David and Charles tops £5m revenues in its first trading period as an independent publisher

David and Charles Ltd has reported revenues of over £5m in its first 18 months of trading. The imprint was bought out from the bankruptcy of F+W Media Inc. in 2019 by the current management team with investment from Martin and Caroline de la Bedoyere, owners of Search Press. For the calendar year 2020, revenues were more than £4m, with profits exceeding 15%.

Managing Director James Woollam said: “We could not be more delighted with our financial performance and have exceeded the goals we set when we acquired the David and Charles publishing assets. Buying the assets from F+W Media in bankruptcy was a unique circumstance leading us to have a company that is only 18 months old with an imprint that celebrated its 60th anniversary last year.”

“We have had tremendous support from our fantastic authors and our many business partners. Despite the challenges of the pandemic, our books have found readers around the world who have turned to their crafts and hobbies. We are also absolutely delighted to have been nominated for Independent Publisher of the Year at the British Book Awards and SME of the year in the South West Business Awards. The nominations are great recognition for the tireless work that the team have put in over the past 18 months to enable our success.”

The David and Charles list will grow to over 40 books in 2021. New titles build on core instructional art and craft categories and include licensed books such as Pokémon Crochet, children’s drawing titles 365 Days of Kawaii and 365 Days of Unicorns, and MBS titles such as 100 Plants that Heal, The Witch’s Yearbook and Mood Crystals.

A joint venture with Search Press will see the launch of an online community of art and craft book buyers later in the Spring, as part of the ongoing collaboration between the two leading art and craft publishers. A partnership with the Royal School of Needlework to provide online learning courses has seen significant growth during the pandemic. Distribution sales of Dover Publications books have also seen strong growth.

James concluded, “We have a great platform to build on and are ambitious to grow through new publishing opportunities and additional online learning partners. We look forward to supporting booksellers and independent art and craft retailers as they emerge from the national lockdown.”