Museums & Galleries

What Museums & Galleries does

Museums & Galleries Limited (MGL) is a privately held UK limited company headquartered in Corby, Northamptonshire, that operates as a specialist B2B publisher of licensed art and design-led greetings cards and gift stationery. The company sources imagery under exclusive licensing agreements with major UK cultural institutions — V&A, Tate, British Museum, Natural History Museum, British Library and Wildlife Photographer of the Year — alongside fashion designers (Matthew Williamson, Mary Katrantzou), children's book IP (Beatrix Potter's Peter Rabbit, Peggy Fortnum's Paddington Bear, Tiger Who Came to Tea, Percy The Park Keeper, Guess How Much I Love You, Brambly Hedge), and a roster of independent British artists and illustrators. It also operates The Fold as a sub-brand targeting contemporary and emerging UK designers.

The product portfolio spans greeting cards (Everyday and Christmas), notecards and wallets, gift packaging (wrap, tissue, gift bags), gift stationery (writing sets, journals, notebooks), home & giftware (mugs, tea towels, placemats, aprons, umbrellas), and calendars and diaries. Revenue is generated exclusively through wholesale B2B trade accounts: pricing is not publicly disclosed, accounts are trade-only with pro-forma or 30-day credit terms, and UK mainland orders above £200 invoice value (ex-VAT) qualify for carriage-paid delivery. International orders are handled ex-works from Corby.

Distribution runs through a national force of professional field sales agents, a dedicated head-office sales team, and an 'anytime' online ordering website (built on the ECOMSILVER platform) for registered trade accounts, supplemented by presence at five major UK trade shows (Spring Fair at NEC Birmingham, PG LIVE London, Exclusively London, Harrogate Home & Gift, and Top Drawer AW at Olympia London). The company does not sell direct to consumers despite its e-commerce front end, and offers bespoke product range development as an additional service to businesses seeking custom licensed merchandise.

Name

Museums & Galleries

Legal name

Museums & Galleries Limited

Website

https://museumsgalleries.co.uk

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Museums & Galleries Limited publishes licensed art and design-led greetings cards and gift stationery for retail trade customers in the UK. Its exclusive licensing agreements with the V&A, Tate, British Museum, Natural History Museum, and British Library underpin its portfolio of branded product ranges.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Licensed Greeting Cards and Gift Stationery

NAICS

Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Retailers (459420), Office Supplies and Stationery Retailers (45941)

SIC

Greeting Cards (2771), Wholesale-Paper & Paper Products (5110)

akta.pro primary industry

Greeting Cards, Wrap & Party Supplies Retail (CRALAJAE)

akta.pro secondary industry

Greeting Cards, Gift Wrap & Party Paper Goods Distribution (CRAOALAJ)

Keywords

• Licensed greetings cards
• Art publishing
• Gift stationery
• Trade wholesale supplies
• Licensed giftware

Headquarters

HQ city

Northampton

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Greetings Cards and Notecards: Museums & Galleries produces a wide range of quality licensed Everyday and Christmas Greetings Cards and Notecards sold to retail trade customers through their wholesale ordering system.
2. Gift Stationery: Comprehensive collection of licensed Gift stationery including Gift Wrap, Tissue Paper, Gift Bags, Writing Sets, Journals, Notebooks and more sold through trade accounts.
3. Home & Giftware: Home and giftware products including umbrellas, placemats, coasters, aprons, tea towels, oven gloves, paper napkin sets, cloth napkin sets, china mugs, and glasses cases.
4. Licensing Royalties: The company operates under exclusive licensing agreements with major heritage and arts brands including V&A, Tate, British Museum, Natural History Museum, British Library, and various independent artists and illustrators.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Museums & Galleries publishes and supplies a wide range of licensed art and design-led greetings cards, notecards, gift packaging (gift wrap, tissue paper, gift bags), gift stationery (writing sets, journals, notebooks), home and giftware (umbrellas, placemats, coasters, aprons, tea towels, mugs, glasses cases), and calendars/diaries. Products are produced under exclusive licensing agreements with major UK cultural institutions and independent artists and are sold wholesale to retail businesses through a trade-only ordering system.

