Carlton Books

What Carlton Books does

Carlton Books is a London-based, private for-profit book publisher that produces illustrated titles for both adult and children audiences. With a workforce of 51-100 employees, the company operates in the UK consumer publishing segment, focused on visually driven titles such as picture books, gift books, art/coffee-table editions, and similar illustrated formats.

The company's core activity is the editorial, design, and production of illustrated books, working with authors, illustrators, and licensors to bring titles to market. Revenue mechanics in this segment typically combine direct-to-retail wholesale (high-street chains, supermarkets, specialist book retailers), online marketplace distribution (Amazon and equivalents), and selective co-edition or rights licensing deals internationally. No pricing models, distribution partners, or specific title-level economics were disclosed in the source material.

A critical caveat for any downstream analysis: the source material provided consists almost entirely of placeholder web infrastructure data (Apache HTTP server test pages and an InterWorx-CP hosting control panel for carltonbooks.co.uk) and empty structured data fields. There is no substantive corporate information such as financials, leadership, product catalog, partnerships, or strategic announcements available. This materially limits the depth of any investment-grade assessment and means the description above is reconstructed from firmographic anchors only.

Name

Carlton Books

Website

https://carltonbooks.co.uk

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Carlton Books is a London-based private publisher producing illustrated books for adult and children audiences. Operating with 51-100 employees, the company serves consumer readers through retail and online book channels in the UK and selectively internationally via rights deals.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Book Publishing

NAICS

Book Publishers (51313)

SIC

Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731)

akta.pro primary industry

Art, Photography & Illustrated Books Publishing (MPAJAAAF)

akta.pro secondary industry

Picture Book Publishing (MPAJAFAA)

Keywords

• Illustrated book publishing
• Children's books
• Adult illustrated books
• Book design
• Book production

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Core offering

Carlton Books publishes beautifully illustrated books for both adults and children, producing visual content and design-focused titles as an independent publisher based in London, United Kingdom.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Direct peers

• Usborne Publishing: Usborne is a UK-based independent publisher specializing in children's illustrated books, including picture books, activity books, and novelty formats. It competes directly with Carlton's children's illustrated list and shares a similar London-adjacent operational footprint.
• Quarto Group: Quarto Group is a London-listed illustrated book publisher operating across illustrated non-fiction, children's books, and gift formats. It is the most direct strategic comparable to Carlton Books given the overlap in illustrated trade publishing and London headquarters.
• Abrams Books: Abrams is a US publisher specializing in illustrated books across art, photography, cooking, and children's titles. It is comparable to Carlton as a mid-sized illustrator-driven publisher with a similar product mix of adult art and children's picture books.
• Walker Books: Walker Books is a UK independent publisher known for high-quality illustrated children's picture books. Direct competitor in the children's illustrated segment with comparable trade positioning and author/illustrator relationships.
• Egmont Publishing: Egmont is a UK-based children's book publisher with a strong illustrated fiction and non-fiction list. Direct competitor in UK children's illustrated trade publishing and a comparable operational scale.
• Phaidon Press: Phaidon publishes visually driven art, design, and illustrated books for adult audiences. Comparable to Carlton on the adult illustrated side, with similar positioning at the premium end of the illustrated trade market.
• DK (Dorling Kindersley): DK is a leading illustrated reference and children's non-fiction publisher. Its visual, image-led publishing model closely matches Carlton's illustrated approach, particularly in adult illustrated non-fiction and children's educational titles.
• Taschen: Taschen is a global illustrated book publisher specializing in art, photography, and gift-format books. Comparable to Carlton's adult illustrated list, with similar emphasis on high-production-value visual content.

Broad incumbents

• HarperCollins: Major global trade publisher with extensive illustrated and children's lists. Comparable only as a broad incumbent whose catalog overlap with Carlton shapes the competitive landscape and retailer relationships.
• Penguin Random House: The world's largest trade publisher, with significant illustrated and children's imprints (e.g., Penguin UK, Random House Children's). Not a direct competitor at the niche level but sets the pricing, distribution, and retail shelf dynamics that Carlton must operate within.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat2 records

Key risks4 records

Key highlights4 records

Customer concentration

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 Carlton Books