Trading Update

Bestselling author Sarah J. Maas has announced the publication dates of the next two novels in her A Court of Thorns and Roses ('ACOTAR') series which will be published on 27 October 2026 and 12 January 2027.

Nigel Newton, Chief Executive of Bloomsbury, commented, "Fans all over the world are eagerly anticipating reading the next books in the ACOTAR series and we are very excited about this news. Publishing two novels within 11 weeks of each other from a bestselling author is almost unprecedented in publishing history."

Sarah J. Maas was the highest selling author in the United States in 2024 according to Circana sales data and the No.1 bestselling Fantasy author in the UK in 2025. All 16 of Sarah J. Maas' previous novels are published by Bloomsbury.

Bloomsbury expects group profit for the year ended 28 February 2026 to be in-line with market consensus expectations.* This reflects the benefits of Bloomsbury's portfolio of portfolios strategy and includes a strong performance from the Academic division. Looking ahead, group profit for the year ending 28 February 2027 is now expected to be materially ahead of market consensus expectations.*

Further details on trading and outlook will be provided with the Company's Preliminary Results announcement scheduled for 20 May 2026.

Note

* The Board considers market consensus expectation (before this publication) for profit before taxation and highlighted items for the year ending 28 February 2026 to have been £44.3m and the year ending 28 February 2027 to have been £44.5m.