Regulatory announcements

Bloomsbury Publishing Plc (LSE: BMY), the leading independent publisher, announces that after seven years Sir Richard Lambert has given notice of his intention to retire as Chairman and step down as Director of the company with effect from the conclusion of the Annual General Meeting on 16 July 2024.  John Bason, current Independent Non-Executive Director, will succeed Richard as Chairman, subject to re-election as a director.

John Bason joined the Bloomsbury Board on 1 April 2022 and became Chair of the Remuneration Committee on 20 July 2022. He is a Chartered Accountant and brings a wealth of experience from his 40-year career in finance and international business. He was Finance Director at Associated British Foods plc from May 1999 until 28 April 2023. He was also formerly Non-Executive Director and Senior Independent Director at Compass Group PLC and a Trustee of Voluntary Service Overseas. He is an Independent Non-Executive Director and Chair of the Audit Committee at SSE plc, Chairman of the Primark Strategic Advisory Board and Chairman of the UK's leading food redistribution charity FareShare.

Sir Richard Lambert commented: "After seven exciting years, this is a good moment for change. I am very happy that the Board has proposed our colleague John Bason to succeed me as Chairman. John is someone with an immense experience of business, which he combines with the essential Bloomsbury qualities of independence, integrity and ambition. I shall very much enjoy watching the company's continued progress under his leadership in the years ahead."

Nigel Newton, Chief Executive of Bloomsbury, commented: "Sir Richard Lambert has been an exceptional Chairman over the last seven years. We are immensely grateful for his insight, sage and generous counsel and support, which have helped Bloomsbury achieve so much during his tenure. Richard will be succeeded by John Bason, subject to shareholder approval. John joined the Board two years ago and brings a depth of financial and business knowledge to help Bloomsbury reach its ambitious goals."

John Bason, Non-Executive Director and incoming Chairman of Bloomsbury, commented:

"The strong development of Bloomsbury over the last seven years owes so much to the stewardship of, and support from, Sir Richard Lambert as Chairman. I am honoured to be asked to take over as Chairman of this vibrant and entrepreneurial publisher and will endeavour to continue that support as Bloomsbury looks ahead to achieve its ambitions for further growth."

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The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Group to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations (EU) No. 596/2014 ("MAR"). Upon the publication of this announcement via a Regulatory Information Service ("RIS"), this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.

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.

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