Hachette Children's Group

What Hachette Children's Group does

Hachette Children's Group is the children's book publishing division of Hachette UK Limited, which is wholly owned by Lagardère SA. The group is not a standalone legal entity — its data controller is Hodder & Stoughton Limited — but operates as a portfolio of imprints: Orchard Books (series fiction including Rainbow Magic and Beast Quest), Tempest (YA and crossover), Starboard, Blyton Books (Enid Blyton heritage titles), Wren & Rook, Laurence King (illustrated and creative books), Welbeck Children's Books (acquired November 2022 from Welbeck Publishing Group), and Franklin Watts and Wayland (educational non-fiction). It also runs the Hachette Schools outreach programme and the Reading Champion reading-confidence series.

The group sells across physical book formats (paperbacks typically £9.99–£14.99; special-edition hardcovers with foiled covers and exclusive mini-comics at premium price points), digital formats (ePub3 for all new eBook editions, PDF), and MP3 audio (over 9,000 titles). Distribution runs through Amazon, Waterstones, Foyles, Blackwell's, Bookshop.org, Hive, and independent retailers, plus digital storefronts (Apple Books, Google Play, Kobo, Kindle) and Hachette UK's own distribution service. International rights are licensed into 15+ territories via regional rights directors covering translation, audio, film/TV, and large-print rights.

Revenue is generated via one-time purchases of physical and digital books and via rights/licensing royalties; end customers are parents, educators and schools, retailers, and (indirectly) children and young adults aged roughly 3–18. The portfolio includes the Heartstopper graphic novel series by Alice Oseman (over 10 million copies sold worldwide, Netflix TV adaptation, upcoming film), alongside other named author brands such as Cressida Cowell, Francesca Simon (Horrid Henry), Rachel Bright, Cornelia Funke, and Onjali Q. Raúf. The group is headquartered at Carmelite House, London, with Dublin and Berlin offices acting as EU economic operators, and is signatory to the Accessible Publishing Charter (2019) with an active RNIB Bookshare partnership for print-disabled readers.

Name

Hachette Children's Group

Legal name

Hodder & Stoughton Limited

Website

https://hachettechildrens.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Hachette Children's Group is a children's book publishing division of Hachette UK (owned by Lagardère SA), operating imprints such as Orchard Books, Tempest, Laurence King, and Welbeck Children's Books to publish fiction, non-fiction, graphic novels, and educational titles for parents, educators, retailers, and young readers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Children's Book Publishing

NAICS

Book Publishers (513130)

SIC

Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731)

akta.pro primary industry

Early Readers & Chapter Books Publishing (MPAJAFAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Children’s Activity & Workbook Publishing (MPAJAFAG), Children’s Nonfiction Publishing (MPAJAFAE), Children’s Comics, Graphic Novels & Manga Publishing (MPAJAFAH)

Keywords

• Children's book publishing
• Picture book publishing
• Young adult fiction
• Educational publishing
• Graphic novel publishing

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Physical Book Sales: Sale of physical books including paperbacks and hardcovers through retail channels including Amazon, Waterstones, Foyles, Blackwell's, and independent booksellers. Pricing varies by format with paperbacks typically £9.99-£14.99 and special editions at higher price points.
2. Digital Book Sales (eBooks): Digital book sales in ePub and PDF formats available through major platforms including Amazon Kindle, Apple Books, Google Play, and Kobo. Hachette UK uses DRM on eBooks for sale through third-party vendors.
3. Audio Book Sales: Sale of MP3 audio editions with over 9,000 titles available in audio format.
4. Rights and Licensing: International rights licensing through regional rights directors covering territories including France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Brazil, China, Japan, Korea, Netherlands, Nordics, Eastern Europe, and more. Includes translation rights, audio rights, film/TV rights, and large print rights.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Hachette Children's Group is a UK-based children's book publisher and a division of Hachette UK, publishing books for children and young people aged 0–18. The company operates multiple imprints (Orchard Books, Starboard, Tempest, Blyton Books, Wren & Rook, Laurence King, Welbeck Children's Books, Franklin Watts and Wayland) that span picture books, fiction, non-fiction, educational titles, and graphic novels. Its portfolio includes globally successful IPs such as Alice Oseman's Heartstopper, the Rainbow Magic and Beast Quest series, the Reading Champion school reading programme, and the Enid Blyton collection.

