained on certain tax matters that differs from expectations held when
the related provision was made. Where the outcome is more favourable than the provision made, the difference is released, lowering the
current year tax charge. Where the outcome is less favourable than our provision, an additional charge to current year tax will occur.
We are not aware of any significant unprovided exposures that are considered likely to materialise.
c) Factors affecting tax charge for future years
Factors which may affect the future tax charges include changes in tax legislation, transfer pricing regulations and the level and mix of
profitability in different countries.
d) Tax effects of components of other comprehensive income
Before tax Tax charge After tax Before tax Tax charge After tax 2026 20262026 2025 2025 2025 £’m£’m£’m£’m£’m£’mExchange difference on translating foreign operations (9.6) – (9.6) 0.9 – 0.9Other comprehensive income (9.6) – (9.6) 0.9 – 0.9
OverviewFinancials
Stock code: BMY
Annual Report and Accounts 2026
171
8. Dividends
Year ended Year ended 28 February 28 February 2026 2025 £’m£’mAmounts paid in the yearPrior period 11.54p final dividend per share (2025: 10.99p) 9.4 9.0Interim 4.08p dividend per share (2025: 3.89p) 3.3 3.2Total dividend payments in the year 12.7 12.2Amounts arising in respect of the yearInterim 4.08p dividend per share for the year (2025: 3.89p) 3.3 3.2Proposed 12.12p final dividend per share for the year (2025: 11.54p) 9.8 9.4Total dividend 16.20p per share for the year (2025: 15.43p) 13.1 12.6
The Directors are recommending a final dividend of 12.12 pence per share, which, subject to Shareholder approval at the Annual General
Meeting on 15 July 2026, will be paid on 21 August 2026 to Shareholders on the register at close of business on 24 July 2026.
9. Earnings per share
The basic earnings per share for the year ended 28 February 2026 is calculated using a weighted average number of Ordinary shares in issue
of 81,354,266 (2025: 81,420,330) after deducting shares held by the Employee Benefit Trust.
The diluted earnings per share is calculated by adjusting the weighted average number of Ordinary shares to take account of all dilutive
potential Ordinary shares, which are in respect of unexercised share options and the Performance Share Plan.
Year ended Year ended 28 February 28 February 2026 2025 NumberNumberWeighted average shares in issue 81,354,266 81,420,330Dilution 789,371 1,147,233Diluted weighted average shares in issue 82,143,637 82,567,563£’m £’mProfit after tax attributable to owners of the Company 27.0 25.4Basic earnings per share 33.12p 31.14pDiluted earnings per share 32.80p 30.71p£’m £’mAdjusted profit attributable to owners of the Company 36.6 34.2Adjusted basic earnings per share 45.00p 42.03pAdjusted diluted earnings per share 44.57p 41.45p
www.bloomsbury.com
172
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Notes to the Financial Statements
Adjusted profit is derived as follows:
Year ended Year ended 28 February 28 February 2026 2025 £’m£’mProfit before taxation 34.2 32.5Amortisation of acquired intangible assets 9.0 8.4Other highlighted items 1.7 1.2Adjusted Profit 44.9 42.1Tax expense 7.2 7.1Deferred tax movements on goodwill and acquired intangible assets 0.7 0.6Tax expense on other highlighted items 0.4 0.2Adjusted tax 8.3 7.9Adjusted earnings 36.6 34.2
The Group includes the benefit of tax amortisation of intangible assets within adjusted tax as this benefit more accurately aligns the
adjusted tax charge with the expected cash tax payments.
10. Business Combinations
On 28 May 2024, the Group acquired the academic publishing business of the Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group. There have been
no changes to the acquisition accounting since the prior year. Further details are set out in Note 10 to the 28 February 2025 financial
statements.
11. Goodwill
28 February 28 February 2026 2025 £’m£’mCost At start of year 81.6 52.6Acquisitions – 28.6Exchange differences (2.4) 0.4At end of year 79.2 81.6ImpairmentAt start of year 4.3 4.3Exchange differences – –At end of year 4.3 4.3Net book valueAt end of year 74.9 77.3At start of year 77.3 48.3
Goodwill is not amortised but instead, in accordance with IFRS, is subject to annual impairment reviews. Any impairment losses are
recognised immediately in the income statement.
Management aligns the monitoring of goodwill with how it reviews the performance of the business. Previously, the Group’s cash-generating
units (“CGUs”) were defined as Academic & Professional, Special Interest and Consumer, reflecting that goodwill is monitored by
management at the publishing division level.
As disclosed in Note 3 “revenue and segmental analysis”, during the year, the Special interest Division has been integrated into the
Consumer Division, with the strategic focus now on the consumer market as a whole. The change in both operational structure and internal
reporting resulted in a trigger for a change in CGUs, with Special Interest moving into the Consumer CGU.
OverviewFinancials
Stock code: BMY
Annual Report and Accounts 2026
173
The Group now has two CGUs, Academic & Professional and Consumer, which represent the smallest identifiable group of assets that
generate cash flows that are largely independent of the cash flows from other assets or groups of assets. Comparative information for prior
periods has been restated to reflect this change.
Typically, acquisitions are integrated into existing publishing divisions, and the goodwill arising is allocated to the CGUs that are expected
to benefit from the synergies of the acquisition.
The following is a summary of goodwill allocation for each publishing division:
28 February 28 February 2026 2025 *(restated) £’m£’mAcademic & Professional 65.4 67.5Consumer 9.5 9.8Total 74.9 77.3
Impairment testing
The recoverable amount of the Group’s goodwill has been considered with regard to value-in-use calculations. These calculations use the
pre-tax future cash flow projections of each CGU based on the Board’s approved budgets for the year ended 28 February 2027 and the
Board-approved five-year plan. The calculations include a terminal value based on the projections for the final year of the five-year plan with
a long-term growth rate assumption applied.
The key assumptions for calculating value in use are:
Discount rates CAGR – Revenue Long-term growth202620252026202520262025(*restated) (*restated) (*restated) %%%%%%Academic & Professional 12.2 12.6 0.9 6.5 2.0 2.0Consumer 12.8 12.4 1.3 1.7 2.0 2.0
* Restated to show the Special Interest Division move to the Consumer Division (see above).
Discount rates
The discount rates applied to the cash flows are calculated using a pre-tax rate based on the weighted average cost of capital for the
comparable public companies. This is adjusted for risks specific to the market in which the CGU operates.
Revenue growth rates
Growth rates have been calculated based on those applied to the Board-approved budget for the year ended 28February2027 and five-
year plan.
The five-year forecasts are extrapolated to perpetuity on the basis that the relevant CGUs are long-established business units. The long-
term growth rates are blended rates formed from the territory-specific long-term growth rates.
Gross margins
Gross margins have been based on historic performance and expected changes to the sales mix in future periods.
11. Goodwill continued
www.bloomsbury.com
174
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Notes to the Financial Statements
Sensitivity
Management has performed sensitivity analysis based on the key assumptions for calculating the value in use. The discount rate has been
increased by 2.0% and the long-term growth rate has been decreased from 2.0% to 0.0%. In addition, management has applied a severe but
plausible downside scenario in accordance with the going concern review as set out on page 156. This assumes that:
A
print revenues are reduced by 20% during 2026/2027, with recovery during 2027/2028;
A
digital revenues are reduced by 10–20% during 2026/2027, with recovery during 2027/2028; and
A
print costs are increased by 2% from 2026/2027, distribution costs are increased by 5% from 2026/2027 and staff costs are increased by
2% from 2027/2028.
Under these circumstances, management has not identified any reasonably possible changes to key assumptions that would cause the
carrying value of goodwill of the Academic & Professional or Consumer CGUs to materially exceed the recoverable amount.
Likewise, management has not identified any reasonably possible changes to key assumptions that would cause the carrying value of
goodwill of the previously defined CGUs (Academic & Professional, Special Interest and Consumer) to materially exceed the recoverable
amount.
12. Other intangible assets
Subscriber and Assets Publishing customer Systems Product under rights Imprints relationships Trademarks development development construction Total £’m£’m£’m£’m£’m£’m£’m£’mCostAt 29 February 2024 36.3 13.9 4.4 0.6 7.0 25.0 1.1 88.3Acquisitions 29.2 2.5 – – – 3.6 – 35.3Additions – – – – 0.5 3.1 1.2 4.8Transfers – – – – (0.2) 1.5 (1.3) –Disposals – – – – (0.7) – – (0.7)Exchange differences 0.4 – – – – 0.1 – 0.5At 28 February 2025 65.9 16.4 4.4 0.6 6.6 33.3 1.0 128.2Additions – – – 0.1 1.2 4.8 1.4 7.5Transfers – – – – 0.6 1.5 (2.1) –Disposals – – – – (0.2) – – (0.2)Exchange differences (2.9) (0.5) – – 0.1 (0.8) – (4.1)At 28 February 2026 63.0 15.9 4.4 0.7 8.3 38.8 0.3 131.4AmortisationAt 29 February 2024 21.3 6.3 4.3 0.2 5.2 19.0 – 56.3Disposals – – – – (0.7) – – (0.7)Charge for the year 6.0 1.5 0.1 – 0.7 4.2 – 12.5Exchange differences 0.1 – (0.1) – – – – –At 28 February 2025 27.4 7.8 4.3 0.2 5.2 23.2 – 68.1Disposals – – – – (0.2) – – (0.2)Charge for the year 6.1 1.5 0.1 0.1 0.6 5.9 – 14.3Exchange differences (0.7) (0.1) – – – (0.4) – (1.2)At 28 February 2026 32.8 9.2 4.4 0.3 5.6 28.7 – 81.0Net book valueAt 28 February 2026 30.2 6.7 – 0.4 2.7 10.1 0.3 50.4At 28 February 2025 38.5 8.6 0.1 0.4 1.4 10.1 1.0 60.1
Acquisitions relates to the purchase of Rowman & Littlefield; see Note 10.
