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Hachette UK has revealed plans to open new offices in Edinburgh, Newcastle, Manchester, Sheffield and Bristol over the next 12 months, following a year-long consultation with staff who have volunteered to relocate.
The publisher said it is "actively looking for office space" and expects up to 40 London-based staff from across the business to move over the next year, with at least 100 relocating by 2022.
Exact numbers of staff per office are currently unavailable but, according to the publisher, Edinburgh is likely to be the largest while Manchester should also progress quickly, building on Emma Layfield’s existing operation.
Hachette UK was previously in the process of looking for office space, but the lockdown meant its search had to be put on hold. It is now looking for flexible working spaces in all five cities, so that the company "can continue to expand with relative ease".
Staff moving outside of the "London bubble" will range from almost every publishing function-not just editorial-and will be relocating in two phases.
David Shelley, c.e.o. of Hachette UK, said the offices would help with staff retention, for those who "no longer want, or can afford" to live in London. He also said Hachette UK intends to recruit locally, once the new offices are established.
Shelley said: "Inclusion is at the heart of everything we do at Hachette and regional diversity is another way to bring fresh ideas into our business. We want to forge closer links to the brilliant pool of creative talent outside the ‘London bubble’ and connect more closely with readers, authors and booksellers around the UK to enrich our publishing.
"Our new offices are a great way for us to retain staff who no longer want, or can afford to, live in the capital. We also intend to recruit locally, rather than automatically creating or backfilling roles in London, and hope to offer traineeships once the offices are fully established."
Hachette UK began the consultation process in 2019 with a staff survey, in which 41% of respondents expressed interest in relocating outside London and specified a city. Five cities were chosen and a working group visited each city to meet with independent publishers, booksellers, literary charities and representatives from other creative industries. Staff were then asked to reconfirm their interest, before meetings were held with their respective managing directors and department heads to agree whether it was viable to relocate their roles.
Hachette UK already has offices in Banbury, Chichester, Dublin and Glasgow, with the Hodder Gibson team in Glasgow due to relocate to Edinburgh in January 2021.
Layfield, previously group picture book publisher at Hachette Children’s Group, relocated to Manchester in her new role as picture book development director, North, at the beginning of this year. Her remit is to establish an office and acquire more Northern and Scottish picture book authors and illustrators, while being responsible for networking, building relationships and looking for business opportunities in the North and Scotland.