Hachette, the UK’s second largest consumer publisher, has revealed plans to cement its roots in the North and tap into diverse regional talent with three new Northern offices.
“In order to publish for the widest possible audience it seems difficult to do that just operating from one base in London,” David Shelley, CEO of Hachette UK, told Prolific North.
“You’ve got to put down some roots,” he added, on Hachette’s plans to steer its focus away from London to amplify the myriad of diverse voices from regions across the UK.
Surrounded by dozens of books in a podcast room from Hachette’s newly opened Manchester office, he pointed to the array of titles written by authors from Manchester.
It was the first time he had visited the new office space in Bruntwood’s Blackfriars House, which opened in July, with 11 staff moving in.
His visit to the Manchester base coincided with Hachette’s National Offices Day event, its first virtual celebration to connect its workforce from around the UK.
The event featured a series of ‘spotlight’ tours on each of Hachette UK’s five new offices and featured discussions with representatives from Sheffield publisher And Other Stories and BBC Manchester, as well as a keynote speech from Claire Malcolm, the CEO of New Writing North.
Alongside the new Manchester office the publisher has also opened offices in Newcastle, Sheffield, Bristol and Edinburgh.
Following a consultation with staff, up to 60 opted to relocate from Hachette’s headquarters in London to each of the new regional teams.
“I think the appeal in some ways is self-evident because they are vibrant, exciting, creative cities,” he said.
While he plans to remain at the publisher’s London base, he explained the new regional offices will offer “freedom and flexibility” for roles to be based in any office.
“I’d like to see more people hired from these places and just to decentralise a bit,” he explained, on what he hopes to achieve from the shift away from London to regional bases.
“I want us to be very ambitious for this,” he added.
