story house egmont uk

What story house egmont uk does

Story House Egmont UK is the London-headquartered children's magazine publishing subsidiary of the Danish Egmont Group (a commercial foundation founded in 1920). The company produces a portfolio of more than 20 titles spanning licensed entertainment brands — including Disney Princess, Disney Frozen, PAW Patrol, Thomas & Friends, Peppa Pig, My Little Pony, LEGO Explorer, L.O.L Surprise!, Monster High, Sonic the Hedgehog, CoComelon and Squishmallows — alongside own-brand pre-teen titles Toxic and Go Girl and niche titles such as We Love K-Pop. Content is structured around the UK Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum and bundled with physical covermount gifts to extend engagement beyond the printed page.

The business operates a multi-channel distribution model: newsstand and supermarket sales across the UK, direct-to-consumer subscriptions (e.g., 3 issues for £5), and an owned e-commerce shop, with advertising sold through Media Shed across print and digital. Revenue is generated through four primary streams — single-copy retail sales (£3.99–£6.99 per issue), recurring subscriptions, display advertising and sponsored content, and licensing royalties from rights holders. Story House Egmont holds Good Toy Guide accreditation (Summer 2022) and partners with the UK Department for Education's Hungry Little Minds campaign.

In 2023, the Story House Egmont division generated EUR 797m in revenue and EUR 23m in operating profit, with a 76-year Disney publishing partnership and a 27-country Egmont Group footprint providing international licensing leverage. The business is refocusing on magazines after divesting children's book operations to HarperCollins in 2020, and has executed an aggressive cadence of licensed title launches and rights acquisitions through 2024–2025, including regaining Disney/Pixar UK franchise publishing rights and launching Monster High across multiple European markets.

Name

story house egmont uk

Legal name

Story House Egmont Limited

Website

https://storyhouseegmont.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1920

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Story House Egmont UK is a London-based children's magazine publisher, wholly owned by Denmark's Egmont Group, producing licensed (Disney, Mattel, Hasbro, Nickelodeon, LEGO, CoComelon) and own-brand (Toxic, Go Girl) titles for UK and European consumers aged 1–11 via newsstand, subscription, and e-commerce channels.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Children's Magazine Publishing

NAICS

Newspaper, Periodical, Book, and Directory Publishers (5131)

SIC

Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721)

akta.pro primary industry

Children’s & All-Ages Comics Publishing (MPAJAGAI)

Keywords

• Children's magazine publishing
• Licensed character magazines
• Preschool educational content
• Magazine subscriptions retail
• Branded covermount publishing

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Magazine Sales: Single-copy newsstand and retail sales of children's magazines across UK supermarkets and newsagents. Revenue generated through per-issue purchases at retail prices ranging from £3.99 to £6.99 depending on title and format.
2. Subscriptions: Direct-to-consumer subscription services offering discounted access to magazines delivered to subscribers' homes, with launch offers such as 3 issues for £5.
3. Advertising Revenue: Display advertising, advertorials, sponsored content, branded inserts, and funded content across print and digital platforms. Full colour page rates starting at £1,501.
4. Licensing Royalties: Revenue from licensing partnerships with major entertainment companies (Disney, Mattel, Hasbro, Nickelodeon) to publish official magazines for their brands and characters.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Story House Egmont is a specialist children's magazine publisher producing licensed and own-brand magazines for children aged 1-11. Each issue combines original editorial content (stories, puzzles, activities, comics, crafts) with physical covermount gifts, sold through UK retail newsstands, direct subscriptions, and an online shop. The company publishes over 20 titles including Disney Princess, Thomas & Friends, PAW Patrol, Peppa Pig, Toxic, and Go Girl.

