What Crown House Publishing does

Crown House Publishing Limited is a privately held, independent book publisher registered in England and Wales (company number 3580059), founded in 1998 and headquartered in Crown Buildings, Bancyfelin, Carmarthen, UK. The company operates with 11–50 employees and trades under the Crown House Publishing and Independent Thinking Press imprints, alongside the trading names Anglo American Books and Crown House Books. Its catalogue spans educational publishing (teacher development, student resources, school leadership, special educational needs, textbooks), therapy (counselling, hypnotherapy, neuro-linguistic programming), business and leadership, personal development, health and well-being, and parenting/children titles. Signature outputs include the registered trademark franchise 'Botheredness®' by author Hywel Roberts, alongside books by Debra Kidd, Ian Gilbert, Phil Beadle, and Rachel Jones.

The company's commercial infrastructure centres on a direct-to-consumer e-commerce storefront built on nopCommerce, supported by a customer loyalty rewards programme (1 point per £10 spent, redeemable at £1 per point), free UK standard shipping, and 30-day payment terms for institutional buyers such as schools and Local Education Authorities (LEAs). Revenue is generated primarily through one-time sales of physical books (£7.99–£25.00 typical unit pricing, VAT-exempt), with secondary streams from e-books distributed via Amazon, audiobooks via Audible UK, and curated discounted bundles such as the Hywel Roberts Bundle. Customer segments span educators and students (primary), educational institutions ordering on account, business professionals, therapy/wellness practitioners, and parents/caregivers (secondary), with a horizontal segmentation approach.

The business model is best characterised as a catalogue-driven niche publisher monetising through high-volume long-tail DTC e-commerce complemented by periodic bulk institutional orders, with bundled author collections used selectively to lift average order value. No external funding, parent company, or M&A activity is disclosed; the firm is bootstrapped and operated as a standalone private limited company. Technology stack is intentionally light: nopCommerce storefront, Stripe and PayPal payments, Google Analytics, Facebook Marketing pixel, and standard WordPress-class web hosting, with no disclosed AI/ML components or proprietary model.

Name

Crown House Publishing

Legal name

Crown House Publishing Limited

Website

https://crownhouse.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Crown House Publishing Limited is a privately held UK independent book publisher (founded 1998, Carmarthen, Wales) producing teacher resources, therapy, business, and personal development titles under the Crown House and Independent Thinking Press imprints, distributed via its nopCommerce storefront, Amazon, and Audible.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Educational 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 industry

Business, Personal Finance & Careers Trade Publishing (MPAJAAAK)

Keywords

• Educational book publishing
• Independent publisher
• Teaching resources
• Therapy and NLP books
• Audiobooks and e-books

Headquarters

HQ city

Carmarthen

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Book Sales: One-time purchase of physical books, e-books, and audiobooks. Books are VAT-exempt in UK; other products (CDs, DVDs, cards) carry standard VAT.
2. Digital Products: E-books and audiobooks available through their own platform and third-party partners (Amazon, Audible).
3. Bundle Deals: Curated multi-book bundles offered at discounted prices compared to individual purchases.
4. Institutional Sales: Sales to educational establishments (schools, LEAs) on account terms with 30-day payment. These orders include a formal purchase order process.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Crown House Publishing is an award-winning independent publisher of physical books, e-books, and audiobooks focused on education, therapy, business, personal development, and parenting. It sells directly through its e-commerce site and via third-party retailers, publishing under its own imprint and the Independent Thinking Press imprint.

Product overview

Crown House Publishing is an award-winning independent publisher specializing in educational resources, therapy books, business publications, and personal development materials. The company operates primarily as a book publisher and retailer, offering physical books, eBooks, and audiobooks through its e-commerce platform powered by nopCommerce. Their product portfolio includes: Education Books (teacher resources, leadership, SEN, textbooks); Therapy Books (counselling, hypnotherapy, NLP); Business Books; Personal Development; Health and Well-being; Parenting and Children resources; and Audiobooks. The company also publishes under the Independent Thinking Press imprint and offers curated book bundles and themed series. Products are distributed directly through their website and via partners including Audible for audiobooks and Amazon for eBooks.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Independent Thinking Press: An imprint of Crown House Publishing specializing in educational titles and professional development resources.

