Publishing Companies in Cardiff: 66 Active Firms (2026)
Publishing companies in Cardiff produce and distribute books, magazines and digital editorial media across the city’s metropolitan area.
Buying centres sit around commissioning and editorial production, rights management, subscriptions, advertising sales, circulation and digital formats, rather than one dominant procurement desk. The buyers are usually UK readership communities, specialist professional audiences and export-facing partners, with Cardiff acting as an operating base rather than merely a correspondence address. Engagements tend to be modest and repeat in character: list development, issue production, rights handling and audience monetisation over time, not isolated media purchases. The operating profile is small to mid-market, so commercial relationships often involve editors and publishers directly alongside finance, marketing and circulation teams.
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Cardiff’s publishing market contains 66 actively trading publishing companies, a compact city cohort rather than a broad national pool. Reported headcount totals 70 people across the cohort, which points to a mostly owner-managed and micro-business employment footprint. Turnover scale is also narrow: 1 company is above £5M, while 13 firms were incorporated since 2022. For researchers, the practical implication is a market where qualitative segmentation by format, audience and rights activity matters more than simple headcount bands.
UK book and magazine publishers operate without a sector licensing regime comparable to FCA-supervised financial services or OFGEM-regulated utilities. A central obligation is legal deposit: printed works published in the UK must be deposited with the national legal deposit library and may also be requested by other legal deposit libraries; non-print works are covered by the same statutory regime. GOV.UK guidance is the practical reference point here, while the Publishers Association and the Professional Publishers Association provide sector representation for book, consumer magazine and business media publishers.
Cardiff’s publishing cohort appears likely to remain fragmented, with scale-up scarcity and many firms built around lists, formats or specialist audiences rather than around large media groups. Newer entrants tend to lean into mixed-format production and direct audience relationships, but the commercial work still centres on commissioning, rights, subscriptions, advertising and circulation. Consolidation, where it occurs, is more likely to look like rights pooling, list acquisition or shared services than a sudden shift to platform economics. Compliance pressure should stay manageable, although legal deposit and digital rights controls keep publishers administratively exposed.
What’s in the file
One row per company, 50+ columns — everything below plus each company’s verified directors, from Companies House filings.
Company data
Verified directors — included
66
Active firms
2026
1
£5M-plus firm
Above £5M turnover
13
Newer firms
Incorporated since 2022
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Key facts
About 1% of the trading cohort reports turnover above £5M (1 of 66 firms) — the rest sits below that revenue band.
19% of the cohort was incorporated since 2022 (13 firms), so a sizeable share is in its first few filing cycles.
UK book and magazine publishing has no single licensing regulator; legal deposit remains the main statutory obligation for print and non-print works.
The Legal Deposit Libraries (Non-Print Works) Regulations 2013 extend legal deposit duties to non-print publications.
The Professional Publishers Association says the UK consumer magazine and business media sector generated £3.74 billion of GVA in 2019 and represented 35% of UK publishing.
The same sector contributed an estimated £518.9M of net export inflow, with 73 million magazines sold in export markets.
In the European book market in 2024, print books accounted for 82.9% of turnover, online sales 23.5% and exports 20.3%.
