Unbound goes into administration as Archna Sharma and John Mitchinson launch new publisher

The independent crowdfunding publisher Unbound has gone into administration, with Allister Manson and Charles Turner of Opus Restructuring appointed as the administrators of the company on 10th March 2025. 

The publisher has confirmed to The Bookseller that the business and some key assets have been acquired in a "pre-packaged sale" by Boundless IP Ltd, a new "full-risk traditional publisher" founded by Unbound co-founder and publisher John Mitchinson and CEO Archna Sharma. Boundless will be led by CEO Sharma, who has brought on new investors, and Mitchinson, who will be a director of the company.

As part of the acquisition, Boundless has secured Unbound’s intellectual property, customer and supplier relationships, publishing contracts, digital assets and goodwill associated with brands such as Unbound, Neem Tree Press and Boundless Magazine.

According to the company, "all monies owed to authors by Unbound will be honoured by Boundless IP Limited". The publisher will also be taking most existing projects forward, and those whose projects will not be continued will be informed by the administrators.

"This is the beginning of a bold new era," said Sharma. "Boundless looks forward to forging exciting new connections between authors and readers."

The news comes almost two months after The Bookseller revealed that Unbound was facing "financial uncertainty", with authors and partners awaiting payments, after the company failed to raise enough money last year. In the same week, Unbound launched a new magazine called Boundless, for which it appeared to raise over £100,000 through crowdfunding. 

It was understood at the time that the publisher was in the process of looking for new funding for Unbound.