Friday, November 11, 2011

Central London 'campus' for Macmillan

10.11.11 | Benedicte Page - The Booksewller

Macmillan will be making a "major investment" in a new central London campus for its UK publishing operations, with the move to happen in 2014, or later, and negotiations currently underway with property developers in the area.
Macmillan Education, currently based in Oxford, and Palgrave Macmillan, based in Basingstoke, will join Nature Publishing Group and Pan Macmillan in a new campus in the King's Cross area. Around 200 people will be involved in the Oxford move, and about 250 in the transfer from Basingstoke.
Distribution and fulfilment functions will also move to new office space in the Basingstoke area, close to where it is already based, with the company's warehouse operations to remain in Swansea.
A spokesperson said it was "too early to say" whether the existing King's Cross homes of Nature Publishing and Pan Mac would be used for the new development, or whether it would also involve those staff switching to a new premises. Pan Macmillan has already faced a recent temporary move during the refurbishment of its offices.
Staff were told of the company's plans yesterday (9th November). Group HR director Tania Hummel said: "We decided to announce our plans at an early stage of the project so that consultation with staff and their representatives could begin as soon as possible.
"We will shortly be holding meetings with all affected employees in Oxford and Basingstoke, as we know that many will be faced with a longer commute and increased travel costs. We will be discussing a range of flexible working options and financial incentives with our information and consultation forum and will liaise with recognised trade unions where appropriate. We are committed to communicating and consulting with our staff every step of the way."
Macmillan c.e.o. Annette Thomas said: "Bringing our publishing divisions together will make it far easier for us to share ideas and explore new business opportunities. We have already seen the benefits of working together, particularly in terms of developing digital and online products and services, and closer collaboration will become even more important as technology evolves and we consolidate our position in developing markets."

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