Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Registered name: BLOOMSBURY PUBLISHING PLC
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC made £326m revenue and £27m profit in the year to 28 Feb 2026.
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC’s revenue fell 10% to £326m in the year to 28 Feb 2026, with £27m profit and 1,238 employees. The company is classified under “book publishing” and is based in London; we hold 3 years of its filed accounts.
- Status
- Active
- Location
- London, London
- Age
- 40 yrs · since 1986
- Type
- Public Limited Company
Key figures
Badges are automated estimates derived from the filed figures — not statements of fact about the company.
Financial history
| Year to | 28 Feb 2024 | 28 Feb 2025 | 28 Feb 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Disclosure | Full P&L | Full P&L | Full P&L |
| Profit & loss | |||
| Revenue (turnover) | £343m | £361m | £326m |
| Cost of sales | −£148m | −£157m | −£134m |
| Gross profit | £195m | £204m | £192m |
| Operating profit | £40.6m | £33.3m | £35.4m |
| Profit before tax | £41.5m | £32.5m | £34.2m |
| Profit after tax | £32.3m | £25.4m | £27m |
| Profit (best available) | £32.3m | £25.4m | £27m |
| Employees (average) | — | 1,161 | 1,238 |
| Ratios | |||
| Profit margin | 9.4% | 7% | 8.3% |
| Gross margin | 56.8% | 56.5% | 58.8% |
| Revenue per employee | — | £311k | £263k |
| Profit per employee | — | £21.9k | £21.8k |
| Growth (year on year) | |||
| Revenue growth | — | ▲5.3% | ▼9.7% |
| Profit growth | — | ▼21.4% | ▲6.3% |
| Headcount growth | — | — | ▲6.6% |
| Balance sheet — indirect signals, not revenue | |||
| Net assets | — | — | — |
| Source | Accounts · bulk data Aug 2025 | Accounts · bulk data Aug 2025 | Accounts · bulk data Aug 2026 |
How the business works
- Profit margin
- 8.3%
- Profit ÷ revenue.
- Gross margin
- 58.8%
- Gross profit ÷ revenue. High for software and services.
- Revenue per employee
- £263k
- Revenue ÷ average employees.
- Profit per employee
- £21.8k
- Profit ÷ average employees.
- Cash conversion
- —
- Cash generated from operations ÷ operating profit. Needs a cash-flow statement.
- Fixed assets ÷ revenue
- —
- Capital intensity. Low = capital-light, cheaper to start.
- Deferred income ÷ revenue
- —
- Customers paying upfront (subscriptions, deposits). Approximate when combined with accruals.
- Debtors ÷ revenue
- —
- Money owed by customers. Low = customers pay quickly.
Balance-sheet signals
Year-on-year changes in filed balance-sheet items. They can hint at momentum (or investment) but are not revenue or profit and must not be read as such.
- Net assets
- —
- Now —
- Cash at bank
- —
- Now —
- Headcount
- ▲7%
- Now 1,238
- Deferred income
- —
- Now —
- Fixed assets
- —
- Now —
Group structure
Subsidiaries (13)
- A. & C. Black LimitedFigures not disclosed
- Bloomsbury Book Publishing Company LimitedFigures not disclosed
- Bloomsbury India UK LimitedFigures not disclosed
- Bloomsbury Information LimitedFigures not disclosed
- Bloomsbury Media LimitedFigures not disclosed
- Bloomsbury Professional LimitedFigures not disclosed
- Hart Publishing Ltd.Figures not disclosed
- Head of Zeus LimitedFigures not disclosed
- I.b. Tauris & Co. LimitedFigures not disclosed
- Oberon Books LimitedFigures not disclosed
- Osprey Publishing LimitedFigures not disclosed
- Philip Wilson Publishers LimitedFigures not disclosed
- The Continuum International Publishing Group LimitedFigures not disclosed
From the Persons with Significant Control register (corporate controllers only).
Similar profitable businesses
Sources
Latest figures from accounts for the year to 28 Feb 2026 (profit £27m), from the Companies House accounts bulk data published Aug 2026. Spotted an error? Request a correction.
Contains public sector information from Companies House licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Data from Companies House, © Crown copyright. View the licence.