Top Cardiff Publishing companies
Financial sub-scores
Computed from 3 filingsFinancial Health
WeakWeak
Location
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Financial sub-scores
Computed from 4 filingsFinancial Health
StrongStrong
Location
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Financial sub-scores
Computed from 5 filingsFinancial Health
WeakWeak · 0% CAGR over 4y
Location
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Financial sub-scores
Computed from 4 filingsFinancial Health
StableStable
Location
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Financial sub-scores
Computed from 5 filingsFinancial Health
WeakWeak
Location
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Financial sub-scores
Computed from 5 filingsFinancial Health
StableStable
Location
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Financial sub-scores
Computed from 4 filingsFinancial Health
DistressedDistressed
Location
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Financial sub-scores
Computed from 5 filingsFinancial Health
StableStable
Location
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Financial sub-scores
Computed from 5 filingsFinancial Health
StableStable · 0% CAGR over 4y
Location
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Financial sub-scores
Computed from 2 filingsFinancial Health
DistressedDistressed
Location
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Financial sub-scores
Computed from 5 filingsFinancial Health
WeakWeak
Location
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Financial sub-scores
Computed from 3 filingsFinancial Health
StrongStrong
Location
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Financial sub-scores
Computed from 5 filingsFinancial Health
DistressedDistressed · 0% CAGR over 4y
Location
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Financial sub-scores
Computed from 5 filingsFinancial Health
HealthyHealthy · -24% CAGR over 4y
Location
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Financial sub-scores
Computed from 4 filingsFinancial Health
DistressedDistressed · 0% CAGR over 3y
Location
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Financial sub-scores
Computed from 2 filingsFinancial Health
StrongStrong
Location
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Financial sub-scores
Computed from 5 filingsFinancial Health
HealthyHealthy · -5% CAGR over 4y
Location
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Financial sub-scores
Computed from 4 filingsFinancial Health
StableStable
Location
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Financial Health
N/AN/A
Location
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Financial Health
N/AN/A
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Financial sub-scores
Computed from 5 filingsFinancial Health
StableStable · 0% CAGR over 4y
Location
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Financial sub-scores
Computed from 3 filingsPublishes basketball-focused media including the SLAM magazine and website, featuring news, interviews and features on NBA, WNBA, college and high school basketball, alongside digital covers,…
Serves consumer basketball audiences, including NBA, WNBA, college and high school fans, plus readers interested in sneakers, player style and basketball culture.
Financial Health
StrongStrong · Growing, Hiring · 35% CAGR over 2y
Location
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Financial sub-scores
Computed from 5 filingsPublishes a triannual print and digital poetry magazine featuring contemporary poems, literary features and reviews. Accepts submissions from writers, sells subscriptions and back issues, and…
Serves poetry readers, writers, students and supporters, plus institutional subscribers such as libraries, bookshops and educational organisations interested in contemporary poetry from Wales and…
Financial Health
DistressedDistressed · -8% CAGR over 4y
Location
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Financial sub-scores
Computed from 3 filingsPublishes children's and young adult fiction books for readers aged 5–19, including middle grade and teen titles across multiple genres. Sells print and ebook titles and works with authors and…
Sells to consumers buying children’s and young adult fiction for readers aged 5–19, and serves trade buyers and rights partners in the book industry. Also engages authors and illustrators through…
Financial Health
WeakWeak · Hiring · 18% CAGR over 2y
Location
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Computed from 4 filingsProduces and distributes matchday programmes and related publications for sports clubs and events. Prints official programmes for football, rugby league, rugby union and other competitions, and sells…
Serves B2C sports fans, match-goers and programme collectors across football, women’s football, rugby league, rugby union, cricket and tennis in the UK and Ireland.
Financial Health
DistressedDistressed · -9% CAGR over 3y
Location
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Financial sub-scores
Computed from 5 filingsFinancial Health
StableStable
Location
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Financial sub-scores
Computed from 5 filingsFinancial Health
StableStable · -10% CAGR over 4y
Location
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Computed from 5 filingsFinancial Health
HealthyHealthy
Location
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Financial sub-scores
Computed from 4 filingsFinancial Health
StrongStrong
Location
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Financial sub-scores
Computed from 5 filingsFinancial Health
DistressedDistressed
Location
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Computed from 4 filingsDesigns and supplies educational posters, wall charts and pocket-sized revision guides for schools and students, covering multiple curriculum subjects and key stages. Also offers digital revision…
Serves schools, colleges and other educational establishments worldwide, targeting teachers, department heads and procurement staff, with additional demand from students and parents across Key Stages…
