Octopus Publishing Group Ltd.

What Octopus Publishing Group Ltd. does

Octopus Publishing Group Ltd. is a UK-based non-fiction book publisher headquartered in London (Carmelite House, 50 Victoria Embankment) and operating as a wholly-owned division of Hachette UK Limited, which in turn sits within the Lagardère SCA publishing group. The company publishes illustrated and reference non-fiction across 15+ imprints — including Aster, Brazen, Cassell, Conran, Gaia Books, Godsfield Press, Hamlyn, Ilex, Mitchell Beazley, Monoray, Philip's, Pyramid, Radar, Short Books, and Summersdale — covering food and drink, gift books, health and personal development, lifestyle/sport/leisure, puzzles and quizzes, road atlases and maps, the arts, and reference titles. Anna Bond is identified as founder and managing director, and Charlie King serves as Chief Executive Officer overseeing Octopus alongside Little, Brown Book Group and HUK International Divisions. The company employs 51-100 staff and sells under the "Octopus Books" consumer-facing brand through octopusbooks.co.uk.

The core product is books, produced in multiple formats — hardcover, paperback, ebook (ePub3 across 47,000+ titles within Hachette UK), PDF (3,000+ editions), and audiobook/MP3 (9,000+ editions) — with recent and scheduled launches including photography titles ("Oasis The Masterplan," "Picturing Prince," "The Art of Street Photography," "Outdoor Light-Painting Photography") and natural history ("The Great Tree Story"). There is no proprietary technology platform disclosed; digital infrastructure relies on standard web analytics (Meta, Google, X tracking pixels) and email/newsletter tools. The company has signed the Accessible Books Consortium Charter for Accessible Publishing (2019) and partners with the RNIB to make titles available via Bookshare for readers with print disabilities.

Revenue is generated through one-time/perpetual license book sales across fixed retail pricing, distributed globally via Amazon, Apple Books, Google Play, Kobo, Audible, Bookshop.org, and UK chains (Waterstones, Foyles, Blackwell's, Hive, Wordery, TGJones), with a dedicated foreign rights team covering North America, DACH, France/French Canada, Italy/Scandinavia/Turkey/Arabic World, Spain/Latin America/Portugal/Brazil, Holland/Central/Eastern Europe, and Asia. Marketing combines paid social/SEM, email newsletters, affiliate partnerships, and content marketing via the company website. Customer segments are horizontal general consumer readers, professional and educational buyers, and gift/occasion buyers — none concentrated — and no enterprise contracts or institutional anchors are disclosed.

Name

Octopus Publishing Group Ltd.

Legal name

Octopus Publishing Group Limited

Website

https://octopusbooks.co.uk

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Octopus Publishing Group Ltd. is a UK-based non-fiction book publisher, wholly owned by Hachette UK, publishing across 15+ imprints (Hamlyn, Mitchell Beazley, Cassell, Conran, Ilex, Summersdale, Short Books and others) in genres including food and drink, lifestyle, photography, health, gift books, and atlases for general consumer readers globally.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Book Publishing

NAICS

Book Publishers (513130)

SIC

Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731)

akta.pro primary industry

Genre & Category Publishing (Romance, Mystery/Thriller, Sci‑Fi/Fantasy, etc.) (MPAJAAAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

eBook & Digital Reading Platforms (BPAMAJAK), Audiobook Publishers (Trade & Consumer) (MPAJAIAA), Health, Wellness & Fitness Trade Publishing (MPAJAAAL)

Keywords

• Non-fiction book publishing
• Illustrated trade books
• Consumer publishing imprints
• Ebook audiobook publishing
• Reference book publisher

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Book Sales: Revenue generated from the sale of physical books (hardcover, paperback), ebooks, and audiobooks through various retail channels.

Pricing tiers

Distribution channels13 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Octopus Publishing Group is a UK-based non-fiction trade book publisher that produces illustrated and reference titles across more than 15 imprints covering food and drink, gift books, health and personal development, lifestyle, sport and leisure, puzzles, road atlases, and the arts. Books are published in hardcover, paperback, ebook (ePub3/PDF) and audiobook (MP3) formats and sold direct via octopusbooks.co.uk and through third-party retailers globally.

