Records of Granada Publishing Ltd, publishers, St Albans, Hertfordshire, England
- Reference:GB 248 UGD 243/8,/15
- Dates of Creation:1955-1982
- Name of Creator:
- Language of Material:English
- Physical Description:0.3 metres
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
Subjects
Corporate Names
Geographical Names