Jessica Kingsley acquires Scottish press Handspring Publishing

Jessica Kingsley Publishers (JKP) has acquired Scottish educational and reference book press Handspring Publishing in an asset-only deal.

The deal, for an undisclosed sum, was signed off on 14th March and sees JKP acquire all publishing assets of the business.

Handspring, a specialist in the fields of manual therapy, bodywork and movement therapy, was established in Scotland in 2011. According to JKP, which is owned by Hachette UK, Handspring is “recognised as a leading publisher in the field of manual therapies and movement”. The company releases highly illustrated books that help bodyworkers and manual therapists learn about the human body and apply that knowledge.

Andrew Stevenson and Mary Law, directors of Handspring, said: “We are delighted to be handing over the reins of Handspring to JKP.

“When we set up Handspring together with our colleague Sarena Wolfaard in 2011, we had a clear vision of contributing to the professionalisation of emerging disciplines in the fields of manual therapies and bodywork through publishing high-quality textbooks. We wanted to be able to work closely with authors and to support them in the creation of beautiful, individually crafted volumes that would be readily accessible to the intended readership. The list of more than 90 titles that we have developed over the past 10 years bears witness to the realisation of that goal. The highly positive response of the bodywork and movement communities has demonstrated their appreciation of the contribution we have made to their education and professional development.

“We are pleased that the business will be in the hands of a company already active in relevant fields and keen to build on the foundation which we have created.”

Following the acquisition, Handspring’s publishing will operate under Singing Dragon, JKP’s imprint publishing in the areas of complementary and Chinese medicine and wellness. 

Sanphy Thomas, managing director of JKP, said: “It is remarkable what Handspring has achieved in just 10 years of existence. Andrew, Mary and their team have created and developed a publishing brand that is hugely respected in the specialist communities they publish for. Architecture of Human Living Fascia was truly ground-breaking when it published in 2015 and their range of richly illustrated books in the disciplines of osteopathy, physiotherapy and movement perfectly complements the holistic and integrative health publishing of our 
Singing Dragon imprint. 

“As interest continues to grow in therapies that support the body in healing itself, there is an increasing demand among practitioners for content that will enable them to broaden and deepen their knowledge, and I look forward to seeing the Handspring list flourish through JKP’s global reach into these communities.”