Insider Media Limited

Sywell-based publisher Igloo Books has grown its turnover from £1.6m to £20m in the past five years. Managing director John Styring told Insider the company had achieved sales growth internationally during the economic downturn and was looking to expand its offering.

Styring said the company had grown steadily, with turnover rising to £20m over the past five years. He added that revenues had grown 44 per cent in the last year alone.

Despite competition from big-name publishers such as Penguin, Styring said the company had done well during the recession and its aftermath.

"We offer the same quality as the big publishers, but have fewer overheads, so provide a lower-cost service. Our products appear on search engine results and sites like Amazon, which helps customers locate our products online," he said.

Styring added that international sales had boosted the company's profit margins.

"We have grown our international distribution quite rapidly – just over half of our business is outside the UK now", he said. "Growing markets are mostly in Europe, including France and Germany, but we could potentially supply to China, Russia and India – more emerging markets," he said.

"All the countries we operate in are currently growing between 35-55 per cent each year."

Last month (July 2011), the company also acquired the intellectual property assets of design company Brown Wells and Jacobs.

Styring said the two made "a perfect creative match". He added: "Our passion for ingenuity and innovation make us the ideal company to maintain the success of their publications."

Igloo's next venture will be unearthed next month, as the company prepares to launch its new range of children's books, Humph. Styring said the launch of the design – which features a 'stablemate' of popular children's' TV character Peppa Pig – would come complete with the company's first app.

"We have exclusive rights to this character and the designs," said Styring. "It's definitely an exciting launch for us, and the products will again go through search engines onto websites like Amazon, which should really boost our numbers."

Independent publisher Igloo, which was presented with a Queen's Award for Enterprise earlier this year, has now been shortlisted for a National Business Award. The company is a finalist in the Santander Small to Medium Sized Business of the Year category, the results of which will be announced on 8 November.