Neill Denny

3 weeks ago | publishersweekly.com | Neill Denny

WH Smith has sold its 480-outlet bookstore chain, for £76 million (about $98 million), to private equity firm Modella Capital, which has renamed the business TGJones. The WH Smith brand is not included in the sale—meaning that after 250 years, the WH Smith name will no longer be associated with selling books on high streets across the U.K. Instead, the brand will be used on WH Smith’s travel stores, which it operates across 32 countries.

1 month ago | publishersweekly.com | Neill Denny

One of the featured panels at this year's London Book Fair paired David Shelley and James Daunt, two executives that each run powerful companies on both sides of the Atlantic, with Shelley serving as CEO of Hachette Book Group in the U.S. and Hachette UK, and Daunt as CEO of Barnes & Noble and managing director of Waterstones.

Jan 22, 2025 | publishersweekly.com | Neill Denny

In results filed yesterday, U.K.-based bookstore chain Waterstones reported that for the year ending in April 2024, sales hit £528.4 million, up 17% from £452.5 million for the year ended April 2023. After tax profit jumped from £12.0 million to £32.8 million over the same period.

Dec 5, 2024 | publishersweekly.com | Neill Denny

Palestinian publisher Samir Mansour was awarded the 2024 International Publishers Association’s Prix Voltaire at the award ceremony of the 34th International Publishers Congress held yesterday in as part of the Guadalajara International Book Fair in Mexico. The IPA also announced a Prix Voltaire Special Award for the late Ukrainian author Victoria Amelina, who was killed last year in a Russian missile attack in Ukraine.

Nov 14, 2024 | publishersweekly.com | Neill Denny

U.K. bookstore chain WH Smith reported that total group revenue was up 7%, to £1.92 billion for the year to August, up from fiscal 2023's £1.79 billion. Profit before tax rose 16% to £166 million. As has become the norm, the Travel division was the standout performer, with total revenue up 11%, to £1.6 billion, with Travel UK up 12%, North America up 9%, and Rest of the World up 18%: profits surged to £189 million, up from £164 million last year.