Product overview

Hachette Children's Group is a children's book publishing division within Hachette UK, operating as a multi-imprint portfolio publisher. The group encompasses multiple imprints (Orchard Books, Starboard, Tempest, Blyton Books, Wren & Rook, Laurence King, Welbeck Children's Books, Franklin Watts and Wayland) that publish across children's fiction, non-fiction, activity books, graphic novels, and educational titles. The portfolio includes notable properties such as the Heartstopper graphic novel series, Rainbow Magic, Beast Quest, and various colouring and activity books.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Orchard Books: Series fiction imprint publishing Rainbow Magic, Beast Quest books and more
• Tempest
• Starboard
• Blyton Books
• Wren & Rook
• Welbeck Children's Books
• Franklin Watts and Wayland
• Laurence King
• Hachette Schools
• Reading Champion
• Enid Blyton

Quantifiable outcome

• Heartstopper series sold over 10 million copies worldwide and spawned Netflix TV series and upcoming film

Named customers6 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Jessica Kingsley Publishers / British Dyslexia AssociationminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Jessica Kingsley Publishers released the first guidelines for producing dyslexia-friendly texts and workplaces in the industry, written in association with Hachette UK's Accessibility Network and in consultation with the British Dyslexia Association (BDA).
• RNIB BooksharecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Hachette UK partnership with Royal National Institute for Blind People (RNIB) to make all books available via the Bookshare platform for people with qualifying print disabilities. Bookshare is an online library of digital books for people with visual impairments and print disabilities.
• Accessible Books Consortium (ABC Charter)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Hachette signed the Accessible Publishing Charter in 2019, which promotes the production of eBooks and other digital publications in accessible formats. The ABC Charter is a global initiative to ensure accessibility standards are met in digital publishing.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Candlewick Press: Candlewick Press is an independent US-based children's publisher of picture books, middle grade, and YA titles with strong illustrated and novelty offerings. It competes with HCG for retail placement, school and library adoption, and author signing in English-language markets.
• Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing: Simon & Schuster Children's publishes picture books, middle grade, and YA titles (The Hunger Games, Captain Underpants) under imprints like Atheneum and Aladdin, competing for the same shelf space, school adoption, and YA franchise opportunities as HCG.
• Scholastic: Scholastic is the largest US-based children's book publisher (Clifford, Harry Potter US, Hunger Games, Goosebumps), directly comparable to HCG in publishing children's fiction, non-fiction, series, and educational titles for the same age ranges and customer base.
• Usborne Publishing: Usborne is a leading independent UK children's publisher specializing in illustrated, activity, and educational titles for early years through young teens. It directly mirrors HCG's Hachette Schools and Franklin Watts and Wayland imprints in curriculum-aligned content and gifting/picture book range.
• HarperCollins Children's Books: HarperCollins Children's Books publishes picture books, middle grade, and YA titles globally (including the Chronicles of Narnia, Warriors series), competing head-to-head with HCG in the same retail channels, schools market, and rights licensing across English-language territories.
• Walker Books: Walker Books is a UK independent children's publisher (Maisy, Guess How Much I Love You, Walker Studio) with comparable picture book, novelty, and illustrated non-fiction offerings to HCG's Orchard Books and Laurence King imprints in the same retail channels.
• Bloomsbury Children's Books: Bloomsbury Children's Books publishes the Harry Potter series internationally and a wide range of picture books through YA, with a comparable UK-based publishing model, retail footprint, and educational outreach programme that directly overlaps with HCG's offering.
• Penguin Random House Children's UK: Penguin Random House Children's publishes leading UK children's and YA imprints (Puffin, Razorbill) across picture books, middle grade, YA, and graphic novels, directly competing with HCG for authors, retailers, and school library procurement in the same UK market.

Broad incumbents

• Disney Publishing Worldwide: Disney Publishing Worldwide is a broad incumbent in children's publishing, leveraging Disney, Marvel, Pixar, and Star Wars IP across picture books, graphic novels, and YA. It overlaps with HCG in graphic novels, middle grade, and franchise-driven publishing but operates at much greater scale via owned IP.

Others

• Scholastic Book Clubs / Fairs: Scholastic Book Clubs and Book Fairs represent a school-distribution channel adjacent to HCG's Hachette Schools outreach, and they distribute many HCG titles (including through UK partnerships) — a comparable children-focused subscription and bulk distribution mechanism targeting parents and educators.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/hachettekids
• Instagraminstagram.com/hachetteuk
• Facebookfacebook.com/hachettekids

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A1 record

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Hachette Children's Group