OverviewFinancials
Stock code: BMY
Annual Report and Accounts 2026
175
13. Property, plant and equipmentComputers Short and other leasehold Furniture and office improvements fittings equipment Total£’m£’m£’m £’mCostAt 29 February 2024 3.0 1.2 3.4 7.6Additions 0.2 0.4 0.8 1.4Disposals (0.2) (0.1) (0.4) (0.7)At 28 February 2025 3.0 1.5 3.8 8.3Additions 0.4 0.3 0.7 1.4Disposals (0.2) (0.4) – (0.6)Exchange differences – (0.1) (0.1) (0.2)At 28 February 2026 3.2 1.3 4.4 8.9DepreciationAt 29 February 2024 2.5 0.8 2.1 5.4Charge for the year 0.1 0.1 0.9 1.1Disposals (0.2) (0.1) (0.4) (0.7)At 28 February 2025 2.4 0.8 2.6 5.8Charge for the year 0.1 0.1 0.7 0.9Disposals (0.2) (0.4) – (0.6)Exchange differences – – (0.1) (0.1)At 28 February 2026 2.3 0.5 3.2 6.0Net book valueAt 28 February 2026 0.9 0.8 1.2 2.9At 28 February 2025 0.6 0.7 1.2 2.5
The depreciation charge is included in administrative expenses.
www.bloomsbury.com
176
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Notes to the Financial Statements
14. Right-of-use assets
PropertyCarsEquipmentTotal£’m£’m£’m £’mCostAt 29 February 2024 16.0 0.2 0.2 16.4Additions 1.8 0.1 0.2 2.1Disposals – – (0.2) (0.2)At 28 February 2025 17.8 0.3 0.2 18.3Additions 7.5 – – 7.5Disposals (3.7) – – (3.7)Exchange differences (0.3) – – (0.3)At 28 February 2026 21.3 0.3 0.2 21.8DepreciationAt 29 February 2024 8.7 – 0.2 8.9Charge for the year 1.8 0.1 0.1 2.0Disposals – – (0.2) (0.2)At 28 February 2025 10.5 0.1 0.1 10.7Charge for the year 2.0 0.1 – 2.1Disposals (3.7) – – (3.7)Exchange differences (0.2) – – (0.2)At 28 February 2026 8.6 0.2 0.1 8.9Net book value At 28 February 2026 12.7 0.1 0.1 12.9At 28 February 2025 7.3 0.2 0.1 7.6
The depreciation charge is included in administrative expenses.
OverviewFinancials
Stock code: BMY
Annual Report and Accounts 2026
177
15. Deferred tax assets and liabilities
a) Recognised deferred tax assets and liabilities
Deferred tax is calculated in full on temporary differences using the tax rate appropriate to the jurisdiction in which the asset or liability
arises and the tax rates that are expected to apply in the periods in which the asset or liability is settled.
Movement in temporary differences during the year:
Property, Retirement plant and benefit Share-based Intangible Tax losses equipment obligation payments assets OtherTotal £’m£’m£’m£’m£’m £’m£’mAt 29 February 2024 1.2 0.1 0.1 0.8 (1.6) 10.4 11.0Credit to the income statement 0.7 – – 0.4 0.6 1.8 3.5Credit to equity – – – 0.1 – – 0.1At 28 February 2025 1.9 0.1 0.1 1.3 (1.0) 12.2 14.6(Charge)/credit to the income statement (0.6) 0.3 – (0.5) 0.7 (1.0) (1.1)Charge to equity – – – (0.3) – – (0.3)Exchange differences – – – – (0.1) (0.6) (0.7)At 28 February 2026 1.3 0.4 0.1 0.5 (0.4) 10.6 12.5
Deferred tax assets in respect of losses are only recognised to the extent that it is anticipated they will be utilised in the foreseeable future.
The Other deferred tax asset predominantly relates to temporary differences, i.e. valuation adjustments and return and inventory provisions
held on the balance sheet recognised in the current tax calculation and tax return only when utilised. This predominantly relates to the US
and the UK.
b) The analysis for financial reporting purposes is as follows:
28 February 28 February 2026 2025 £’m£’mDeferred tax assets 14.5 16.9Deferred tax liabilities (2.0) (2.3)Total 12.5 14.6
The deferred tax liability predominantly relates to timing differences due to Intangible assets.
c) Unrecognised deferred tax assets
The Group had deferred tax assets not recognised in the financial statements as follows:
28 February 28 February 2026 2025 £’m£’mTrading losses and unrelieved foreign tax credits 2.7 3.5
At 28 February 2026, the Group had unrecognised trading losses, including the gross value of unrelieved foreign tax credits, of £10.7 million
(2025: £13.8 million). A deferred tax asset has not been recognised in respect of these taxable losses. Due to the nature of these losses and
credits, they cannot easily be offset against future Group profits.
Deferred tax is not provided on unremitted earnings of subsidiaries where the Group controls the timing of remittance and it is probable
that the temporary difference will not reverse in the foreseeable future.
www.bloomsbury.com
178
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Notes to the Financial Statements
16. Inventories
28 February 28 February 2026 2025 £’m£’mWork in progress 4.4 2.7Finished goods for resale 34.6 43.6Total 39.0 46.3
The cost of inventories recognised as cost of sales amounted to £49.0 million (2025: £63.8 million). In addition to this, the provision and
write-down of inventories to net realisable value recognised in cost of sales amounted to £11.5 million (2025: £16.5 million).
17. Trade and other receivables
28 February 28 February 2026 2025 £’m£’mNon-currentContract assets 0.5 0.7CurrentGross trade receivables 72.9 82.1Less: loss allowance (2.2) (2.7)Net trade receivables 70.7 79.4Income tax recoverable 1.3 4.1Other receivables 2.7 3.6Prepayments 4.8 4.0Contract assets 9.5 7.1Royalty advances 36.4 35.1Total current trade and other receivables 125.4 133.3Total trade and other receivables 125.9 134.0
Non-current receivables relate to contract assets on long-term rights deals.
A provision is held against gross advances paid in respect of published title advances that may not be fully earned down by anticipated
future sales. As at 28 February 2026, £13.0 million (2025: £7.1m) of royalty advances relate to titles expected to be published in more than 12
months’ time.
Other receivables principally comprises VAT recoverable.
Trade receivables principally comprises amounts receivable from the sale of books due from distributors. The majority of trade debtors are
secured by credit insurance and, in certain territories, by third-party distributors. The “simplified approach” is used with the expected loss
allowance measured at an amount equal to the lifetime expected credit losses.
The Directors consider that the carrying amount of trade and other receivables approximates to their fair values. The Group’s exposure to
credit and currency risks is disclosed in Note 24. The average number of days’ credit taken for sales of books by the Group was 79 days
(2025: 80 days).
A loss allowance is made with reference to specific debts, past default experience, trading history and the current economic environment.
Movements on the Group loss allowance for trade receivables are as follows:
28 February 28 February 2026 2025 £’m£’mAt start of year 2.7 3.6Amounts created 1.2 0.7Amounts utilised (0.6) (0.8)Amounts released (1.1) (0.8)At end of year 2.2 2.7
OverviewFinancials
Stock code: BMY
Annual Report and Accounts 2026
179
18. Trade and other liabilities
28 February 28 February 2026 2025 £’m£’mCurrentTrade payables 29.8 36.4Sales return liability 11.7 18.6Taxation and social security 1.8 1.6Other payables 11.3 6.6Accruals 47.2 58.7Contract liabilities 11.6 11.1Total current trade and other liabilities 113.4 133.0Total trade and other liabilities 113.4 133.0
Trade payables are non-interest bearing and are normally settled on terms of between 30 and 90 days.
If actual returns were 10% higher or lower in the year, revenue would have been £1.9 million lower/higher (2025: £2.2 million lower/higher).
Other payables principally comprises sub rights payable to authors.
19. Borrowings
Reconciliation of movements of liabilities to cash flows arising from financing activities:
Liability Equity TotalShare Other capital/ Lease financial share Other Retained liabilityBorrowingsliabilitiespremiumreservesearningsTotal£’m£’m£’m£’m£’m£’m£’mBalance at 28 February 2025 8.8 23.6 – 48.3 25.4 141.1 247.2Changes from financing cash flowsEquity dividend paid – – – – – (12.7) (12.7)Purchase of shares by the Employee Benefit Trust – – – – (4.8) – (4.8)Proceeds from exercise of share options – – – – 2.6 (2.2) 0.4Principal paid on lease liabilities (1.1) – – – – – (1.1)Repayment of borrowing – (7.4) – – – – (7.4)Interest paid (0.7) (1.1) (0.1) – – – (1.9)Total changes from financing cash flows (1.8) (8.5) (0.1) – (2.2) (14.9) (27.5)Other changesLiability-relatedRight-of-use asset additions 7.5 – – – – – 7.5Foreign exchange movements (0.2) (1.4) – – – – (1.6)Interest expense 0.7 1.1 0.1 – – – 1.9Total liability-related other changes 8.0 (0.3) 0.1 – – – 7.8Total equity-related other changes – – – – (8.5) 26.7 18.2Balance at 28 February 2026 15.0 14.8 – 48.3 14.7 152.9 245.7
www.bloomsbury.com
180
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Notes to the Financial Statements
Liability Equity TotalShare Other capital/ Lease financial share Other Retained liabilityBorrowingsliabilitiespremiumreservesearningsTotal£’m£’m£’m£’m£’m£’m£’mBalance at 29 February 2024 8.9 – – 48.3 23.7 130.5 211.4Changes from financing cash flowsEquity dividend paid – – – – – (12.2) (12.2)Purchase of shares by the Employee Benefit Trust – – – – (3.8) – (3.8)Proceeds from exercise of share options – – – – 3.1 (2.7) 0.4Principal paid on lease liabilities (2.3) – – – – – (2.3)Proceeds from borrowings – 29.4 – – – – 29.4Repayment of borrowing – (6.2) – – – – (6.2)Interest paid (0.3) (1.6) (0.2) – – – (2.1)Total changes from financing cash flows (2.6) 21.6 (0.2) – (0.7) (14.9) 3.2Other changesLiability-relatedRight-of-use asset additions 2.0 – – – – – 2.0Foreign exchange movements 0.2 0.4 – – – – 0.6Interest expense 0.3 1.6 0.2 – – – 2.1Total liability-related other changes 2.5 2.0 0.2 – – – 4.7Total equity-related other changes – – – – 2.4 25.5 27.9Balance at 28 February 2025 8.8 23.6 – 48.3 25.4 141.1 247.2
As at 28 February 2026, the Group has non-current borrowings amounting to £14.8 million under a loan agreement with Lloyds Bank Plc.
The loan agreement includes financial covenants that require the Group to maintain a minimum interest cover and a maximum net debt to
EBITDA ratio. The Group is required to comply with these covenants quarterly, with the next compliance assessment due as at 31 May 2026.
As at the 28 February 2026, the Group was in compliance with all covenants. Should the Group fail to comply with these covenants in the
future, the lender may have the right to demand immediate repayment of the loan, which could result in the liability becoming repayable
within 12 months after the reporting period.
The Group has assessed its financial position and forecasts and believes that it will continue to comply with the covenants. Nevertheless, the
risk remains that non-compliance could occur, potentially affecting the classification of the liability and the Group’s liquidity position.
20. Provisions
Author advancesProperty Total£’m£’m£’m28 February 2025 1.9 0.9 2.8Created in the year 1.8 0.1 1.9Utilised in the year (1.0) (0.2) (1.2)Exchange differences (0.1) – (0.1)28 February 2026 2.6 0.8 3.4Non-current – 0.8 0.8Current 2.6 – 2.6
The property provision includes amounts provided for dilapidations. The author advance provision is a provision against future cash outflows
on published titles where the Group does not expect to fully recover the advance.
