In the gloom of a UK economy teetering on the edge of recession, a glittering puff of smoke wafted up last week from the publisher that will for ever be associated with Harry Potter, when it reported its best ever performance.
Bloomsbury is a very different company from the one that lucked out back in 1997 with JK Rowling, whose heptalogy continues to work its magic 26 years on. Her boy wizard would no doubt spot traces of floo powder in the hearths connecting international and UK sales, ebooks for universities and old‑fashioned books for children and adults – all of them combining to fly the company to rises of 15% in sales and 16% in profits in the last year. “In challenging economic times,” said the company’s CEO, Nigel Newton, “readers are turning to books as affordable as they cut back on more expensive forms of diversion.”
