EX-CBI chief Lambert joins the board of Bloomsbury
SIR Richard Lambert, the former director general of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), has joined publishing house Bloomsbury as nonexecutive chairman.
Sir Richard, who is also the chairman of the British Museum and a former editor of The Financial Times, took the helm of the CBI from 2006 to 2011.
He has also served on the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee and as interim chairman of the Banking Standards Review Council.
His appointment follows the announcement that Sir Anthony Salz, the current chairman, is retiring from the Bloomsbury board. Sir Richard will serve for four years, and will be a member of the company’s remuneration committee and nomination committee.
Nigel Newton, the chief executive, thanked Sir Anthony for his “excellent chairmanship” and said the company was “delighted to welcome Sir Richard Lambert, who joins at a time when the digital landscape is providing Bloomsbury with new opportunities to grow its publishing mission”.
The company said the appointment of Sir Richard, which followed a “rigorous search process”, was a reflection of its non-executive rotation policy “that ensures a steady inflow of insights from other organisations”. In its latest fullyear results, Bloomsbury announced a 15pc growth in revenues to £142.6m.
There was particularly strong growth in its children’s division, with the Harry Potter series driving revenues up 48pc to £55.9m. Sales of Harry Potter books in the year to February 28 grew by 88pc.
In its adult division, meanwhile, revenues rose by 3pc to £29.5m, with its cookery books firing the growth. Among the big hitters were Tom Kerridge’s Dopamine Diet and Raymond Blanc’s Le Manoir Aux Quat’saisons.
The publishing house announced a profit before tax of £12m, which was ahead of market expectations but down from £13m in the previous year.
Bloomsbury said that drop in profits was a result of investment in its “Bloomsbury 2020” digital growth strategy, which has seen it launch digital resources such as its fashion photography archive.
Mr Newtown described it as a “very strong year for Bloomsbury”.