OverviewFinancials
Stock code: BMY
Annual Report and Accounts 2026
181
21. Share capital and other reserves
Share capital
28 February 28 February 2026 2025 £’m£’mAuthorised: 108,811,522 Ordinary shares of 1.25p each (2025: 108,811,522 Ordinary shares of 1.25p each) 1.4 1.4Allotted, called up and fully paid:81,608,672 Ordinary shares of 1.25p each (2025: 81,608,672 Ordinary shares of 1.25p each) 1.0 1.0
The Company has one class of Ordinary share that carries equal voting rights and no contractual right to receive payment. No shares are
held by the Company as Treasury shares. Directors and other employees of the Group have been granted options to purchase 1,677,649
(2025: 1,553,663) Ordinary shares with an aggregate nominal value of £20,971 (2025: £19,421) (see Note 22).
Share premium
This reserve records the amount above nominal value received for shares sold less transaction costs.
Translation reserve
The translation reserve comprises all foreign currency differences arising from the translation of the financial information of foreign
operations.
Merger reserve
The merger reserve comprises the amount that would otherwise arise in share premium relating to specific share issue, wherein more than
90% of the shares in a subsidiary are acquired and the consideration includes the issue of new shares by the Company, thereby attracting
merger relief under the Companies Act 2006.
Share-based payment reserve
The share-based payment reserve comprises cumulative amounts charged in respect of employee share-based payment arrangements.
Own shares held by the Employee Benefit Trust
The Employee Benefit Trust (“EBT”) is an independent discretionary trust established to acquire issued shares of the Company to satisfy any
of the share-based incentive schemes (see Note 22) and plans of the Company. All employees of the Group are potential beneficiaries of
the EBT. The results and net assets of the EBT are included in the consolidated financial statements of the Group.
The market value of the 766,922 shares of the Company held at 28 February 2026 (2025: 212,935) in the EBT was £3.6 million (2025:
£1.3 million). While the trustee has power to subscribe for Ordinary shares and to acquire Ordinary shares in the market or from Treasury, it is
not permitted to hold more than 5% of the issued share capital without prior approval of the Shareholders.
As at the date of signing this Annual Report, the Trust held 765,549 Ordinary shares of 1.25p pence being, approximately, 0.9% of the issued
Ordinary share capital.
Retained earnings
The retained earnings reserve comprises profit for the year attributable to owners of the Company and other items recognised directly
through equity as presented on the consolidated statement of changes in equity.
www.bloomsbury.com
182
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Notes to the Financial Statements
22. Share-based payments
Options over shares of the ultimate parent undertaking, Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, have been granted to employees of the Group under
various schemes.
The total share-based payment charge to the income statement for the year was as follows:
28 February 28 February 2026 2025 £’m£’mEquity-settled share-based transactions 1.1 1.5Cash-settled share-based transactions – 0.4Total 1.1 1.9
National Insurance contributions are payable by the Company in respect of some of the share-based payment transactions. These
contributions are payable on the date of exercise based on the intrinsic value of the share-based payments and are, therefore, treated as
cash-settled awards. The Group had an accrual for National Insurance at 28 February 2026 of £0.3 million (2025: £0.5 million), of which none
related to vested options. The weighted average share price at the date of exercise for share options exercised during the period was
480 pence.
a) The Bloomsbury Performance Share Plan (“the PSP”)
The Group operates the PSP for Directors and senior employees. Awards under the scheme are granted as conditional share awards. The
number of Ordinary shares comprised in an award is calculated using a share value equal to the closing middle-market price on the dealing
day before the award date.
The vesting period is three years and, for awards granted during the year ended February 2023, the award is subject to the following
performance conditions: EPS (60%), Non-Consumer operating profit (15%), Consumer operating profit (15%) and BDR revenue (10%). For
awards granted during the year ended February 2024, February 2025 and February 2026, the award is subject to the following performance
conditions: EPS (60%), Non-Consumer operating profit (17.5%), Consumer operating profit (17.5%) and Bloomsbury International Revenue
(5%). For details of the performance conditions, see the Directors’ Remuneration Report on pages 125 to 145. Awards are not exercisable
after the vesting date and awards that vest on the vesting date are automatically exercised. Except in certain circumstances, awards lapse if
the employee leaves the Group.
Year ended Year ended 28 February 28 February 2026 2025 NumberNumberOutstanding at start of year 1,028,597 1,070,170Granted during the year 481,731 297,987Exercised during the year (282,895) (324,862)Lapsed during the year (98,629) (14,698)Outstanding at end of year 1,128,804 1,028,597Exercisable at end of year 366,972 304,889
Year ended Year ended 28 February 28 February 2026 2025 Range of exercise price of outstanding awards (pence) – –Weighted average remaining contracted life (months) 18 17Expense recognised for the year (£’m) 0.8 1.6
OverviewFinancials
Stock code: BMY
Annual Report and Accounts 2026
183
The share awards granted in the year to 28 February 2026 have been measured based on the share price at the date of grant as they are
only subject to non-market conditions. The inputs were:
All Share price 493 penceExercise price –Expected term 3 yearsExpected volatility N/ARisk-free interest rate N/AFair value charge per award 402–493 pence
This award is subject to the following performance conditions: EPS (60%), Non-Consumer operating profit (17.5%), Consumer operating
profit (17.5%) and Bloomsbury International Revenue (5%).
The awards for Executive Directors only will be subject to clawback provisions and to a two-year post-vesting holding period.
b) The Bloomsbury Sharesave Plan 2014
The Group operates an HM Revenue and Customs-approved savings-related share option scheme under which employees are granted
options to purchase Ordinary shares in the Company in three years’ time, dependent upon their entering into a contract to make monthly
contributions to a savings account over the period of the savings term. The Sharesave Plan is open to all UK employees.
Weighted Weighted average average Share exercise Share exercise options price options price 2026 20262025 2025Number PenceNumber PenceOutstanding at start of year 525,066 387 551,806 307Granted during the year 210,919 404 176,161 490Exercised during the year (138,313) 313 (172,416) 247Lapsed during the year (48,827) 445 (30,485) 330Outstanding at end of year 548,845 407 525,066 387Exercisable at end of year 4,464 314 7,287 280
Year ended Year ended 28 February 28 February 20262025 Range of exercise price of outstanding options (pence) 314–490 280–490Weighted average remaining contracted life (months) 24 25Expense recognised for the year (£’m) 0.3 0.3
22. Share-based payments continued
www.bloomsbury.com
184
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Notes to the Financial Statements
23. Retirement benefit obligations
Pension costs
The pension costs charged to the income statement of £3.2 million (2025: £2.8 million) relate to the Group’s defined contribution and
defined benefit pension arrangements.
Defined contribution plans
The Group operates defined contribution retirement benefit plans for all qualifying employees.
The total cost charged to the income statement of £3.2m (2025: £2.8m) represents contributions payable to these schemes by the Group
at rates specified in the rules of the schemes. At 28 February 2026, there were £Nil prepaid contributions (28 February 2025: £Nil). At
28 February 2026, there were £0.5m outstanding contributions (28 February 2025: £0.5m).
Defined benefit plan
A subsidiary company operates a defined benefit scheme for some staff which is accounted for in accordance with IAS 19. Accrual of benefits
ceased in 1997, with the scheme now operated as a closed fund. There is no obligation in respect of medical costs. The scheme is actuarially
valued every three years. The last full actuarial valuation was carried out as at 29 February 2024 by a qualified independent actuary.
Contributions paid to the scheme during the year were £Nil (2025: £Nil). As the scheme has an excess of assets compared to the scheme
liabilities, the Directors’ best estimate of the contributions to be paid by the Group to the plan for the period commencing 1 March 2026,
in respect of the deficit repair contributions, is £Nil. Given the scheme has an excess of assets compared to scheme liabilities, the Group
has previously sought legal advice on the application of the asset ceiling and concluded that adjustments are required for this scheme. As a
result, IFRIC 14 applies and an asset ceiling adjustment has been applied.
In accordance with IFRS requirements, we have not included certain details of the defined benefit pension plan in this year’s financial
statements as the amounts are not material.
24. Financial instruments and risk management
Capital management
The Group manages its capital to ensure that entities in the Group will be able to continue as a going concern while maximising the return
to Shareholders as well as sustaining the future development of the business. In order to maintain or adjust the capital structure, the Group
may adjust the amount of dividends paid to Shareholders and issue new shares. TheGroup’s overall strategy remains unchanged from 2025.
The capital structure of the Group comprises equity attributable to owners of the Company, comprising issued capital, reserves and retained
earnings as disclosed in the consolidated statement of changes in equity and Note 21.
Categories of financial instruments
28 February 28 February 2026 2025 Notes£’m£’mLoans and receivablesCash and cash equivalents 44.0 40.6Trade receivables 17 70.7 79.4Contract assets 17 10.0 7.8Total loans and receivables 124.7 127.8Financial liabilities measured at amortised cost Trade payables 18 29.8 36.4Other payables due in less than one year 13.0 8.2Sales return liability 18 11.7 18.6Accruals 18 47.2 58.7Lease liabilities 25 15.0 8.8Borrowings 14.8 23.6Total financial liabilities measured at amortised cost 131.5 154.3Net financial instruments (6.8) (26.5)
There is no material difference between the fair value and book value of financial assets and liabilities.
OverviewFinancials
Stock code: BMY
Annual Report and Accounts 2026
185
Financial risk management
The Board of Directors has overall responsibility for the establishment and oversight of the Group’s risk management framework. The
Group’s overall risk management programme focuses on the unpredictability of financial markets and seeks to minimise potential adverse
effects on the Group’s financial performance from the key risks of market risk (including currency risk and interest rate risk), credit risk and
liquidity risk.
The Board has approved the Group Treasury policies and procedures by which the Group Treasury function is to be managed. The Group
Treasury function is headed by the Chief Financial & Operating Officer and is part of Bloomsbury’s Finance Department. It operates under a
delegated authority from the Board.
The Treasury management policies and procedures focus on the investment of surplus operating cash likely to be needed in order to
support Bloomsbury’s ongoing operations, foreign currency requirements and interest rate risk management. The Group does not use
derivative contracts for speculative purposes. The policies are reviewed at least on an annual basis by the Chief Financial & Operating
Officer and any amendments are approved by the Board. The Board is assisted in its oversight role by Internal Audit, which undertakes
regular reviews of risk management controls and procedures, the results of which are reported to the Audit Committee.
a) Market risk
Market risk is the risk that changes in market prices, such as foreign exchange rates and interest rates, will affect the Group’s income or the
value of its holdings of financial instruments. The objective of market risk management is to manage and control market risk exposures
within acceptable parameters, while optimising the return.