Product overview

Museums & Galleries is the UK's leading publisher of licensed art and design-led greetings cards and gift stationery. The company operates a portfolio-based product model consisting of multiple licensed brands and product categories. Licensed brands include heritage institutions (V&A, Tate, Natural History Museum, British Museum, British Library), fashion designers (Mary Katrantzou, Matthew Williamson), children's publishers (Peter Rabbit, Paddington Bear, Brambly Hedge, Guess How Much I Love You, The Tiger Who Came to Tea, Percy The Park Keeper), and independent artists (Faye Bridgwater, Josie Shenoy, Angela Harding, Emily Burningham, Chris Dunn, Catherine Rowe, Emma Frances Grant). The core product categories span Greeting Cards, Notecards & Wallets, Gift Packaging, Gift Stationery, Home & Giftware, Christmas products, and Calendars & Diaries. The company also operates The Fold as a sub-brand featuring contemporary greeting cards from emerging UK designers. All products showcase licensed artwork, design-led imagery, and artistic quality through an exclusive, unique product collection.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• The Fold: A sub-brand bringing joy, colour and a carnival of contemporary artists and illustrators to the world of Greetings Cards. Features vibrant and diverse collection of on-trend artwork, quirky humour and bold typographic designs. Champions talented contemporary creatives and emerging designers in the UK and beyond.

Products and services

• Greeting Cards Everyday and Christmas greetings cards featuring licensed art and design imagery from museums, galleries, and artists. Sold to retail trade customers as a wholesale product line.
• Notecards & Wallets Notecards and wallets featuring licensed artwork and design-led imagery, sold wholesale to retail customers.
• Gift Packaging Gift packaging products including gift wrap, tissue paper, and gift bags featuring licensed art imagery, sold wholesale to retail customers.
• Gift Stationery Gift stationery including writing sets, journals, notebooks, and other design-led paper products, sold wholesale to retail customers.
• Home & Giftware Home and giftware products including umbrellas, placemats, coasters, aprons, tea towels, oven gloves, napkin sets, china mugs, glasses cases, and more, sold wholesale to retail customers.
• Christmas Christmas-themed greetings cards and gift products for the holiday season, sold wholesale to retail customers.
• Calendars & Diaries Calendars and diaries featuring licensed museum, gallery, and artist imagery, sold wholesale to retail customers.
• The Fold A sub-brand of greeting cards bringing joy, colour, and a carnival of contemporary artists and illustrators to the world of greetings cards, featuring vibrant on-trend artwork, quirky humour, and bold typographic designs from UK creatives and emerging designers.
• Bespoke Product Development Custom product range development and bespoke product ranges for businesses looking to create unique branded merchandise, leveraging Museums & Galleries' licensed brand portfolio and product development capabilities.
• Trade Ordering Platform An 'anytime' online ordering website for registered trade customers supporting 30-day credit accounts and pro-forma accounts, with export prices offered ex-works Corby for international orders; built and maintained by ECOMSILVER.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

19 partnerships are on record, tiered core, secondary and minor.

