RedDoor hires Brealey and Harris as investor-advisors

Independent publisher RedDoor has signed up "industry veterans" Nicholas Brealey and Jonathan Harris as investor-advisors as the company expands its staff and publishing operation.

Brealey, who sold his own company to Hachette in 2015, brings over four decades worth of experience in trade and business publishing to RedDoor. A former chair of the IPG, Brealey advises startups, coaches founders and is a non-executive director of three companies. Harris has spent his working life in educational, academic and professional publishing. He was a founder of Blackstone Press, m.d. of Letts Educational and owner and founder of Learning Matters before its sale to SAGE Publishing in 2011. He is president of the Independent Publishers Guild (IPG).

RedDoor founder and m.d. Clare Christian first proposed the deal to Brealey and Harris at an IPG ‘Meet the Investors’ event. 

With this new input and expertise, RedDoor plans to increase the number of titles published from 14 to 25 in 2017 and 40 in 2018. The team has expanded to meet these goals with Anna Burtt joining as publishing assistant. New sales and distribution arrangements were put in place earlier this year.

Christian said: "I am so delighted to have Jonathan and Nick on board. We are a small company with huge ambitions and I know the experience and partnership they bring to RedDoor will be highly instrumental in helping us achieve our goals."

Brealey said: "I’m very impressed with Clare and her new business model in RedDoor. In an era when many publishers are coming more risk-averse an interesting new gap has opened up for independent publishers with innovative approaches; companies like RedDoor can be great incubators of original and unusual talent."

Harris added that Christian had an "unshakeable commitment to quality", coupled with a strong commercial instinct.