The Group’s activities expose it mainly to the financial risks of changes in foreign currency exchange rates and changes in interest rates. The
Group incurs costs in the same currencies as it earns revenue, creating some degree of natural hedging.
The Group’s overall risk management programme focuses on the unpredictability of financial markets and seeks to minimise potential
adverse effects on the Group’s financial performance. Risk management is carried out by Group Treasury under policies approved by the
Board of Directors. Group Treasury monitors the distribution of its cash assets so as to control exposure to the relative performance of any
particular territory, currency or institution.
The Board provides written principles for overall risk management, as well as policies covering specific areas, such as funding, foreign
exchange risk, interest rate risk, credit risk and investment of excess liquidity.
(i) Interest rate risk
The Group has significant interest-bearing assets in the form of cash and cash equivalents and, as such, cash flows are dependent on
changes in market interest rates.
Interest rate profile of financial instruments
28 February 28 February 2026 2025 £’m£’mFixed-rate instrumentsFinancial assets 3.0 1.1Financial liabilities – –Total 3.0 1.1Variable-rate instrumentsFinancial assets 41.0 39.5Financial liabilities (14.8) (23.6)Total 26.2 15.9
Fixed-rate financial assets are short-term bank deposits with a maturity date range of one day to one month. Variable-rate financial assets
are cash at bank. Variable-rate financial liabilities are the term loan facility.
Fair value sensitivity analysis for fixed-rate financial instruments
The Group does not account for any fixed-rate financial assets at fair value through profit or loss. Therefore, a change in interest rates at
28 February 2026 would not affect the income statement.
24. Financial instruments and risk management continued
www.bloomsbury.com
186
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Notes to the Financial Statements
Cash flow sensitivity analysis for variable-rate financial instruments
The Group derived the following sensitivities to assess the impact of changes in interest rates, based on the effect of the market volatility in
the current climate and the previous 12 months. The analysis assumes all other variables remain constant.
28 February 2026 28 February 2025Profit or loss Equity Profit or loss Equity £’m£’m£’m£’mImpact on profit or loss and equity1% increase in base rate of interest (2025: 1%) – – 0.1 –0.5% decrease in base rate of interest (2025: 0.5%) – – (0.1) –
(ii) Currency risk
The Directors believe that, in its current circumstances, the Group’s risk from foreign currency exposure is limited and no active currency
risk management by hedging is considered necessary, as a significant proportion of revenues is matched by expenditure in the same local
currency, creating some degree of natural hedging.
The Group’s exposure to foreign currency risk was as follows:
Loans and receivables Financial liabilities28 February 28 February 28 February 28 February 202620252026 2025£’m£’m£’m£’mGBP 43.8 55.2 63.1 73.3USD 64.9 66.2 61.4 72.0EURO 3.3 0.2 0.2 0.2AUD 9.2 4.3 5.7 7.9INR 3.5 1.9 1.1 0.9Total 124.7 127.8 131.5 154.3
No significant amounts of loans and receivables or financial liabilities are denominated in currencies other than sterling, US dollars, euros,
Australian dollars or Indian rupees.
Foreign currency sensitivity analysis
The Group derived the following sensitivities based on the outstanding foreign currency denominated financial assets and liabilities at the
year end. The sensitivity analysis includes loans to foreign operations within the Group where the denomination of the loan is in a currency
other than the functional currency of the lender or the borrower.
The use of a 10% sensitivity rate has been determined based on the effect of the market volatility in exchange rates between the current
and previous year end, and represents management’s assessment of the reasonably possible change in foreign exchange rates. A positive
number below indicates an increase in profit or equity.
28 February 28 February 2026 2025 £’m£’mImpact on equity10% weakening in US dollar against pound sterling (2025: 10%) (0.2) (1.4)10% strengthening in US dollar against pound sterling (2025: 10%) 0.2 1.4Impact on income statement10% weakening in US dollar against pound sterling (2025: 10%) (0.2) 1.910% strengthening in US dollar against pound sterling (2025: 10%) 0.2 (1.9)
A 10% weakening or strengthening against GBP for all other currencies is not expected to yield a significant foreign exchange movement.
OverviewFinancials
Stock code: BMY
Annual Report and Accounts 2026
187
b) Credit risk
Credit risk is the risk of financial loss to the Group if a customer or counterparty to a financial instrument fails to meet its contractual
obligations and arises principally from the Group’s trade and other receivables (Note 17) and cash and cash equivalents.
Cash and cash equivalents
The credit risk on liquid funds is limited because the counterparties are banks with high credit ratings as assigned by international credit-
rating agencies.
Trade receivables
The carrying amount of financial assets represents the maximum credit exposure. The amounts presented in the statement of financial
position are net of allowances for doubtful receivables, estimated by the Group’s management based on trading experience and the current
economic environment. An analysis of the relevant provisions is set out in Note 17.
The Group always measures the loss allowance for trade receivables at an amount equal to lifetime expected credit loss (“ECL”). To
measure ECLs, trade receivables are split into groups with the same characteristics to calculate loss rates. Where possible, we have
calculated this probability based on historic loss experience (using recent sales history, the timing of when the cash was received for the
debt and the level of debt not collected for that population) and macroeconomic information.
The Group determines its concentration of credit risk based on the individual characteristics of its customers and publicly available
knowledge of specific circumstances affecting those customers. The Group defines counterparties as having similar characteristics if they are
related entities.
At 28 February 2026, the exposure to credit risk for gross trade receivables by geographical region was as follows:
28 February 28 February 2026 2025 £’m£’mUnited Kingdom 40.2 39.5North America 27.5 37.4Australia 2.8 3.3India 2.4 1.9Total 72.9 82.1
The Group has a significant concentration of credit risk arising from its use of third-party print distributors. In the US and Australia, credit
limits for final customers are established by the distributors, based on a combination of payment history and third-party credit references.
In the UK, Bloomsbury sets credit limits for final customers using similar criteria. Credit limits are reviewed on a regular basis in conjunction
with debt ageing and collection history.
The distributors form part of established international groups whose businesses include a number of publishing interests and clients. The
Group’s credit risk is mitigated as significant balances outstanding through the UK and Australian print distributors are secured by credit
insurance, while in the US the credit risk for significant amounts outstanding through distributors rests with the distributors themselves.
Balances with the US distributor make up 86% (2025: 89%) of the North America trade receivable balance. In the UK, balances with the
distributors make up 85% (2025: 91%) of the UK trade receivable balance.
c) Liquidity risk
Currently, the Group has moderate borrowing and has sufficient cash deposits to meet its debts as they fall due. The Board has modelled
a severe but plausible downside scenario; see Note 1d) on going concern for further details. Under this scenario the Group is expected to
have sufficient liquidity for at least 12 months from the date of approval of the financial statements and would not breach any of the loan
covenants.
Cash flow budgets and forecasts are prepared by the operating entities of the Group, aggregated for the Group and regularly reviewed
by the Board, and the actual cash position of the Group and each entity is compared monthly against budget. This allows management to
ensure that each operating entity and the Group have sufficient cash to meet operational needs. Surplus cash held by the operating entities,
over and above the balance required for working capital management, is invested in interest-bearing accounts and money market deposits.
The Group’s financial liabilities are trade payables, sales return liability, accruals, lease liabilities and other payables as shown above as well
as borrowings. All financial liabilities are due within one year with the exception of borrowings.
24. Financial instruments and risk management continued
www.bloomsbury.com
188
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Notes to the Financial Statements
Revolving credit facility
The Group has an unsecured committed revolving credit facility (“RCF”) with Lloyds Bank Plc of £30.0 million. On 20 March 2026, the RCF
was increased from £20.0 million to £30.0 million and its maturity extended to March 2029. The facility comprises a committed revolving
credit facility of £30.0 million and an uncommitted incremental RCF of up to £20.0 million.
As at 28 February 2026, the facility remains fully undrawn (2025: fully undrawn) with £20.0 million of undrawn borrowing facilities (2025:
£20.0 million) available.
The facility is subject to two covenants, being a maximum net debt to EBITDA ratio of 2.5x and a minimum interest cover covenant of 4x.
Term loan facility
On 15 May 2024, the Group entered into an unsecured term loan facility with Lloyds Bank Plc, running for three years to May 2027. The loan
principal was £29.7m with a variable interest rate of SOFR (Secured Overnight Financing Rate) + 1.4% per annum, calculated quarterly. The
facility is subject to two covenants, being a maximum net debt to EBITDA ratio of 2.5x and a minimum interest cover covenant of 4x.
The loan is classified and measured at amortised cost in accordance with IFRS 9. The effective interest rate method is used to allocate
interest expense over the relevant period. The loan was initially recognised at its fair value, net of transaction costs amounting to £0.3m.
The interest expense for the period is calculated using the effective interest rate method. The interest expense recognised in the Income
Statement for the year ended 28 February 2026 is £1.1 million.
During the period, the Company made partial repayments totalling £7.4 million. Under the terms of the agreement, the loan is repayable at
the Group’s discretion, with no fixed repayment schedule.
At 28 February 2026, the carrying amount of the loan is £14.8 million, which includes the principal amount, accrued interest and net of
repayments made during the year. The loan has been treated as non-current to reflect the expected timing of when the loan will be repaid.
The non-current treatment assessment is disclosed further in Note 19.
25. Leases
The Group’s lease portfolio consists of office properties, cars and equipment. The amounts recognised in the income statement are as
follows:
28 February 28 February 2026 2025 Notes£’m£’mInterest on lease liabilities 6 0.7 0.3Depreciation of right-of-use assets 14 2.1 2.0
The maturities of the Group’s lease liabilities are as follows:
28 February 28 February 2026 2025 £’m£’mLess than one year 2.6 2.8One to five years 10.4 11.1More than five years 5.3 8.0Total undiscounted lease liabilities 18.3 21.9Lease liabilities included in the Consolidated Statement of Financial Position 15.0 8.8Current 1.9 1.5Non-current 13.1 7.3
The above lease liabilities include the new US office lease that commenced in the year.
OverviewFinancials
Stock code: BMY
Annual Report and Accounts 2026
189
26. Commitments and contingent liabilities
a) Capital commitments
28 February 28 February 2026 2025 £’m£’mProperty, plant and equipment – 0.7Intangible assets 0.6 0.9Total 0.6 1.6
b) Other commitments
The Group is committed to paying royalty advances to authors in subsequent financial years. As at 28 February 2026, this commitment
amounted to £26.0m (2025: £24.3m).
c) Guarantees
The Company and certain of its subsidiaries have provided guarantees to Lloyds Bank Plc in relation to the Group’s borrowing facilities – see
Note 24c).
27. Related party transactions
There are no related party transactions other than key management remuneration as disclosed in Note 5.
