Batsford acquires arts publisher Scala

B T Batsford has acquired Scala Arts & Heritage Publishers and its subsidiary Scala Arts Publishers Inc for an undisclosed sum, in a move Batsford describes as “bringing together two companies with long and distinguished publishing histories".

The deal was brokered by Batsford m.d David Graham and Piers Russell-Cobb of MediaFund on behalf of Robin Howard and Scala’s board of trustees.

Scala specialises in producing illustrated books for museums, galleries and heritage sites around the world, and in the US under the wholly owned subsidiary Scala Arts Publishers Inc. The Bookseller has approached Batsford and Scala about how many titles Scala publishes a year.

Batsford is a niche illustrated publishing business and its subsidiary, Pitkin Books, partners primarily with cathedrals and UK-based heritage sites.

Polly Powell, owner of Batsford, said: “The combined forces of Scala, Pitkin and Batsford make complete sense. Between them, they are the leading suppliers of guidebooks into the heritage industry.

“I have long been an admirer of Scala and I look forward to seeing how the businesses – both with high design and editorial strengths – complement each other over the next few years as we develop this side of our publishing. We are delighted to welcome Katie Channon to the board of B T Batsford as a non-executive director where her experience will be greatly valued across the wider business.”

Katie Channon, director of Scala, said: “I care passionately about the future of Scala, a company that my late husband Henry Channon championed for many years. I believe Batsford to be the perfect home for it, and I am excited to see how the business develops.

“I am delighted that m.d. Jenny McKinley stays with the company until January. I am looking forward to working with the team, including m.d. David Graham, chairman John Stachiewicz and Polly Powell at Batsford.”