Bloomsbury joins Hachette UK Distribution after 25 years with MDL

Bloomsbury has announced plans to join Hachette UK Distribution from early April 2025, after 25 years with Macmillan Distribution (MDL). 

The publisher follows Hay House, Lonely Planet and Pinnacle Booksales, who have all made the moved to Hachette UK Distribution over the past three years. Bloomsbury said it is working with its new distributor and MDL to ensure a smooth transition. 

Simon Robson, director of global operations at Bloomsbury, said the move would bring “multiple benefits and efficiencies” to Bloomsbury, including streamlining its business model and aligning with its future sustainability objectives.

“The distribution landscape has changed considerably in recent years and Bloomsbury is delighted to be partnering with Hachette UK Distribution, who we believe to be best positioned to support the company’s long-term strategic objectives and ambitions,” he said.

“We would like to thank MDL for the exceptional service provided over the past 25 years and to which we owe a huge gratitude in supporting the remarkable growth of our business in that period”.

Nigel Newton, chief executive of Bloomsbury, said MDL had been “absolutely superb over the past 25 years.” He continued: “I shall never forget how they rose to the occasion of the immensely security sensitive Harry Potter new book distributions in the decade of 1997 to 2007, shipping 11 million units to all arrive under embargo in bookshops in 96 countries precisely one day before publication for the later books in that hugely anticipated series,” he said.

“I am grateful to all of them. We look forward to continuing to distribute through Macmillan in the US [and] I welcome our new relationship with Hachette Distribution in the UK.”

David Shelley, c.e.o of Hachette Book Group and Hachette UK, said: “As the home to the most advanced publishing warehousing technology in the UK, we’re extremely pleased and proud to be working with Bloomsbury on their distribution services. This is a significant moment in the ongoing expansion of Hachette UK Distribution and credit to everyone in the distribution team who have done an amazing job since the new site opened in 2018 and have been integral to the ongoing development of our business.”

Matt Wright, c.e.o. at Hachette UK Distribution, added: “We are immensely proud to welcome Bloomsbury to Hachette UK Distribution. This move is a big vote of confidence in our market-leading service we deliver for our publisher clients.

“Our site in Didcot is now five years old – the new systems and automation are fully embedded and running extremely successfully. We have a relentless hunger to build, innovate and invest to improve continuously. We believe in strong, long-term partnerships, and I look forward to welcoming Bloomsbury to our growing list of publisher clients.”

In response to the news, MDL commented: "We understand [Bloomsbury’s] rationale for making this decision and are reassured that this had nothing to do with service, which we pride ourselves on maintaining at the highest levels for all of our distributed publishers and their customers, and whose opinions we take and trust when assessing our place in the distribution market."  

"These events happen in third-party distribution and whilst we will be sad to see the Bloomsbury team moving on, we are also excited about the opportunities that the additional capacities will give us in the longer term. Demand for quality distribution in the UK is high and despite the numerous challenges we have all seen in the past few years the underlying market for print books remains strong. We are pleased to have a very substantial list of publishers joining us through 2024/25 details of which we will publicise separately. As such our distribution business is stable and well-invested for the future."