Financial Health
WeakWeak · -7% CAGR over 3y
Location
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Financial sub-scores
Computed from 4 filingsFinancial Health
WeakWeak · 0% CAGR over 3y
Location
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Financial sub-scores
Computed from 5 filingsFinancial Health
DistressedDistressed · 0% CAGR over 4y
Location
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Financial sub-scores
Computed from 5 filingsFinancial Health
DistressedDistressed · -29% CAGR over 4y
Location
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Financial sub-scores
Computed from 2 filingsFinancial Health
HealthyHealthy · -50% CAGR over 1y
Location
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Financial sub-scores
Computed from 5 filingsFinancial Health
StableStable
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Financial sub-scores
Computed from 4 filingsFinancial Health
DistressedDistressed
Location
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Financial sub-scores
Computed from 2 filingsFinancial Health
WeakWeak · 0% CAGR over 1y
Location
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Financial sub-scores
Computed from 5 filingsFinancial Health
WeakWeak · 0% CAGR over 4y
Location
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Financial sub-scores
Computed from 4 filingsFinancial Health
HealthyHealthy
Location
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How Cardiff Publishing companies work and how to sell to them
What they do
Cardiff publishers earn through a mix of subscription income, retail and direct sales, advertising, sponsored content, rights licensing and service work around editorial production. Their product is usually a list or title portfolio: books, magazines, journals, newsletters and digital editions, with print still creating workflow dependencies even when distribution is online. Pricing tends to be annual for subscriptions, campaign- or issue-based for advertising, royalty- or territory-based for rights, and project-based for production services. Because many operators are small, suppliers often encounter budget holders who judge spend against a single list, audience niche or season rather than a central technology roadmap.
Who they sell to
Most sell to reader communities rather than to a single buyer type: consumers buying specialist titles, professional audiences buying trade information, institutions ordering copies, and overseas partners licensing or distributing rights. Decision-makers vary with format. Editors and publishers influence commissioning, audience fit and contributor workflow; commercial directors or advertising sales managers shape advertiser packages; finance leads scrutinise subscription systems, fulfilment and cash collection. Larger accounts may go through procurement or agency channels, but many deals are direct, relationship-led and renewed around publication cycles. Sales cycles are typically short for ad placements and services, longer where rights, distribution or multi-title subscription arrangements are being negotiated.
What they buy
Publishing firms tend to spend on tools and services that reduce friction between editorial, production and monetisation. Common categories include subscription management, circulation and fulfilment systems, rights and royalties administration, ad sales workflow, CRM, marketing automation, analytics, finance software, content management, design and typesetting support, print procurement, cloud hosting, cyber security and outsourced bookkeeping. Recruitment needs are often freelance-heavy: editors, designers, proof-readers, sales staff and audience marketers. Legal and accounting suppliers can be relevant where contracts, contributor terms, overseas rights, rights disputes or legal deposit processes need repeatable controls rather than informal handling.
Why and how to sell to them
Commercial intent often appears when a publisher adds formats, opens a subscription channel, acquires a list, takes on more freelance production, or starts selling advertising across several titles. Leadership change can matter because editors, publishers and finance leads tend to reassess inherited systems when manual renewals, rights spreadsheets or fulfilment errors begin to slow publication schedules. Outbound messages work better when they name the operating bottleneck: reducing churn in paid audiences, improving royalty accuracy, shortening issue production, giving sales teams clearer inventory, or making legal deposit and digital archiving less ad hoc. Generic media growth claims are less persuasive than evidence that payback fits modest recurring budgets.
How this list is built
Data sources
This list is built from UK Companies House filings, XBRL accounts data, and semantic analysis of each company's public website. Revenue and headcount figures come from the most recent filed accounts; where the company has not filed, values are estimated using a model trained on filed history and peer benchmarks and are labelled as estimates.
Classification
Rather than relying solely on SIC codes, Firmbase classifies each company semantically: the company's website is crawled, an AI model reads what the company actually sells, and the company is placed into the relevant industry and subsectors. SIC codes are used as one signal but not the only one. This means a company that registered under a generic SIC code but pivoted into (for example) fintech is correctly identified as fintech, not as its original SIC category.
Freshness
The underlying company data is refreshed from Companies House continuously; filings appear in the list within days of submission. The curated list ordering is regenerated when the underlying data moves meaningfully (company count changes by more than 5%, a new company enters the top-ranked segment, or the filed-revenue numbers for the top firms change). You can see the last-updated timestamp near the top of the page.
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Frequently asked questions
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