Dundee UP acquired by Edinburgh

Edinburgh University Press has acquired the business and publishing assets of Dundee University Press,  further consolidating its quest to become “the leading academic publisher in Scotland”.

Edinburgh University Press’s chief executive Timothy Wright said the company’s strategy was to grow its academic publishing business, particularly in the textbook area, and the acquisition of Dundee University Press  helped to achieve this aim.

The sum paid for the business and publishing assets of Dundee University Press was not disclosed.

Wright said: “This is an excellent and exciting development for Edinburgh University Press. The Dundee University Press list complements our own and will underpin our commissioning particularly in the area of law. They also have a focused and excellent list in Scottish History which will sit well with our books in this field. There are numerous opportunities for us to grow the list – particularly in the textbook and digital areas.”

Professor Christopher Whatley, director of Dundee University Press, said that while he regretted the disappearance of a company that “made great strides in a very short period of time”,  it was clear that the publisher's authors would benefit from the greater market reach of EUP. Whatley said: “EUP’s reputation is another powerful attraction for this move. The scale of EUP’s operation is such that the areas in which DUP has created a presence can grow much faster than DUP – a much smaller company – was capable of.”

Edinburgh University Press achieved book and journal revenues of over £2.37m for the year ending 31 July 2013, a 7% increase on the previous year. Profit before interest was £197,000, which was marginally down on 2012 due to continued investment in editorial and marketing areas.