Products and services

• Education Books Comprehensive range of educational publications including books for teachers, student resources, character education, school leadership, special educational needs, and textbooks.
• Health and Well-being Books Publications focusing on health, well-being, and personal wellness topics.
• Business Books Business publications covering leadership, consultancy, and training and development topics.
• Parenting and Children Books Resources for parents and children's literature covering child development and parenting strategies.
• Personal Development Books Self-help and personal development publications for individual growth and improvement.
• Therapy Books Professional therapy resources covering counselling, psychotherapy, hypnosis, hypnotherapy, and neuro-linguistic programming.
• Audiobooks Audio versions of Crown House publications available for digital download.
• Crown House Bundles Curated bundles combining multiple related titles at discounted prices, such as the Hywel Roberts Bundle containing Botheredness and Oops! titles.
• Crown House Series Themed book series including Feel Brave, Best of the Best, Independent Thinking On..., Making Every Lesson Count, Opening Doors, Osiris Educational Outstanding Teaching Series, Pedagogy for a Changing World, Phil Beadle's How To Teach Series, Art of Being Brilliant Series, Osiris Educational Series, and Philosophy Foundation Series.
• Independent Thinking Press Titles Publications from the Independent Thinking Press imprint, a sub-brand of Crown House Publishing.
• Bothered About Maths A practical guide to building positive classroom culture in maths teaching, helping teachers become confident ambassadors for their students. Co-authored by Ed Southall and Hywel Roberts.
• Oops! Helping Children Learn Accidentally Book about engaging learners in great learning through accidental learning techniques, exploring the importance of relationships and how teachers can get the best from students. Authored by Hywel Roberts.
• Botheredness Explores stories, stance and pedagogy. A book about authentic care and positioning that gets children and young people on board with learning. Authored by Hywel Roberts.
• Uncharted Territories: Adventures in Learning A book of prompts, provocations and possibilities designed to nourish creativity and generate ideas for engaging teachers and pupils. Co-authored by Hywel Roberts and Debra Kidd.
• Don't Change the Light Bulbs Compendium of expertise from UK's most switched-on educators providing tips and hints on how to be the best teacher. Curated by Rachel Jones with contributions from over 71 educators.
• Covering the Curriculum with Stories Six cross-curricular play-based projects that teach literacy and thinking skills through dramatic play for children aged 3-7. Co-authored by Paul Ginnis and Sharon Ginnis.
• There is Another Way: The Second Big Book of Independent Thinking Anthology of inspirational ideas from Independent Thinking contributors intended to inspire educators. Edited by Ian Gilbert.
• A Curriculum of Hope: As Rich in Humanity as in Knowledge Explores how good curriculum design can empower schools to build bridges between pupils' learning and the world around them. Authored by Debra Kidd.
• The Teacher's Toolkit Resource for raising classroom achievement with strategies and tools for teachers.
• The Working Class: Poverty, Education and Alternative Voices Book addressing issues of poverty, education and alternative voices. Edited by Ian Gilbert as a collaborative effort.
• Hywel Roberts Bundle Special bundle containing both Botheredness and Oops! books by Hywel Roberts at a discounted price of £25.00 (regular price £37.98). UK-only offer.

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration6 records

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• StripecoreTechnology or IntegrationPayment processing provider for secure credit card transactions on the e-commerce platform. Handles payment processing including Visa, Mastercard, Amex transactions.
• PayPalcoreTechnology or IntegrationPayment processing partner enabling PayPal checkout option for customers.
• AmazonminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorThird-party retailer for distribution of e-book versions of Crown House Publishing titles.
• Audible (Amazon subsidiary)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAudiobook distribution partner for Audible UK platform.
• Facebook MarketingminorGTM or Marketing PartnerFacebook tracking and marketing integration for advertising and audience targeting purposes.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Routledge (Taylor & Francis): Leading academic and educational publisher with strong teacher training and pedagogy lists. Comparable in publishing education and professional development titles, but with vastly greater scale, international reach, and digital platform integration.
• Hodder Education (Hachette): UK division of Hachette focused on educational textbooks and teacher resources. Directly overlaps Crown House's teacher and school leadership audience but operates at significantly greater scale with broader curriculum coverage.
• SAGE Publications: Major independent academic and educational publisher. Comparable in targeting educators, researchers, and professional development, but with a much larger catalog, broader international footprint, and deeper institutional penetration than Crown House.
• Oxford University Press: One of the largest educational publishers globally with extensive teacher resource and professional development offerings. Comparable in target audience (educators, school leaders) but operates at a fundamentally different scale with much deeper institutional relationships.
• Scholastic: Major global children's book publisher and education resource provider. Comparable in publishing educational titles and serving schools, though focused primarily on younger readers and literacy programs.

Direct peers

• Bloomsbury Publishing: UK-based independent trade and educational publisher with a strong academic and professional development list. Comparable in being a UK independent publisher serving education and professional markets, though significantly larger in scale and catalog breadth.
• John Catt Educational: UK independent publisher specializing in education, teacher resources, and school leadership titles. Highly comparable in scale and niche focus, with similar positioning around independent editorial voice and educator audience.
• Hawthorn Press: Small UK independent publisher focused on education, creativity, and personal development. Closely comparable in niche positioning, scale (small independent), and target audiences (educators, parents, creative professionals).
• Crown House Publishing competitors - Optimus Education: UK-based provider of education resources, training, and publications for schools. Comparable in targeting school leaders and educators with professional development content, with overlap on institutional sales motion.

Regional players

• Worth Press / Pavilion Books: UK independent trade publisher with health, well-being, and personal development titles. Comparable in covering therapy, well-being, and self-help categories that overlap Crown House's non-education lists.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/113988946755
• Xx.com/crownhousepub
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/crown-house-publishing

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Crown House Publishing