THIS WEEK


The Lead Story PA Statistics Yearbook


Publishers Association hails ‘biggest year ever for UK publishing’ in latest report


The PA’s annual yearbook has found across-the-board growth for the book trade, with total invoiced sales up 3.5% on its last report—but Brexit and Covid-19 could endanger the recent gains


Katherine Cowdrey @katscow


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tephen Lotinga, chief executive of the Publishers Association, has cautioned the industry faces uncertaint in the aſtermath of Brexit and in the midst of Covid- 19, aſter the PA reported in its latest yearbook the trade had its “biggest year ever” in 2019. Although the trade started 2020 in the best shape it has ever been, recording growth in print and digital revenues virtually across the board, Lotinga conceded he was concerned about the industry’s future, in view of the free trade deals with “important” markets still to be worked out and the impact of Covid-19 on publishing revenues. “We are a 59% export industry, so add to that a whole load of trade deals [still to be done] and instabilit for our overseas revenue, we are very worried about where we’ll be,” said Lotinga. The yearbook’s new export data, filtered by


country, revealed Australia to be the largest export market across fiction, non-fiction and children’s; North America the biggest export market for journals; and Spain the largest export market for English Language Teaching (ELT). Europe overall accounted for over a third (36%) of the invoiced value of exports in total, illustrating exactly what is at stake if trading relations are eroded in a post-Brexit world. “Anything that undermines the capac- it of our publishers in the UK to export to those key markets is of course concerning,” said Lotinga. “The government is about to negotiate free trade agreements with Europe, America and Australia via the CPTPP [Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership], so three of


06 24th July 2020


THE GOOD NEWS CAME WITH A CAUTIONARY TONE, WITH BREXIT AND COVID-19 EXPECTED TO DENT REVENUES IN THE NEXT YEAR


our incredibly important markets all at the same time are being negotiated on. It means we have to look very closely at what comes out of those deals and be really clear with the government as to the importance particularly of our copyright regime in the UK—which is one of the best in the world—and the fact there can’t be any compromising during those trade deals around that copyright system. It is fundamental to our members’ abilit to succeed.” The PA has been part of a number of trade


expert advisory groups and, so far, Lotinga said he has found the government to be “welcoming” of its expertise and of those from other creative industries. But while this is encouraging, he believes the proof is going to be in the pudding. “When the deals come out, we are going to see the compromises and the political priorities within them. We hope the government has taken on board everything we have told them about the importance of UK publishing as part of ‘the jewel in the crown’ [in terms of] the creative industries in the UK. If we want this to continue, we need to make sure the trade deals reflect that.”


In the event of a no-deal Brexit, Lotinga said the PA wouldn’t expect to see tariffs on books, but he added: “There is clearly going to be disruption. And like the rest of industry,


UK publishing would like to see a trade deal which reflects most of the key benefits we currently receive from exporting into Europe.”


£6.3bn £3.5bn £3.7bn


Total publishing income in 2019 (up 3.5%)


Total print income in 2019 (up 2.8%); digital income totalled £2.8bn (up 4.4%)


Total export income in 2019 (up 3.3%); home income totalled £2.4bn (up 3.7%)


Asked about what Covid-19’s impact will be on 2020’s figures, Lotinga said it is difficult to say. “We know that some publishers have really struggled during the lockdown period, particularly some [small or medium-sized] publishers out there that didn’t have the same cash reserves and found it more difficult to draw on the support that the government was offering,” he said. “Some smaller publishers have been presented with a choice between having to furlough staff, who are going to be fundamental to their abilit to recover, i.e. to produce books and make money in lockdown, or taking out loans against themselves, their


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