28. Investments in subsidiary companies
The Group’s subsidiary companies at 28 February 2026 are:
Country of Proportion of Nature of business Registered incorporationequity capital heldduring the yearofficeSubsidiary undertakings held directly by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc:Intermediate A & C Black Limited England and Wales 100%holding company 1.Intermediate Bloomsbury India UK Limited England and Wales 100%holding company 1.Bloomsbury Publishing Inc. USA 100% Publishing 2.Bloomsbury Information Limited England and Wales 100% Publishing 1.Bloomsbury Professional Limited England and Wales 100% Publishing 1.Bloomsbury Publishing PTY Limited Australia 100% Publishing 3.The Continuum International Publishing Group Limited England and Wales 100% Publishing 1.Hart Publishing Limited England and Wales 100% Publishing 1.Head of Zeus Limited England and Wales 100% Publishing 1.Bloomsbury Publishing Ireland Limited Ireland 100% Publishing 6.Osprey Publishing Limited England and Wales 100% Publishing 1.Bloomsbury Book Publishing Company Limited England and Wales 100% Publishing 1.I.B. Tauris & Co. Limited England and Wales 100% Publishing 1.Oberon Books Limited England and Wales 100% Publishing 1.Bloomsbury Media Limited England and Wales 100% Dormant 1.
www.bloomsbury.com
190
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Notes to the Financial Statements
Country of Proportion of Nature of business Registered incorporationequity capital heldduring the yearofficeSubsidiary undertakings held through a subsidiary company:A & C Black Publishers Limited England and Wales 100% Publishing 1.Christopher Helm (Publishers) Limited England and Wales 100% Publishing 1.Oxford International Publishers Limited t/a Berg Publishers England and Wales 100% Publishing 1.John Wisden and Company Limited England and Wales 100% Publishing 1.Shire Publications Limited England and Wales 100% Publishing 1.British Wildlife Publishing Limited England and Wales 100% Publishing 1.Bloomsbury Publishing Singapore Limited England and Wales 100% Publishing 1.Bloomsbury Publishing India Private Limited India 100% Publishing 4.Berg Fashion Library Limited England and Wales 100% Dormant 1.A & C Black (Distribution) Limited England and Wales 100% Dormant 1.Adlard Coles Limited England and Wales 100% Dormant 1.Alphabooks Limited England and Wales 100% Dormant 1.F. Lewis (Publishers) Limited England and Wales 100% Dormant 1.Featherstone Education Limited England and Wales 100% Dormant 1.Hambledon and London Limited England and Wales 100% Dormant 1.Herbert Press Limited England and Wales 100% Dormant 1.John Wisden (Holdings) Limited England and Wales 100% Dormant 1.Methuen Drama Limited England and Wales 100% Dormant 1.Nautical Publishing Co Limited England and Wales 100% Dormant 1.Philip Wilson Publishers Limited England and Wales 100% Dormant 1.Reed’s Almanac Limited England and Wales 100% Dormant 1.Sheffield Academic Press Limited England and Wales 100% Dormant 1.T & T Clark Limited Scotland 100% Dormant 5.The Athlone Press Limited England and Wales 100% Dormant 1.Thoemmes Limited England and Wales 100% Dormant 1.
All subsidiary undertakings are included in the consolidation.
The following lists all Bloomsbury registered office addresses. Please see the wholly owned subsidiary list for relevant registered
office codes.
1. 50 Bedford Square, London WC1B 3DP, United Kingdom.
2. 1359 Broadway, twelfth floor, New York, NY 10018, USA.
3. Level 2, 63 York Street, Sydney NSW 2000, Australia.
4. DDA Complex, LSC, Building No. 4, Second Floor, Pocket C-6&7, Vasant Kunj, New Delhi, 110070, India.
5. C/O Bloomsbury Professional Limited 40 Princes Street Edinburgh Scotland EH2 2BY.
6. C/O Deloitte Ireland LLP, 29 Earlsfort Terrace, Dublin 2, D02 AY28, Ireland.
OverviewFinancials
Stock code: BMY
Annual Report and Accounts 2026
191
For the year ended 28 February 2026, the following subsidiary companies were entitled to exemption from audit under section 479A of the
Companies Act 2006:
Company Subsidiary namenumberBloomsbury Information Limited 06409758Bloomsbury Professional Limited 05233465The Continuum International Publishing Group Limited 03833148A & C Black Publishers Limited 00189153Christopher Helm (Publishers) Limited 01953639Oxford International Publishers Limited t/a Berg Publishers 03143617John Wisden and Company Limited 00135590Hart Publishing Limited 03307205Osprey Publishing Limited 03471853Shire Publications Limited 00868867British Wildlife Publishing Limited 06810049Bloomsbury Book Publishing Company Limited 03830397Bloomsbury Publishing Singapore Limited 01173530I.B. Tauris & Co. Limited 01761687Head of Zeus Limited 07769235Oberon Books Limited 02082142
The Group’s joint venture undertakings at 28 February 2026 are:
Nature of Proportion of business Country of equity capital during the Registered incorporationheldyearofficeJoint venture undertakings held directly by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc:CYP and Bloomsbury (Beijing) Culture Development Co., Ltd China 50% Publishing 1.
1. Floor 5, B Block, No. 1132, HuihHe South Street, Banbidian Village, Gaobeidian Township, Chaoyang District, Beijing, PRC.
28. Investments in subsidiary companies continued
www.bloomsbury.com
192
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Notes to the Financial Statements
Notes
28 February
2026
£’m
28 February
2025
£’m
Assets
Intangible assets 32 5.8 6.3
Property, plant and equipment 33 1.5 1.5
Right-of-use assets 34 4.5 5.4
Investments in subsidiary companies 35 114.8 114.8
Deferred tax assets 36 1.4 2.5
Total non-current assets 128.0 130.5
Inventories 37 10.6 10.1
Trade and other receivables 38 80.0 76.5
Cash and cash equivalents 9.7 17.1
Total current assets 100.3 103.7
Total assets 228.3 234.2
Liabilities
Provisions 41 0.7 0.8
Lease liabilities 45 4.3 5.3
Total non-current liabilities 5.0 6.1
Trade and other liabilities 39 120.1 141.4
Provisions 41 1.1 0.9
Lease liabilities 45 1.1 1.1
Total current liabilities 122.3 143.4
Total liabilities 127.3 149.5
Net assets 101.0 84.7
Equity
Share capital 42 1.0 1.0
Share premium 42 47.3 47.3
Merger reserve 42 1.8 1.8
Share-based payment reserve 42 14.3 13.2
Retained earnings 42 36.6 21.4
Total equity attributable to owners of the Company 101.0 84.7
The Company’s profit for the year was £27.8m (2025: loss of £7.5m). The accompanying notes form part of these financial statements.
The Company financial statements were approved by the Board of Directors and authorised for issue on 19 May 2026.
J N Newton
Director
K Underwood
Director
Company Number 1984336
OverviewFinancials
Stock code: BMY
Annual Report and Accounts 2026
193
Company Statement of Financial Position
As at 28 February 2026
Company Number 1984336
Share capital
£’m
Share
premium
£’m
Merger
reserve
£’m
Share-based
payment
reserve
£’m
Retained
earnings
£’m
Total
£’m
At 29 February 2024 1.0 47.3 1.8 11.7 40.6 102.4
Loss for the year and total comprehensive
income for the year – – – – (7.5) (7.5)
Transactions with owners in their capacity
as owners
Dividends to equity holders of the
Company – – – – (12.2) (12.2)
Share options exercised – – – – 0.4 0.4
Deferred tax on share-based payment
transactions – – – – 0.1 0.1
Share-based payment transactions – – – 1.5 – 1.5
Total transactions with owners of the
Company – – – 1.5 (11.7) (10.2)
At 28 February 2025 1.0 47.3 1.8 13.2 21.4 84.7
Profit for the year and total comprehensive
income for the year – – – – 27.8 27.8
Transactions with owners in their capacity
as owners
Dividends to equity holders of the
Company – – – – (12.7) (12.7)
Share options exercised – – – – 0.4 0.4
Deferred tax on share-based payment
transactions – – – – (0.3) (0.3)
Share-based payment transactions – – – 1.1 – 1.1
Total transactions with owners of the
Company – – – 1.1 (12.6) (11.5)
At 28 February 2026 1.0 47.3 1.8 14.3 36.6 101.0
The accompanying notes form part of these financial statements.
www.bloomsbury.com
194
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Company Statement of Changes in Equity
For the year ended 28 February 2026
Notes
Year ended
28 February
2026
£’m
Year ended
28 February
2025
£’m
Cash flows from operating activities
Profit/(loss) for the year 27.8 (7.5)
Adjustments for:
Depreciation of property, plant and equipment 33 0.5 0.8
Depreciation of right-of-use assets 34 1.0 1.1
Amortisation of intangible assets 32 2.4 2.4
Finance income (0.6) (0.4)
Finance costs 0.8 0.9
Share of loss of joint venture – 0.1
Dividends received (29.5) –
Share-based payment charges 0.5 0.9
Tax expense/(credit) 1.1 (0.7)
4.0 (2.4)
Increase in inventories (0.5) (1.0)
(Increase)/decrease in trade and other receivables (6.2) 6.8
Increase in trade and other liabilities 8.9 9.9
Cash generated from operations 6.2 13.3
Income taxes received 2.4 –
Net cash generated from operating activities 8.6 13.3
Cash flows from investing activities
Purchase of property, plant and equipment (0.5) (0.6)
Purchase of share in a joint venture – (0.1)
Purchase of intangible assets (2.2) (1.7)
Interest received 0.3 0.3
Net cash used in investing activities (2.4) (2.1)
Cash flows from financing activities
Equity dividends paid 40 (12.7) (12.2)
Proceeds from exercise of share options 40 0.4 0.4
Principal paid on lease liabilities 40 (1.1) (1.1)
Interest paid on lease liabilities 40 (0.2) (0.2)
Net cash used in financing activities 40 (13.6) (13.1)
Net decrease in cash and cash equivalents (7.4) (1.9)
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of year 17.1 19.0
Cash and cash equivalents at end of year 9.7 17.1
The accompanying notes form part of these financial statements.
OverviewFinancials
Stock code: BMY
Annual Report and Accounts 2026
195
Company Statement of Cash Flows
For the year ended 28 February 2026
29. General Information
a) Reporting entity
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc (the “Company”) is a company domiciled in the United Kingdom. The address of the Company’s registered office
can be found on page 212. The Company is primarily involved in the publication of books and other related services.
b) Basis of preparation
The Company financial statements have been prepared and approved by the Directors in accordance with UK-adopted international
accounting standards (“IFRS”) and the requirements of the Companies Act 2006. The financial statements have been prepared under the
historical cost convention modified by the revaluation of financial assets and liabilities at fair value.
The financial statements have been prepared on the going concern basis as the Directors have a reasonable expectation that the Company
has adequate resources to continue in operational existence at least until May 2027, being the period of the detailed going concern
assessment reviewed by the Board.
