Igloo 'will reach £50m turnover in under five years', says Johnson

Igloo Books will achieve turnover of £50m in less than five years after its acquisition by Bonnier Publishing, according to Bonnier c.e.o. Richard Johnson.
 
Bonnier announced its acquisition of Igloo, which currently has annual turnover of £35m, on Friday (31st October).  
 
Johnson has told The Bookeller that Igloo will hit its £50m target within a five-year time frame, now it is part of the Bonnier family. “John [Styring, c.e.o. of Igloo] has always had plans for growth and we can fast-track that, with access to various cash and management assets. We can help with the licensing business and we can help them expand internationally.”
 
For its part, Bonnier is aiming for total annual turnover of £100m by 2016 and said it acquired Igloo because of its expertise in mass market publishing.
 
“We compiled a list of suitable companies and Igloo were right at the top,” he said. “Supermarkets are an area we want to be stronger in. We tried to copy them in the past two years, without much success, and if you don’t beat them you join them!”
 
The publisher is not abandoning literary children’s fiction, which accounts for around £10m of turnover, but the bulk of business is mass market, he added.
 
Both companies also see licensing as an area of growth and Styring said its recent deal with DreamWorks may have helped seal the deal. “This would have happened with or without DreamWorks but that kind of deal shows that we’re doing something well.”
 
All Igloo’s former plans are still in place; it is still going ahead with its distribution business, for example,  and is aiming for more international growth.
 
For Bonnier, the acquisition campaign is still ongoing. Johnson would not reveal the Igloo acquisition price, saying he doesn’t want to give any trade secrets away when there are more deals to be done.
 
“We said earlier this year that we wanted to make turnover of £100m so that leaves £15m to go,” he said. “We won’t be making any more announcements this year but maybe in the early part of next year. Watch this space.”