Co-founders of The Pigeonhole step down as investor becomes new owner

The Pigeonhole has a new owner in investor Mark Blayney, who has acquired an 85% stake in the digital book-club platform.

The news comes after the founders announced in April they were looking for support to take over the platform as the business had become "unsustainable as a standalone enterprise".

The organisation was established in 2013 with the goal of generating live conversations within the digital margins of books, encouraging Amazon and Goodreads reviews and creating social media buzz. Registered users of The Pigeonhole receive access to pre-release serialisations from publishers in return for commenting and reviewing.

The Pigeonhole has over 40 UK publisher/imprint clients and has serialised over 600 books since 2016. For the past 10 years, it has been managed by its two co-founders Anna Jean Hughes and Jacob Cockcroft. Hughes was a Bookseller Rising Star in 2015 and the platform won best marketing campaign of the year together with Pan Macmillian for Ken Follett’s The Column of Fire in 2017.

Blayney is an Investment Partner with K2 Business Partners, specialists in business transformation and growth, as well as being co-owner of independent publishing house BAD PRESS iNK Limited (main imprints BADPRESS.iNK and HeavyPress.ink). He will also be giving general manager Laurence Kilpatrick a “significant stake” in the newly structured business.

Cockcroft said: “After an amazing 10 years designing, building and running The Pigeonhole it is time to hand over the reins. We have created a beautiful platform and countless beautiful experiences for our wonderful community and worked with many great authors. But it is time for some new energy and direction; Mark will no doubt provide this. His plans are very interesting. Anna Jean, myself and the original co-founders will retain a stake and continue to support the business.”

Hughes said: “I am so proud of the Pigeonhole. We started out as an industry disruptor, and it is some kind of magic that we are now used by so many publishers to connect authors with their audience. Watching the way our readers interact with books – the unspooling of big thoughts and positivity in the margins – has been one of the most validating aspects of my career. I can’t wait to see what Mark and the Pigeon achieve next.”

Blayney commented: “I’m delighted with the opportunities this move will create for readers, writers and publishers. The Pigeonhole has deservedly built a reputation over the past few years as a high-quality service for publishers and authors wishing to reach new audiences and launch best sellers – as well as establishing itself as a destination for readers seeking out the next big thing, before it becomes the next big thing.

“Given the current publishing environment, the team and I see great opportunities for expanding the service to become an essential part of the book publishing process for a range of publishers and authors.”