The Company material accounting policies are consistent with the Group policies set out in Note 2 to the consolidated financial statements.
Key additional policies are stated below.
c) Parent Company result
The Company has taken advantage of the exemption available under Section 408 of the Companies Act 2006 not to present the Company
income statement or statement of comprehensive income. The Company’s profit for the year was £27.8m (2025: loss of £7.5m).
d) Use of estimates and judgements
The preparation of the Company financial statements requires management to make judgements, estimates and assumptions that affect the
application of accounting policies and the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, income and expenses. Actual results may differ from these
estimates.
Estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognised in the year in
which the estimate is revised and in any future years affected. Critical judgements and areas where the use of estimates is significant are
disclosed in Note 2s) for the Group and are applicable to the Company.
30. Material accounting policies
a) Application of new and amended standards and interpretations
The following amendments and interpretations were introduced to accounting standards relevant to the Company during the year ended
28 February 2026. The table below summarises the impact of these changes to the Company:
Accounting standard Impact on financial statements
Amendments to IAS 21 “Lack of exchangeability”
These amendments provide guidance on assessing when a
currency is exchangeable and require an entity to estimate a spot
exchange rate when exchangeability is lacking, together with
enhanced disclosures.
The amendments have not had a material impact on the
Company.
The Company has not early adopted the following new and revised accounting standards, interpretations or amendments issued by the
International Accounting Standards Board that have been issued but are not yet effective and unless otherwise indicated, have been
endorsed:
www.bloomsbury.com
196
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Notes to the Company Financial Statements
Accounting standard Impact on financial statements
IFRS 18 Presentation and Disclosure in Financial Statements
IFRS 18 will replace IAS 1 Presentation of Financial Statements for
reporting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2027. The new
standard introduces revised requirements for the presentation
of the statement of profit or loss, including defined categories
and new sub-totals. It also requires management-defined
performance measures to be disclosed in a single note to the
financial statements. In addition, the statement of cash flows will
use operating profit as the starting point, and there will be further
changes to the way information is aggregated and presented in
the financial statements. The Company is currently assessing the
impact of adopting this standard.
Annual improvements to IFRS – Volume 11;
The Company is currently assessing the impact of these changes
but they do not expect the application of these standards and
amendments will have a material impact on the Company’s
financial statements.
Amendments to IFRS 9 and IFRS 7 – ‘Classification and
measurement of financial instruments’;
Amendments to IFRS 9 and IFRS 7 – ‘Contracts referencing nature-
dependent electricity’; and
IFRS 19 “Subsidiaries without Public Accountability: Disclosures”
b) Investment in subsidiaries
Investments in subsidiaries are recorded at cost less accumulated impairment in the statement of financial position. Investments are
reviewed at each reporting date to assess whether there are any indicators of impairment. Any impairment losses are recognised in the
income statement in the year they occur.
c) Employee benefit trust
The Company operates an employee benefit trust. In accordance with the Trust Deed, the Trustees of the EBT have the power to exercise
all voting rights in relation to any investment (including shares) held within that trust. The Trust is accounted for as a separate entity and,
therefore, is only accounted for in the consolidated financial statements and not included in the Company financial statements.
d) Share-based payments
The Company issues equity-settled share-based payment instruments to certain employees of the Group. Equity-settled share-based
payment transactions are measured at fair value at the date of grant. The fair value determined at the grant date of equity-settled share-
based payments is charged to the income statement on a straight-line basis over the vesting period, based on the Group’s estimate of the
shares that will eventually vest.
Options granted under the Sharesave Plan are equity-settled. The fair values of such options have been calculated using the Black–Scholes
model based on publicly available market data.
Awards granted under the Group’s Performance Share Plan are equity-settled. Awards granted in 2022 are subject to the following
performance conditions: Earnings Per Share (60%); Non-Consumer operating profit (15%); Consumer operating profit (15%); and BDR
revenue (10%). Awards granted in 2023, 2024 and 2025 are subject to the following performance conditions: Earnings Per Share (60%);
Non-Consumer operating profit (17.5%); Consumer operating profit (17.5%); and international revenue (5%). The fair value of this element
of the awards is calculated using the Black–Scholes model. Where the awards are subject to a holding period, wehave used the Chaffe or
Ghaidarov model to determine a discount for lack of marketability.
The Company recharges a share of the share-based payment charge to subsidiaries. This recharge is made via intercompany transactions.
OverviewFinancials
Stock code: BMY
Annual Report and Accounts 2026
197
31. Staff costs
Staff costs, including Directors, during the year were:
Year ended
28 February
2026
£’m
Year ended
28 February
2025
£’m
Salaries (including bonuses) 25.6 32.2
Social security costs 3.9 3.1
Pension costs 1.4 1.0
Share-based payment charge 0.5 0.9
Total
31.4 37.2
The average monthly number of employees during the year was:
Year ended
28 February
2026
Year ended
28 February
2025
Editorial, production and selling
703 677
Finance and administration 179 159
Total 882 836
Staff costs are charged to administrative expenses.
During the year, two (2025: two) Directors were accruing benefits under defined contribution pension arrangements.
Total emoluments for Directors was:
Year ended
28 February
2026
£’m
Year ended
28 February
2025
£’m
Short-term employee benefits
1.5 2.1
Post-employment benefits 0.1 0.1
Total 1.6 2.2
www.bloomsbury.com
198
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Notes to the Company Financial Statements
32. Intangible assets
Publishing
rights
£’m
Imprint
£’m
Trademarks
£’m
Systems
development
£’m
Product
development
£’m
Assets under
construction
£’m
Total
£’m
Cost
At 29 February 2024 6.0 0.1 0.4 6.8 2.7 0.2 16.2
Transfers – – – – 0.2 (0.2) –
Additions – – – 0.4 0.7 0.6 1.7
Disposals – – – (0.7) – – (0.7)
At 28 February 2025 6.0 0.1 0.4 6.5 3.6 0.6 17.2
Transfers – – – 0.6 0.1 (1.1) (0.4)
Additions – – 0.1 1.1 0.4 0.6 2.2
Disposals – – – (0.2) – – (0.2)
At 28 February 2026 6.0 0.1 0.5 8.0 4.1 0.1 18.8
Amortisation
At 29 February 2024 2.6 – 0.2 4.9 1.5 – 9.2
Disposals – – – (0.7) – – (0.7)
Charge for the year 1.0 – – 0.7 0.7 – 2.4
At 28 February 2025 3.6 – 0.2 4.9 2.2 – 10.9
Disposals – – – (0.2) – – (0.2)
Transfers – – – – (0.1) – (0.1)
Charge for the year 0.6 – 0.1 0.6 1.1 – 2.4
At 28 February 2026 4.2 – 0.3 5.3 3.2 – 13.0
Net book value
At 28 February 2026 1.8 0.1 0.2 2.7 0.9 0.1 5.8
At 28 February 2025 2.4 0.1 0.2 1.6 1.4 0.6 6.3
Transfers relate to movements between categories as well as transfers between Group companies.
OverviewFinancials
Stock code: BMY
Annual Report and Accounts 2026
199
33. Property, plant and equipment
Short
leasehold
improvements
£’m
Furniture and
fittings
£’m
Computers
and other
office
equipment
£’m
Total
£’m
Cost
At 29 February 2024 2.8 0.7 2.4 5.9
Additions 0.1 – 0.5 0.6
Disposals (0.2) (0.1) (0.4) (0.7)
At 28 February 2025 2.7 0.6 2.5 5.8
Additions 0.1 – 0.4 0.5
At 28 February 2026 2.8 0.6 2.9 6.3
Depreciation
At 29 February 2024 2.3 0.4 1.5 4.2
Charge for the year 0.1 – 0.7 0.8
Disposals (0.2) (0.1) (0.4) (0.7)
At 28 February 2025 2.2 0.3 1.8 4.3
Charge for the year 0.1 – 0.4 0.5
At 28 February 2026 2.3 0.3 2.2 4.8
Net book value
At 28 February 2026 0.5 0.3 0.7 1.5
At 28 February 2025 0.5 0.3 0.7 1.5
The depreciation charge of £0.5m (2025: £0.8m) was included in administrative expenses.
34. Right-of-use assets
Property
£’m
Cars
£’m
Equipment
£’m
Total
£’m
Cost
At 29 February 2024 10.9 0.2 0.1 11.2
Additions – 0.1 – 0.1
Disposals – – (0.1) (0.1)
At 28 February 2025 10.9 0.3 – 11.2
Additions 0.1 – – 0.1
At 28 February 2026 11.0 0.3 – 11.3
Depreciation
At 29 February 2024 4.7 – 0.1 4.8
Charge for the year 1.0 0.1 – 1.1
Disposals – – (0.1) (0.1)
At 28 February 2025 5.7 0.1 – 5.8
Charge for the year 0.9 0.1 – 1.0
At 28 February 2026 6.6 0.2 – 6.8
Net book value
At 28 February 2026 4.4 0.1 – 4.5
At 28 February 2025 5.2 0.2 – 5.4
The depreciation charge of £1.0m (2025: £1.1m) was included in administrative expenses.
www.bloomsbury.com
200
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Notes to the Company Financial Statements
35. Investment in subsidiary companies
£’m
Cost
At 28 February 2025 118.1
At 28 February 2026 118.1
Impairment
At 28 February 2025 3.3
At 28 February 2026 3.3
Net book value
At 28 February 2026 114.8
At 28 February 2025 114.8
36. Deferred tax assets and liabilities
Deferred tax is calculated in full on temporary differences using the tax rate appropriate to the jurisdiction in which the asset or liability
arises and the tax rates that are expected to apply in the periods in which the asset or liability is settled.
Movement in temporary differences during the year:
Losses
£’m
Property,
plant and
equipment
£’m
Retirement
benefit
obligation
£’m
Share-based
payments
£’m
Provisions
£’m
Total
£’m
At 29 February 2024 – (0.1) 0.1 0.8 0.4 1.2
Credit to the income statement 0.8 – – 0.4 – 1.2
Credit to equity – – – 0.1 – 0.1
At 28 February 2025 0.8 (0.1) 0.1 1.3 0.4 2.5
(Charge)/credit to the income statement (0.6) 0.2 – (0.5) 0.1 (0.8)
Charge to equity – – – (0.3) – (0.3)
At 28 February 2026 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.5 0.5 1.4
The analysis for financial reporting purposes is as follows:
28 February
2026
£’m
28 February
2025
£’m
Deferred tax assets 1.4 2.5
Deferred tax liabilities – –
Total 1.4 2.5
Deferred tax is not provided on unremitted earnings of subsidiaries where the Company controls the timing of remittance and it is probable
that the temporary difference will not reverse in the foreseeable future.
