Former Lion Hudson employees begin new venture

Lion Hudson's former head of European sales, Andrew Wormleighton, has set up a new company Lion Sales Services to represent the Lion Hudson list.

Wormleighton, whose role at Lion Hudson was one of 35 roles cut after the company made two thirds of its staff redundant earlier this month, is managing director of the new business, which is continuing to represent Lion Hudson’s five imprints Candle Books, Lion Books, Lion Children’s Books, Lion Fiction, and Monarch Books into the UK Christian and general book trade. 

The team at Lion Sales Services will also continue to represent Baker Publishing Group (Bethany House, Chosen and Revell), Cambridge University Press Bibles & Prayer Books, Charisma House, Christian Education , Destiny Image, Kregel Publications, and New Holland. 

Oxford-based Christian publisher Lion Hudson earlier this month submitted a notice of intent to appoint administrators and made almost two thirds of its staff redundant. At the time managing director Suzanne Wilson-Higgins told The Bookseller the company was undergoing a restructure but that it was continuing to trade. Since issuing a notice of intent issued to appoint administrators - a measure buying 10 days breathing space from the company's creditors, with one possible outcome being administration - the company has yet to issue an official statement it is going into administration and has been unavailable for comment.

Wormleighton told The Bookseller the new company is separate and independent from Lion Hudson but comprises the same sales team and administrative support that were let go by Lion Hudson, with the exception of area sales manager Michael Sheehy who decided not to join for personal reasons.

Wormleighton added: "The wisdom (or not) of taking the Lion name with us is yet to be seen."

Phil Groom, news editor for UK Christian Bookshops blog, said he was "hoping this doesn't spell the end" for Lion Hudson, which has been voted Christian Publisher of the Year for six years running. "To lose Lion would be a major blow not only for Christian bookselling and publishing but for the entire Christian community," he said.

Lion Hudson's annual report, which thanked shareholders for their "support during these commercially difficult times", showed the company had trade debt at £1,907,024 for the financial year ended March 2016. 

"If we want our suppliers to survive, we need to pay our bills on time. No one should fool themselves by thinking that big companies can take the hit: those small hits add up. None of us are invulnerable," said Groom.

Lion Hudson alerted authors late January to "an internal reorganisation" in which it moved all of the intellectual property rights of Lion Hudson PLC and its three subsidiary companies (Angus Hudson Limited, Aslan Publishing Services Limited and Candle Books Limited) into one company, Lion Hudson IP Ltd, a directly owned subsidiary of Lion Hudson PLC.

The move, in which a new company was created on 17th January, has been interpreted as "a contingency measure to protect its IP if the entire company were to go down". Groom added: "Whatever it's significance, however, laying off more than half their workforce isn't something anyone at LH would have done lightly."

Managing director Wilson-Higgins, who took over from the late Nick Jones last February, emphasised earlier this month the company is continuing to trade. She commented at the time: "We are trading normally, we have restructured and we are taking financial advice with a potential outcome being administration. If that happens we will communicate to our creditors, customers, partners and creative community in the appropriate manner."