Little, Brown Buys Piatkus Books
Posted on July 25, 2007
The Bookseller reports that Little, Brown has purchased British independent publisher Piatkus Books.
Founder Judy Piatkus will continue as m.d. until the end of the year, when she will retire from publishing. Piatkus, which has a turnover of around £10m, will become an independent imprint within Little, Brown. It will continue trading at its current premises until the end of October, after which the team will move to Little, Brown's new offices at 100 Victoria Embankment.Judy Piatkus is a publishing legend and her retirement after 28 years will definitely be felt by her many authors. She was a pioneer in the field of lifestyle, leading the way in publishing books on health, mind, body and spirit, and bringing them to the mainstream. Jody Piatkus originally founded Piatkus Books out of her house.Little, Brown said it would ask "the majority of the directors and staff" to stay with the business. It added that while a small number of staff may not have continuing roles within Piatkus, they would wherever possible be offered jobs within Little, Brown or the wider Hachette Livre UK group to keep job losses "to an absolute minimum".
The transaction was structured as a purchase by Little, Brown of a 100% shareholding in Piatkus, which remains intact as a company. All contracts remain valid and will be honoured. The shareholders of Piatkus Books were represented by The van Tulleken Company. Piatkus, founded by Judy Piatkus in 1979, publishes commercial fiction, including Nora Roberts, and a range of mind body spirit, health, business and self-development titles. Authors include Patrick Holford, David Allen and Brian L Weiss.