37. Inventories
28 February
2026
£’m
28 February
2025
£’m
Work in progress 1.2 1.1
Finished goods for resale 9.4 9.0
Total 10.6 10.1
The cost of inventories recognised as cost of sales amounted to £22.5m (2025: £27.1m).
The provision and write down of inventories to net realisable value recognised in cost of sales amounted to £1.9m (2025: £4.1m).
OverviewFinancials
Stock code: BMY
Annual Report and Accounts 2026
201
38. Trade and other receivables
28 February
2026
£’m
28 February
2025
£’m
Current
Gross trade receivables 40.2 39.5
Less: loss allowance (1.6) (1.9)
Net trade receivables 38.6 37.6
Amounts owed by Group undertakings 11.8 11.1
Income tax recoverable 0.3 3.6
Other receivables 5.5 4.2
Prepayments 3.2 2.1
Contract assets 6.0 2.2
Royalty advances 14.6 15.7
Total trade and other receivables 80.0 76.5
A provision is held against gross advances payable in respect of published title advances, which may not be fully earned down by
anticipated future sales. As at 28 February 2026, £8.2m (2025: £4.0m) of royalty advances relate to titles expected to be published in more
than 12 months’ time.
Other receivables principally comprise VAT recoverable.
The Directors consider that the carrying amount of trade and other receivables approximates to their fair values. The Company’s exposure
to credit and currency risks is disclosed in Note 44. Trade receivables principally comprises amounts receivable from the sale of books due
from distributors. The average number of days’ credit taken for sales of books by the Company was 147 days (2025: 131 days).
Movements on the Company’s loss allowance for trade receivables are as follows:
28 February
2026
£’m
28 February
2025
£’m
At start of year 1.9 1.9
Amounts created 1.1 0.6
Amounts released (0.8) (0.1)
Amounts utilised (0.6) (0.5)
At end of year 1.6 1.9
www.bloomsbury.com
202
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Notes to the Company Financial Statements
39. Trade and other liabilities
28 February
2026
£’m
28 February
2025
£’m
Current
Trade payables 8.9 11.7
Sales return liability 4.8 6.0
Amounts owed to Group undertakings 80.4 93.0
Taxation and social security 1.4 1.2
Other payables 2.7 2.3
Accruals and contract liabilities 21.9 27.2
Total current trade and other liabilities 120.1 141.4
Total trade and other liabilities 120.1 141.4
Trade payables principally comprises amounts outstanding for trade purchases and ongoing costs. Other payables principally comprises sub
rights payable to authors.
If actual returns were 10% higher or lower in the year revenue would have been £0.8m lower/higher (2025: £0.7m).
OverviewFinancials
Stock code: BMY
Annual Report and Accounts 2026
203
40. Borrowings
Reconciliation of movements of liabilities to cash flows arising from financing activities:
Liability Equity Total
Lease liability
£’m
Other
financial
liabilities
£’m
Share
capital/share
premium
£’m
Other
reserves
£’m
Retained
earnings
£’m
Total
£’m
Balance at 28 February 2025 6.4 – 48.3 15.0 21.4 91.1
Changes from financing cash flows
Equity dividends paid – – – – (12.7) (12.7)
Proceeds from exercise of share options – – – – 0.4 0.4
Principal paid on lease liabilities (1.1) – – – – (1.1)
Interest paid (0.2) – – – – (0.2)
Total changes from financing cash flows (1.3) – – – (12.3) (13.6)
Other changes
Liability-related
Right-of-use asset additions 0.1 – – – – 0.1
Interest expense 0.2 – – – – 0.2
Total liability-related other changes 0.3 – – – – 0.3
Total equity-related other changes – – – 1.1 27.5 28.6
Balance at 28 February 2026 5.4 – 48.3 16.1 36.6 106.4
Liability Equity Total
Lease liability
£’m
Other
financial
liabilities
£’m
Share
capital/share
premium
£’m
Other
reserves
£’m
Retained
earnings
£’m
Total
£’m
Balance at 29 February 2024 7.4 – 48.3 13.5 40.6 109.8
Changes from financing cash flows
Equity dividends paid – – – – (12.2) (12.2)
Proceeds from exercise of share options – – – – 0.4 0.4
Principal paid on lease liabilities (1.1) – – – – (1.1)
Interest paid (0.2) – – – – (0.2)
Total changes from financing cash flows (1.3) – – – (11.8) (13.1)
Other changes
Liability-related
Right-of-use asset additions 0.1 – – – – 0.1
Interest expense 0.2 – – – – 0.2
Total liability-related other changes 0.3 – – – – 0.3
Total equity-related other changes – – – 1.5 (7.4) (5.9)
Balance at 28 February 2025 6.4 – 48.3 15.0 21.4 91.1
www.bloomsbury.com
204
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Notes to the Company Financial Statements
41. Provisions
Author
advance
£’m
Property
£’m
Total
£’m
At 28 February 2025 0.9 0.8 1.7
Created in the year 0.9 0.1 1.0
Utilised in the year (0.7) (0.2) (0.9)
At 28 February 2026 1.1 0.7 1.8
Non-current – 0.7 0.7
Current 1.1 – 1.1
The property provision is in respect of dilapidations for the Bedford Square head office. The author advance provision is a provision against
future cash outflows on published titles where the Company does not expect to fully recover the advance.
42. Share capital and other reserves
For details of share capital, share premium, merger reserve, share-based payment reserve and retained earnings, see Note 21 and the
Company statement of changes in equity attributable to the owners of the Company. For details of the Company profit for the year, see
Note 29c).
For details of dividends, see Note 8.
As at 28 February 2026, the Company had distributable reserves of £36.6m. The total external dividends relating to the year ended
28 February 2026 amounted to £13.1m.
43. Share-based payments
Options over shares of the Company have been granted to employees of the Company and Group under various schemes. The full share-
based payment disclosures can be found in Note 22.
The total share-based payment charge to the income statement for the year was:
28 February
2026
£’m
28 February
2025
£’m
Equity-settled share-based transactions 1.1 1.5
Cash-settled share-based transactions – 0.4
Total 1.1 1.9
£0.6m (2025: £1.0m) of this amount was recharged to subsidiaries of the Company.
OverviewFinancials
Stock code: BMY
Annual Report and Accounts 2026
205
44. Financial instruments and risk management
Full disclosures relating to the Group’s financial risk management strategies and other financial assets and liabilities are given in Note 24 to
the consolidated financial statements.
Categories of financial instruments
Notes
28 February
2026
£’m
28 February
2025
£’m
Loans and receivables
Cash and cash equivalents 9.7 17.1
Amounts owed by Group undertakings 38 11.8 11.1
Trade receivables 38 38.6 37.6
Contract assets 38 6.0 2.2
Total loans and receivables 66.1 68.0
Financial liabilities measured at amortised cost
Trade payables 39 8.9 11.7
Sales return liability 39 4.8 6.0
Accruals 20.3 25.4
Other payables 4.1 3.5
Amounts owed to Group undertakings 39 80.4 93.0
Lease liabilities 45 5.4 6.4
Total financial liabilities measured at amortised cost 123.9 146.0
Net financial instruments (57.8) (78.0)
a) Market risk
i. Interest rate risk
Interest rate profile of financial assets:
28 February
2026
£’m
28 February
2025
£’m
Variable rate financial assets 9.7 17.1
The Company derived the following sensitivities to assess the impact of changes in interest rates, based on the effect of the market volatility
in the current climate and the previous 12 months. The analysis assumes all other variables remain constant.
28 February
2026
£’m
28 February
2025
£’m
Impact on profit and equity
1% increase in base rate of interest (2025: 1%) – 0.1
0.5% decrease in base rate of interest (2025: 0.5%) – (0.1)
www.bloomsbury.com
206
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Notes to the Company Financial Statements
ii. Currency risk
The Company’s exposure to foreign currency risk was as follows:
Loan and receivables Financial liabilities
28 February
2026
£’m
28 February
2025
£’m
28 February
2026
£’m
28 February
2025
£’m
GBP 55.6 56.8 122.2 145.1
USD 2.5 11.0 1.4 0.7
EURO 3.3 0.2 0.2 0.2
AUD 4.7 – 0.1 –
Total 66.1 68.0 123.9 146.0
The Company derived the following sensitivities based on the outstanding foreign currency denominated financial assets and liabilities at
the year end.
The use of a 10% sensitivity rate has been determined based on the effect of the market volatility in exchange rates between the current
and previous year end, and represents management’s assessment of the reasonably possible change in foreign exchange rates. A positive
number below indicates an increase in profit or loss and equity.
28 February
2026
£’m
28 February
2025
£’m
Impact on profit or loss
10% weakening in the US dollar against pound sterling (2025: 10%) (0.1) (0.9)
10% strengthening in the US dollar against pound sterling (2025: 10%) 0.1 0.9
10% weakening in the euro against pound sterling (2025: 10%) (0.3) –
10% strengthening in the euro against pound sterling (2025: 10%) 0.3 –
10% weakening in the AUS dollar against pound sterling (2025: 10%) (0.4) –
10% strengthening in the AUS dollar against pound sterling (2025: 10%) 0.4 –
A 10% weakening or strengthening against GBP for all other currencies is not expected to yield a significant foreign exchange movement.
b) Credit risk
The Company has a significant concentration of credit risk arising from its use of third-party print distributors. In the UK, Bloomsbury sets
credit limits for final customers based on a combination of payment history and third-party credit references. Credit limits are reviewed on a
regular basis in conjunction with debt ageing and collection history.
The distributors form part of established international groups whose businesses include a number of publishing interests and clients. The
Company’s credit risk is mitigated as significant balances outstanding through the UK print distributors are secured by credit insurance. The
balances with the distributors make up 85% (2025: 91%) of the gross trade receivable balance.
OverviewFinancials
Stock code: BMY
Annual Report and Accounts 2026
207
c) Liquidity risk
Currently, the Company has limited borrowing and has sufficient cash deposits to meet its debts as they fall due. The Board has modelled
a severe but plausible downside scenario; see Note 1d) on going concern for further details. Under this scenario the Group is expected to
have sufficient liquidity for at least 12 months from the date of approval of the financial statements and would not breach any of the loan
covenants.
The Company has an unsecured committed revolving credit facility (“RCF”) with Lloyds Bank Plc of £30.0 million. On 20 March 2026, the
RCF was increased from £20.0 million to £30.0 million and its maturity extended to March 2029. The facility comprises a committed revolving
credit facility of £30.0 million and an uncommitted incremental RCF of up to £20.0 million.
As at 28 February 2026, the facility remains fully undrawn (2025: fully undrawn) with £20.0 million of undrawn borrowing facilities (2025:
£20.0 million) available.
The facility is subject to two covenants, being a maximum net debt to EBITDA ratio of 2.5x and a minimum interest cover covenant of 4x.
45. Leases
The Company’s lease portfolio consists of office properties, cars and equipment.
