Publisher Hachette’s 23-strong Sheffield team is expanding to a new Sheffield office previously occupied by educator Twinkl.
Hachette UK now has 120 staff based across the cities of Manchester, Bristol, Edinburgh, Newcastle and Sheffield. Of its 120 staff over 40 per cent have been recruited locally and in Sheffield that number rises to over 50 per cent.
The Sheffield team includes colleagues from eight different publishing divisions and various job functions, with particular strengths in editorial, marketing, sales, rights and IT.
Since opening in 2021, the Hachette team has established strong relationships with the local literary community, including local independent bookshops Juno Books and La Biblioteka and Sheffield Central Library, where its popular fortnightly open mic night Sheffield Draft Night is held.
This move to a standalone space with two suites, meeting rooms with high-spec technology, a bespoke audio studio, and break-out and quiet spaces will enable Hachette UK to hire creative talent beyond London and better reach all consumers. Sheffield-based staff moved into their new office space on 4 August 2023.
David Shelley, CEO of Hachette UK, said: “I’m so proud of our national offices, and excited about the major expansion in Sheffield. Since 2021 the national offices have provided a gateway into creative talent – authors, illustrators, translators, publishing professionals – around the UK. We’re 100% committed to the growth and development of these hubs over the coming years, and we really look forward to continuing and developing our work with bookshops, libraries, arts organisations, and charities in all five cities. Opening offices around the country has been a crucial and transformative venture for us in our mission to publish for as wide a readership as possible, and we’re ambitious to increase our footprint outside London further in the years to come.”
The space Hachette will move into was vacated by educator Twinkl following the Pandemic, although Twinkl are confident that their post-pandemic working situation is fine: “After several years of growth and success at the Wards Exchange site, Twinkl made the exciting decision in 2020 to expand our office space to include a larger building. This was to make space for a growing, office-based team and create a bespoke space for the business,’” Twinkl told Prolific North in a statement. “The new campus was completed during lockdown. Like many other businesses, we found that our team had [got great at working remotely and wanted to stay working remotely]. We made the decision to move some of our team into the new location.”