Product overview

Story House Egmont is a specialist children's magazine publisher operating as part of the Nordic Egmont Group. The company produces a broad portfolio of children's magazines across multiple categories including Licensed Pre-school titles (PAW Patrol, Thomas & Friends, My Little Pony, Peppa Pig), Licensed Primary titles (Disney Princess, Disney Frozen, Disney Stars, Disney Stitch, L.O.L Surprise!, Monster High, Sonic the Hedgehog), Egmont Brands (Toxic, Go Girl, We Love K-Pop), and specialty titles (Disney Read & Play, Squishmallows). The company also offers a direct-to-consumer shop and holds Good Toy Guide accreditation. Story House Egmont publishes under licensing agreements with major entertainment companies including Disney, Mattel (Thomas & Friends), Hasbro (Peppa Pig), Nickelodeon (PAW Patrol), and others.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• Disney Princess showed year-on-year growth of 27.5% and period-on-period growth of 18.4% (2018 ABC results)
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• The Walt Disney CompanycoreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing Partner · 1 January 2025Story House Egmont publishes Disney magazine titles including Disney Princess, Disney Frozen, Disney Stars, Disney Stitch, Disney Read & Play, and more. The partnership spans 76 years dating back to 1948. From 2025, Story House Egmont regained Disney and Pixar franchise magazine publishing rights in the UK across 27 countries in Europe and selected international markets.
• HasbrocoreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing Partner · 1 January 2024Story House Egmont publishes PEPPA PIG Official magazine (3-weekly, £5.99) and PEPPA PIG Play Pack magazine (monthly, £6.99) under Hasbro license. The partnership celebrates PEPPA PIG's 20th anniversary with significant trade marketing investment and retail support.
• Media ShedminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 January 2023Media Shed handles all advertising sales for Story House Egmont magazines including display advertising, advertorials, sponsored content, branded inserts, and funded content across print and digital platforms.
• Good Play Guide / Good Toy GuideminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2022Story House Egmont requested review of magazines and cover gifts by the Good Play Guide to achieve Good Toy Guide accreditation, demonstrating educational value to parents and consumers.
• Moonbug Entertainment / ThePoint.1888coreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing Partner · 1 April 2021Story House Egmont acquired magazine rights for CoComelon, the world's no. 1 kids' channel on YouTube. The deal includes all territories in the Egmont group for magazines, as well as Colouring & Activity book formats for EEA territories.
• OPRL (On-Packaging Recycling Label Ltd)minorOthers · 1 January 2021Story House Egmont is a member of OPRL and works to provide clear guidance to consumers on how to dispose of and recycle products responsibly. Supports sustainable packaging initiatives.
• LEGOcoreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing Partner · 1 October 2020Story House Egmont launched LEGO Explorer magazine (October 2020), developed with support from official LEGO designers. The magazine has a STEAM focus combining creativity with educational content. Each issue includes an exclusive collectible LEGO toy.
• MattelcoreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing Partner · 1 January 2020Story House Egmont publishes Thomas & Friends magazine (celebrating 75th anniversary), Monster High magazine (multi-market launch across UK, GSA, Nordic, and CEE markets), and other Mattel brands. Longstanding publishing partnership with Mattel's evergreen brands.
• Hungry Little Minds (UK Department for Education)coreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2020Story House Egmont partnered with the UK government's Hungry Little Minds campaign to promote early childhood learning. The partnership provides fun ideas for parents to engage children through chat, play, and read activities.
• WowWeeminorOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing Partner · 1 January 2019Story House Egmont partnered with WowWee to publish Fingerlings magazine. The collectible interactive toys had sold over 10 million units by 2018. The magazine included Fingerlings minis as covermounts. Deal brokered by Striker Entertainment.
• NickelodeoncoreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing Partner · 1 January 2018Story House Egmont publishes PAW Patrol magazine, described as the UK's no. 1 preschool magazine, with continued growth and strong market performance.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves15 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Immediate Media: UK-based children's and special-interest magazine publisher (CBeebies Weekly, BBC-branded children's titles, and many licensed magazines) directly competing with Story House Egmont for retailer shelf space, advertising spend, and licensed IP relationships.
• Redan Publishing: UK children's magazine publisher behind the Fun To Learn and Sparkles & So Much More brands, competing head-to-head with Story House Egmont in licensed preschool magazine retail and subscription channels.
• Panini Group: Italian-headquartered publisher of collectible stickers, trading cards, and licensed children's magazines (including FIFA, Disney, and Pokémon titles), competing with Story House Egmont in the licensed children's collectible-and-content category.

Broad incumbents

• BBC Studios (Children's & Education): Through BBC-branded children's IP (CBeebies, Bluey, Hey Duggee), BBC Studios operates in adjacent children's media and historically licensed its properties to publishers including Story House Egmont and Immediate Media, shaping the competitive landscape for preschool magazine content.
• Scholastic: Global children's publishing and education company with a portfolio of children's books, classroom magazines, and licensed IP; broader than Story House Egmont but competes for licensed children's content relationships and parent spend.
• Future plc: UK-listed media group operating a large portfolio of consumer magazines and digital media brands; competes with Story House Egmont for advertising budgets and retailer relationships, albeit across a much broader content remit.
• Hachette Children's Group: Major UK children's book publisher (Orion, Hodder, Quercus, Franklin Watts) owned by Hachette Livre; competes for licensed IP rights and parent-child reading spend, and shares the same major UK retailers and licensors as Story House Egmont.
• Dorling Kindersley (DK, Penguin Random House): Global illustrated reference and children's publisher (LEGO books, Disney publishing, educational titles) under Penguin Random House; overlaps with Story House Egmont in licensed children's content, educational positioning, and major retail distribution.

Regional players

• Bayard Presse: France-based family and children's magazine publisher with a portfolio of licensed and own-brand titles across Europe; comparable in scale, audience, and editorial positioning, but primarily competing in continental Europe rather than the UK market.
• Highlights for Children: Long-established US children's magazine publisher (Highlights, High Five, Highlights Hello) with a similar mission of screen-free educational entertainment and age-segmented content; operates primarily in North America but represents a comparable model for the category.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/EgmontUK
• Facebookfacebook.com/storyhouseegmontuk
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/egmont-uk-ltd

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

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 story house egmont uk