The maturities of the Company’s lease liabilities are as follows:
28 February
2026
£’m
28 February
2025
£’m
Less than one year 1.4 1.4
One to five years 4.5 4.9
More than five years – 0.8
Total undiscounted lease liabilities 5.9 7.1
Lease liabilities included in the Company Statement of Financial Position 5.4 6.4
Current 1.1 1.1
Non-current 4.3 5.3
46. Commitments and contingent liabilities
a) Capital commitments
28 February
2026
£’m
28 February
2025
£’m
Property, plant and equipment – 0.3
Intangible assets 0.6 0.9
Total 0.6 1.2
b) Other commitments
The Company is committed to paying royalty advances in subsequent financial years. As at 28 February 2026, this commitment amounted to
£14.0m (2025: £14.5m).
c) Guarantees
The Company and certain of its subsidiaries have provided guarantees to Lloyds Bank Plc in relation to the Group’s borrowing facilities; see
Note 44c).
The Company has guaranteed the liabilities of certain of its UK subsidiaries, being those listed in Note 28, to enable them to take the audit
exemption under Section 479A of the Companies Act 2006.
44. Financial instruments and risk management continued
www.bloomsbury.com
208
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Notes to the Company Financial Statements
47. Related parties
Trading transactions
During the year, the Company entered into the following transactions and had the following balances with its subsidiaries:
28 February
2026
£’m
28 February
2025
£’m
Sale of goods to subsidiaries 8.3 15.5
Management recharges 17.2 18.7
Commission payable to subsidiaries 0.3 0.4
Finance income received/receivable from subsidiaries 0.3 0.1
Finance costs paid/payable to subsidiaries 0.6 0.6
Amounts owed by subsidiaries at year end 11.8 11.1
Amounts owed to subsidiaries at year end 80.4 93.0
All amounts outstanding are unsecured and will be settled in cash. Amounts due from subsidiaries at the year end are presented net of a
£0.5m provision for doubtful debts (2025: £0.5m).
Key management remuneration is disclosed in Note 5.
OverviewFinancials
Stock code: BMY
Annual Report and Accounts 2026
209
Five Year Financial Summary 211
Company Information 212
Legal Notice 213
Additional
Information
www.bloomsbury.com
210
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
2022
£’m
2023
£’m
2024
£’m
2025
£’m
2026
£’m
Revenue 230.1 264.1 342.7 361.0 325.9
Adjusted Profit
1
26.7 31.1 48.8 42.1 44.9
Adjusted diluted EPS
2
25.94p 30.56p 46.62p 41.45p 44.57p
Dividend per share 10.74p 11.75p 14.69p 15.43p 16.20p
Return on Capital Employed 20.4% 20.4% 33.1% 22.2% 20.7%
Net assets 169.0 187.8 202.5 214.8 215.9
Net cash
3
41.2 51.5 65.8 17.0 29.2
1
Adjusted Profit is profit before taxation, amortisation of acquired intangible assets and other highlighted items.
2
Adjusted diluted EPS is calculated from Adjusted Profit with tax on Adjusted Profit deducted.
3
Net cash is cash and cash equivalents net of the term loan.
OverviewFinancials
Stock code: BMY
Annual Report and Accounts 2026
211
Five Year Financial Summary
Chairman John Bason – Non-Executive Chairman
Executive Directors Nigel Newton – Founder and Chief Executive
Keith Underwood – Chief Financial & Operating Officer
Jenny Ridout – Global Managing Director of Bloomsbury’s Academic and Professional Division
Independent Non-Executive Directors Leslie-Ann Reed – Senior Independent Director
Baroness Lola Young of Hornsey
Dame Heather Rabbatts
Chris Blatchford
Company Secretary Maya Abu-Deeb
Registered Office 50 Bedford Square
London WC1B 3DP
+44 (0) 20 7631 5600
Registered number 01984336 (England and Wales)
Auditor Crowe U.K. LLP
55 Ludgate Hill
London
EC4M 7JW
Banker Lloyds Bank
25 Gresham Street
London
EC2V 7HN
Joint Stockbrokers and
Financial Advisors
Investec Investment Banking
30 Gresham Street
London
EC2V 7QP
Joh. Berenberg,
Gossler & Co. KG,
60 Threadneedle Street,
London,
EC2R 8HP
Registrars MUFG Corporate Markets (formerly known as Link Group)
Central Square
29 Wellington Street
Leeds
LS1 4DL
www.bloomsbury.com
212
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Company Information
Certain information in this document has not been audited or otherwise independently verified and no representation or warranty, express
or implied, is made as to, and no reliance should be placed on, the fairness, accuracy, completeness or correctness of the information or
opinions contained herein. None of the Company or any of its affiliates, advisors or representatives shall have any liability whatsoever (in
negligence or otherwise) for any loss whatsoever arising from any use of this document, or its contents, or otherwise arising in connection
with this document.
This document does not constitute or form part of any offer or invitation to sell, or any solicitation of any offer to purchase any shares in
the Company, nor shall it, or any part of it, or the fact of its distribution form the basis of, or be relied on in connection with, any contract or
commitment or investment decisions relating thereto, nor does it constitute a recommendation regarding the shares of the Company.
Certain statements, statistics and projections in this document are, or may be, forward looking. By their nature, forward-looking statements
involve a number of risks, uncertainties or assumptions that may, or may not, occur and actual results or events may differ materially from
those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Accordingly, no assurance can be given that any particular expectation will
be met and reliance should not be placed on any forward-looking statement. Accordingly, forward-looking statements contained in this
document regarding past trends or activities should not be taken as representation that such trends or activities will continue in the future.
You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which are based on the knowledge and information available only at
the date of this document’s preparation. For a description of certain factors that may affect Bloomsbury’s business, financial performance or
results of operations, please refer to the principal risks included in this Annual Report and Accounts; see pages 83 to 92.
The Company does not undertake any obligation to update or keep current the information contained in this document, including any
forward-looking statements, or to correct any inaccuracies, which may become apparent and any opinions expressed in it are subject to
change without notice.
References in this report to other reports or materials, such as a website address, have been provided to direct the reader to other sources
of Bloomsbury information that may be of interest. Neither the content of Bloomsbury’s website nor any website accessible by hyperlinks
from Bloomsbury’s website nor any additional materials contained or accessible thereon, are incorporated in, or form part of, this report.
OverviewFinancials
Stock code: BMY
Annual Report and Accounts 2026
213
Legal Notice
The production of this report supports the work of the
Woodland Trust, the UK’s leading woodland conservation
charity. Each tree planted will grow into a vital carbon store,
helping to reduce environmental impact as well as creating
natural havens for wildlife and people.
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
50 Bedford Square,
London, WC1B 3DP
+44 (0)20 7631 5600
www.bloomsbury.com
www.bloomsbury-ir.co.uk
213800ZL2PEC4C6UOQ532025-03-012026-02-28213800ZL2PEC4C6UOQ532024-03-012025-02-28213800ZL2PEC4C6UOQ532026-02-28213800ZL2PEC4C6UOQ532025-02-28213800ZL2PEC4C6UOQ532024-02-29ifrs-full:IssuedCapitalMember213800ZL2PEC4C6UOQ532024-03-012025-02-28ifrs-full:IssuedCapitalMember213800ZL2PEC4C6UOQ532025-02-28ifrs-full:IssuedCapitalMember213800ZL2PEC4C6UOQ532024-02-29ifrs-full:SharePremiumMember213800ZL2PEC4C6UOQ532024-03-012025-02-28ifrs-full:SharePremiumMember213800ZL2PEC4C6UOQ532025-02-28ifrs-full:SharePremiumMember213800ZL2PEC4C6UOQ532024-02-29ifrs-full:ReserveOfExchangeDifferencesOnTranslationMember213800ZL2PEC4C6UOQ532024-03-012025-02-28ifrs-full:ReserveOfExchangeDifferencesOnTranslationMember213800ZL2PEC4C6UOQ532025-02-28ifrs-full:ReserveOfExchangeDifferencesOnTranslationMember213800ZL2PEC4C6UOQ532024-02-29ifrs-full:MergerReserveMember213800ZL2PEC4C6UOQ532024-03-012025-02-28ifrs-full:MergerReserveMember213800ZL2PEC4C6UOQ532025-02-28ifrs-full:MergerReserveMember213800ZL2PEC4C6UOQ532024-02-29ifrs-full:ReserveOfSharebasedPaymentsMember213800ZL2PEC4C6UOQ532024-03-012025-02-28ifrs-full:ReserveOfSharebasedPaymentsMember213800ZL2PEC4C6UOQ532025-02-28ifrs-full:ReserveOfSharebasedPaymentsMember213800ZL2PEC4C6UOQ532024-02-29ifrs-full:TreasurySharesMember213800ZL2PEC4C6UOQ532024-03-012025-02-28ifrs-full:TreasurySharesMember213800ZL2PEC4C6UOQ532025-02-28ifrs-full:TreasurySharesMember213800ZL2PEC4C6UOQ532024-02-29ifrs-full:RetainedEarningsMember213800ZL2PEC4C6UOQ532024-03-012025-02-28ifrs-full:RetainedEarningsMember213800ZL2PEC4C6UOQ532025-02-28ifrs-full:RetainedEarningsMember213800ZL2PEC4C6UOQ532024-02-29213800ZL2PEC4C6UOQ532025-03-012026-02-28ifrs-full:IssuedCapitalMember213800ZL2PEC4C6UOQ532026-02-28ifrs-full:IssuedCapitalMember213800ZL2PEC4C6UOQ532025-03-012026-02-28ifrs-full:SharePremiumMember213800ZL2PEC4C6UOQ532026-02-28ifrs-full:SharePremiumMember213800ZL2PEC4C6UOQ532025-03-012026-02-28ifrs-full:ReserveOfExchangeDifferencesOnTranslationMember213800ZL2PEC4C6UOQ532026-02-28ifrs-full:ReserveOfExchangeDifferencesOnTranslationMember213800ZL2PEC4C6UOQ532025-03-012026-02-28ifrs-full:MergerReserveMember213800ZL2PEC4C6UOQ532026-02-28ifrs-full:MergerReserveMember213800ZL2PEC4C6UOQ532025-03-012026-02-28ifrs-full:ReserveOfSharebasedPaymentsMember213800ZL2PEC4C6UOQ532026-02-28ifrs-full:ReserveOfSharebasedPaymentsMember213800ZL2PEC4C6UOQ532025-03-012026-02-28ifrs-full:TreasurySharesMember213800ZL2PEC4C6UOQ532026-02-28ifrs-full:TreasurySharesMember213800ZL2PEC4C6UOQ532025-03-012026-02-28ifrs-full:RetainedEarningsMember213800ZL2PEC4C6UOQ532026-02-28ifrs-full:RetainedEarningsMemberiso4217:GBPiso4217:GBPxbrli:shares