Appointment of Chief Financial & Operating Officer

BLOOMSBURY PUBLISHING PLC 

("Bloomsbury" or "the Company")

Appointment of new Chief Financial & Operating Officer

Keith Underwood of Guardian Media Group moves to Bloomsbury

Bloomsbury Publishing Plc (LSE: BMY), the leading independent publisher, announces the appointment of Keith Underwood as Chief Financial and Operating Officer, reporting to Chief Executive, Nigel Newton. Keith will join Bloomsbury on 2^nd February 2026 enabling an orderly transition with the current Group Finance Director, Penny Scott-Bayfield. Keith will join the Board of Directors of Bloomsbury.

Keith Underwood has had a highly successful career in the media industry and has extensive experience in developing and delivering digital and international growth strategies. He has successfully led a broad range of finance, commercial, strategic and technology-related business functions, and this expanded role on the Bloomsbury Board utilises his breadth of experience. 

Keith joins Bloomsbury from Guardian Media Group (GMG) where he is Chief Financial and Operating Officer, and was previously Interim CEO. He joined GMG in June 2020 as an Executive Member of the Board with responsibility for financial stewardship, operational performance and helping to shape the strategic direction of the group. Before GMG, Keith worked at Channel 4 as Chief Financial and Operating Officer and spent more than eight years on the Executive Committee. Prior to joining Channel 4, he was employed by Discovery Networks International, Sky and PwC. Keith is a Chartered Accountant.

Keith is a Board member of Digital Catapult, a digital technology innovation organisation which helps businesses grow by applying advanced digital technology. He has previously served as chairman of Freeview and a Board Director of Digital UK and YouView.  

Nigel Newton, Founder & Chief Executive of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, commented,

"I am greatly looking forward to working with Keith and benefiting from his significant media, finance, operations and AI expertise. He joins as Bloomsbury grasps the huge opportunity of Artificial Intelligence, licencing content for significant future revenue while increasing operational efficiency. Keith has the perfect experience to help deliver these ambitions for Bloomsbury and its shareholders.

Penny Scott-Bayfield has been a wonderful colleague, I thank her for her huge contribution to Bloomsbury and shall miss her greatly."

Keith Underwood, incoming Chief Financial & Operating Officer, commented,

"I am delighted to be joining Nigel Newton and his team at Bloomsbury. Bloomsbury has achieved hugely impressive growth with an increasingly diversified, high-quality portfolio distributed across more geographies, in more formats than ever before. In a dynamic media market, with rapid technological transformation, I look forward to working as part of the Bloomsbury team to harness new opportunities and deliver sustained success in the years ahead."

The Company is making this announcement pursuant to UK Listing Rule 6.4.6R with no further disclosure necessary under UK Listing Rule 6.4.8R(2) to (6).

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Disclaimer

The information in this announcement has not been audited or otherwise independently verified and no representation or warranty, express or implied, is made as to, and no reliance should be placed on, the fairness, accuracy, completeness or correctness of the information or opinions contained herein. None of the Company or any of its affiliates, advisors or representatives shall have any liability whatsoever (in negligence or otherwise) for any loss whatsoever arising from any use of this announcement, or its contents, or otherwise arising in connection with this announcement.

This announcement does not constitute or form part of any offer or invitation to sell, or any solicitation of any offer to purchase any shares in the Company, nor shall it or any part of it or the fact of its distribution form the basis of, or be relied on in connection with, any contract or commitment or investment decisions relating thereto, nor does it constitute a recommendation regarding the shares of the Company.

Certain statements, statistics and projections in this announcement are or may be forward looking. By their nature, forward‑looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties or assumptions that may or may not occur and actual results or events may differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Accordingly, no assurance can be given that any particular expectation will be met and reliance should not be placed on any forward-looking statement. Accordingly, forward-looking statements contained in this announcement regarding past trends or activities should not be taken as representation that such trends or activities will continue in the future. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which are based on the knowledge and information available only at the date of this announcement's preparation.

The Company does not undertake any obligation to update or keep current the information contained in this announcement, including any forward‑looking statements, or to correct any inaccuracies which may become apparent and any opinions expressed in it are subject to change without notice.

References in this announcement to other reports or materials, such as a website address, have been provided to direct the reader to other sources of information on Bloomsbury Publishing Plc which may be of interest. Neither the content of Bloomsbury's website nor any website accessible by hyperlinks from Bloomsbury's website nor any additional materials contained or accessible thereon, are incorporated in, or form part of, this announcement.