Hachette UK, one of the UK’s largest publishers, is looking for a base in Bristol after inviting its London-based staff to name the cities in which they would like to live.
Hachette UK, part of the giant Hachette French publishing group with a roster of authors that includes Stephen King and J.K. Rowling, said Bristol was one of five regional locations on the list. 
It now plans to relocate around 40 staff currently based in the capital to the offices in Edinburgh, Newcastle, Manchester, Sheffield and Bristol over the next 12 months.
The group, which already has offices in Banbury, Chichester, Dublin and Glasgow, said the move would help it retain staff and build links with the creative industry outside London.
Hachette staff’s decision reflects Bristol’s reputation not only as one of the UK’s most liveable cities but also as a vibrant centre for the media sector.
Channel 4 opened one of two regional creative hubs in the city last year while magazine publisher Immediate – whose titles include the Radio Times – has relocated staff from outside Bristol to its showpiece headquarters on Colston Avenue, pictured.
Hachette UK CEO David Shelley said: “Inclusion is at the heart of everything we do at Hachette and regional diversity is another way to bring fresh ideas into our business.
“We want to forge closer links to the brilliant pool of creative talent outside the ‘London bubble’ and connect more closely with readers, authors and booksellers around the UK to enrich our publishing.
“Our new offices are a great way for us to retain staff who no longer want, or can afford to, live in the capital. We also intend to recruit locally, rather than automatically creating or backfilling roles in London, and hope to offer traineeships once the offices are fully established.”
Hachette UK kicked off the consultation process last year with a staff survey in which 41% of respondents expressed interest in relocating outside London and specified a city.
Five cities were chosen and a working group visited each city to meet independent publishers, booksellers, literary charities and representatives from other creative industries.
Staff were then asked to reconfirm their interest, before meetings were held with their respective managers and department heads to agree whether it was viable to relocate their roles.
Hachette UK is made up of 10 autonomous publishing divisions, including John Murray Press and Hodder & Stoughton, and more than 50 imprints with a rich and diverse history. It also the market leader in e-books and publishes a range of bestsellers in audio format.