Product overview

Octopus Publishing Group Ltd. is a non-fiction publishing house operating as part of the Hachette UK group. The company publishes under multiple imprints including Hamlyn, Mitchell Beazley, Cassell, Conran, Philip's, Gaia Books, Godsfield Press, Summersdale, Aster, Brazen, Ilex, Monoray, Pyramid, Short Books, and Radar. The portfolio spans food & drink, lifestyle, health & personal development, the arts, puzzles & quizzes, gift books, road atlases & maps, and general non-fiction. Publications are distributed across multiple formats including print (paperback, hardcover), digital (ebook in ePub3, PDF), and audio (MP3). The company is committed to accessibility, offering content through the RNIB Bookshare platform for readers with print disabilities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Aster: Imprint publishing various non-fiction titles.
• Brazen
• Cassell
• Conran
• Gaia Books
• Godsfield Press
• Hamlyn
• Ilex
• Mitchell Beazley
• Monoray
• Philip's
• Pyramid
• Radar
• Short Books
• Summersdale

Products and services

• The Great Tree Story Natural history book by Levison Wood about trees, published across ebook, paperback, hardcover, and audiobook formats for general readers.
• Oasis The Masterplan Photography book by Kevin Cummins featuring unseen Oasis band photographs from 1993-1994, for music and photography enthusiasts.
• Outdoor Light-Painting Photography Photography instructional book by Eric Paré and Kim Henry on outdoor light-painting techniques, available in paperback and ebook.
• The Art of Street Photography Street photography book by Joshua K Jackson and Sean Tucker presenting an artistic approach to the genre, in hardcover and ebook.
• Picturing Prince Photography book by Steve Parke featuring exclusive unseen photographs of Prince from Paisley Park, in hardcover and ebook.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Accessible Books ConsortiumcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Hachette signed the Charter for Accessible Publishing in 2019, promoting the production of eBooks and digital publications in accessible formats for people with disabilities.
• RNIB (Royal National Institute of Blind People)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHachette is in partnership with RNIB to make all books available via their Bookshare platform, an online library of digital books for people with qualifying print disabilities.
• British Dyslexia AssociationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJessica Kingsley Publishers, part of Hachette UK, released guidelines for producing dyslexia-friendly texts and workplaces in consultation with the BDA in 2020.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Hodder & Stoughton: Another Hachette UK division publishing fiction and non-fiction imprints including Hodder, Headline, Coronet, and John Murray Press. Direct comparable on multi-imprint non-fiction trade structure within the same parent group.
• Bloomsbury Publishing: UK-listed independent publisher known for Harry Potter plus strong non-fiction (Bloomsbury Sport, Bloomsbury Sigma, Absolute Press). Closely comparable on multi-genre non-fiction and lifestyle/academic trade publishing.
• Pan Macmillan: UK trade publisher with imprints such as Pan, Picador, Macmillan, and Sidgwick & Jackson covering fiction, non-fiction, and illustrated books. Highly comparable in scale, structure, and genre breadth to Octopus Publishing Group.
• DK (Dorling Kindersley): Penguin Random House illustrated reference imprint specializing in illustrated non-fiction, atlases, and how-to books. Direct overlap with Octopus imprints like Philip's (atlases), Hamlyn, Mitchell Beazley, and Ilex on illustrated reference.
• Quarto Group: UK/US illustrated book publisher focused on non-fiction across cookery, craft, design, wellness, and children's. Highly comparable to Octopus's illustrated reference and lifestyle segments (Mitchell Beazley, Ilex, Conran, Hamlyn).
• Simon & Schuster UK: UK arm of Simon & Schuster publishing fiction and non-fiction across multiple imprints. Comparable to Octopus as a major UK trade publisher competing for the same retail shelf space and author deals.
• HarperCollins UK: A leading UK trade publisher with imprints spanning HarperFiction, HarperNonFiction, William Collins, Avon, and Fourth Estate. Operates the same multi-imprint, multi-genre non-fiction/fiction trade model as Octopus and is a primary competitor on UK bestseller lists.
• Orion Publishing Group: A fellow Hachette UK division covering fiction (Orion, Gollancz, Weidenfeld) and non-fiction (Orion Spring, Orion Fiction). Comparable as a sibling UK trade publisher with shared distribution infrastructure and overlap in non-fiction and gift titles.
• Penguin Random House UK: The UK arm of the world's largest trade book publisher, publishing across fiction and non-fiction imprints (Penguin, DK, Transworld, Vintage). Directly comparable to Octopus as a UK-based, multi-imprint trade publisher with global distribution.

Emerging players

• Frances Lincoln: Illustrated non-fiction publisher (now part of Quarto) focused on gardening, art, food, and lifestyle titles. Highly comparable niche overlap with Octopus imprints such as Conran, Gaia, and Mitchell Beazley on illustrated lifestyle.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/octopus_books
• Facebookfacebook.com/octopus.publishing
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/octopus-publishing-group

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Subsidiaries15 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A2 records

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Octopus Publishing Group Ltd.