• V&A (Victoria and Albert Museum)coreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerMuseums & Galleries holds an exclusive license to produce greetings cards and gift stationery featuring imagery from the V&A's diverse and expanding archives. The range showcases the museum's collections spanning over 5,000 years of human creativity.
• TatecoreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerMuseums & Galleries produces a greetings card and gift stationery range for Tate featuring a mix of classic British fine art and contemporary art, including unique commissioned imagery from Tate's publishing program.
• Natural History MuseumcoreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerMuseums & Galleries holds an exclusive license to produce greetings cards and gift stationery featuring imagery from the Natural History Museum's collections, encompassing images and objects from anatomy to zoology.
• British MuseumcoreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerMuseums & Galleries produces an exclusive British Museum gift stationery range showcasing a curated mix of well-known treasures and hidden gems from the museum's collection.
• British LibrarycoreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerMuseums & Galleries holds an exclusive license to produce greetings cards and gift stationery featuring imagery from the British Library's vast archives, including literary classics, Victorian posters and ephemera, natural history and botanical illustration.
• Wildlife Photographer of the YearcoreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerOwned by the Natural History Museum, Wildlife Photographer of the Year is the most prestigious wildlife photography contest in the world. Museums & Galleries produces gift stationery featuring award-winning wildlife photography.
• Paddington Bear (Peggy Fortnum Original Artwork)coreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerMuseums & Galleries is the exclusive publisher of greetings cards and gift stationery featuring the artwork of original illustrator Peggy Fortnum for Paddington Bear.
• Beatrix Potter (Peter Rabbit)coreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerMuseums & Galleries produces The World of Peter Rabbit greetings cards and gift stationery featuring Beatrix Potter's beloved characters inspired by her love of the natural world.
• Guess How Much I Love YousecondaryOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerBased on Sam McBratney's timeless story illustrated by Anita Jeram, Museums & Galleries produces greetings cards featuring the beloved 'I love you right up to the moon - AND BACK' story.
• The Tiger Who Came to Tea (Judith Kerr)secondaryOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerFirst published in 1968, The Tiger Who Came to Tea is Britain's best-loved picture book. Museums & Galleries produces notecards, gift packaging and gift stationery featuring Judith Kerr's artwork.
• Matthew WilliamsonsecondaryOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerWorld-renowned fashion designer known for his signature aesthetic, print, embellishment and kaleidoscopic colour. Museums & Galleries produces greetings cards and gift stationery featuring classic archive prints alongside latest brand patterns.
• Mary KatrantzousecondaryOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerGreek fashion designer dubbed 'The Queen of Print' by press, Mary Katrantzou's work has changed the face of 21st Century fashion. Museums & Galleries produces designs featuring her iconic print aesthetic.
• Percy The Park Keeper (Nick Butterworth)secondaryOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerCreated by best-selling author and illustrator Nick Butterworth, Percy The Park Keeper books have sold 10 million copies in more than thirty-five languages. Museums & Galleries produces licensed products.
• Brambly Hedge (Jill Barklem)secondaryOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerBrambly Hedge book series filled with beautifully detailed illustrations have enthralled readers across the globe with over 7 million copies sold worldwide. Museums & Galleries produces licensed products.
• Dee HardwickesecondaryOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerArtist and designer inspired by the British landscape and Arts & Crafts movement. Museums & Galleries launched an exclusive collection of Dee Hardwicke gift stationery in 2018, including gift wrap, notecards and notebooks.
• Henry FrasersecondaryOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerMouth artist, author and speaker who paints using only his mouth after being paralysed from the shoulders down. Museums & Galleries produces greetings cards and gift stationery featuring his artwork.
• Angela HardingsecondaryOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerPrintmaker working from her rural studio in Rutland, inspired by birds, animals and the beauty of the British Countryside. Museums & Galleries produces her designs on greetings cards and gift stationery.
• Faye BridgwaterminorOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerAward-winning British artist renowned for bold, contemporary paintings celebrating the beauty of nature through dynamic, expressive compositions featuring movement, light, and colour.
• Josie ShenoyminorOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerIllustrator inspired by architecture and the natural world, with influences from her British-Indian heritage. Her work features intricate pattern and detail on Museums & Galleries products.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Market position

Competitive moat2 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/mgml_uk
• Facebookfacebook.com/MuseumsGalleries
• Instagraminstagram.com/mgml_uk
• Pinterestpinterest.co.uk/museumgalleries

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 Museums & Galleries