Records of Granada Publishing Ltd, publishers, St Albans, Hertfordshire, England

Scope and Content

  • Minutes 1956-1982;
  • Papers regarding the acquisition of Paul Elek Books Ltd and its subsidiaries 1958-1959;
  • Summary accounts and balance sheets 1975-1976.

Administrative / Biographical History

Granada Publishing Ltd was incorporated as a limited liability company in 1968  to acquire the business of the Hour Press Ltd , publishers, London, England.

The Hour Press Ltd was incorporated in 1956  by Howard Samuel and Jane Willington Samuel who were also its first directors. Reginald Gerard Davis-Poynter was appointed as a director in 1961  and was already a founding director of Arco publications Ltd , publishers, London, along with Howard Samuel. In 1962  , MacGibbon & Kee Ltd , publishers, London, acquired shares in The Hour Press Ltd. The company name was changed in 1966  to become Granada Publishing Ltd. This new company was a subsidiary of media and broadcasting company Granada Group Ltd who as a holding company aimed to develop the interests of its subsidiary companies through sharing resources and group development in a manner that the individual companies would be unable to achieve alone. The Granada Group published fiction, non-fiction, and educational books and had interests in New Zealand, the United States, South Africa, Middle East, Australia and Canada where further subsidiary companies managed the group's business.

By 1968, Granada Publishing Ltd was acting as distributors for a number of publishers and Granada Group Ltd had acquired a number of other publishers who became subsidiary companies of Granada Publishing Ltd when Granada Group Ltd transferred their shareholdings in those companies to Granada Publishing Ltd. These included Panther Books Ltd, MacGibbon & Kee Ltd, Rupert Hart-Davis Ltd, Arco Publications Ltd, Staples Press Ltd, Mayflower Books Ltd. In Paul Elek Ltd 1979  , London, along with its subsidiary companies, Elek Books Ltd and Paul Elek (Scientific Books) Ltd whose main interests lay in Germany, Holland and the United States. In 1983  , Granada sold the publishing side of its business to the Scottish publishers, William Collins, Sons & Co Ltd based in Glasgow. In 1988  , Granada Publishing Ltd became Collins Video Ltd , which became William Collins G(X) Ltd in 1991  . The company was finally dissolved in 1999  .

Arrangement

The material is arranged into series as shown in the scope and content. Within series items are generally arranged chronologically.

Access Information

Open

Acquisition Information

Deposit : William Collins, Sons & Co Ltd via BACS : 1987

Other Finding Aids

Digital file level list available in searchroom

This collection forms part of the William Collins, Sons & Co Ltd finding aid (UGD 243) consisting of the records of that company and its related/subsidiary companies.

Manual file level list available at the National Registers of Archives in Edinburgh (NRA(S)3040) and London (NRA31886)

Alternative Form Available

No known copies

Physical Characteristics and/or Technical Requirements

None which affect the use of this material

Conditions Governing Use

Applications for permission to quote should be sent to the Archivist.

Reproduction subject to usual conditions: educational use and condition of documents

Appraisal Information

This material has been appraised in line with standard GB 0248 procedures

Custodial History

Held by William Collins, Sons & Co Ltd, Glasgow

Accruals

None expected

Related Material

GB 0248 UGD 243/1 Records of William Collins, Sons & Co Ltd

GB 0248 UGD 243/8 Records of Mayflower Books Ltd

GB 0248 UGD 243/13 Records of Rupert Hart-Davis Ltd

GB 0248 UGD 243/14 Records of MacGibbon & Kee Ltd

GB 0248 UGD 243/18 Records of Arco Publications Ltd

GB 0248 UGD 243/22 Records of Staples Press Ltd

Location of Originals

This material is original

Bibliography

No known publications using this material

Additional Information

Description compiled in line with the following international standards: International Council on Archives,ISAD(G) Second Edition, September 1999 and National Council on Archives,Rules for the construction of personal, place and corporate names

Scotland is the location of all place names in the administrative/biographical history element, unless otherwise stated.

Fonds level description compiled by David Powell, Hub Project Archivist, April 2003. Lower level descriptions input by Emma Yan, Assistant Archivist (Cataloguing), 27 May 2008