• Bloomsbury combines academic and general publishing in different formats and distributes its products through different channels. In addition, we operate in multiple countries and sell our products worldwide. This diversified portfolio and customer base, together with our international presence creates a level of resilience in respect of market or country-specific downturns

• Close monitoring of revenue streams, lists and channels; range and diversity of our content; resilience of demand for strong content

• Close monitoring of developments in the academic market including library spending and demand for HSS course material, adjusting publishing and marketing programmes accordingly

• Continue focus on promoting Academic BDR products, developing BDR product pipeline and adopting flexible buying solutions to enable customers to purchase according to their individual content requirements and budgetary constraints

• Focus on expanding international sales in territories where student numbers and investment in Higher Education are increasing

• Increase marketing and sales activities focused on retaining reader engagement

• Continue focused promotion of reading for pleasure including at key travel points

•  Grow expert marketing teams skilled in internet sales.

•  Engage with multiple internet retailers and support independent retailers.

•  Focus on promoting sales from the Company's own website and on direct sales to customers

•  Increase focus on developing other marketing opportunities and other revenue streams, e.g. academic and professional digital products, rights and services

•  Develop digital services that deliver mixed Open Access and proprietary content in the form that customers demand and will continue to pay for.

• Director of Research and Open Access manages responses to developments in Open Access publishing and related mandates to ensure the successful transition to sustainable Open Access business models. Business workflow and systems are in the process of being adapted to ensure capacity to operate at scale

•  Open Access publishing initiatives are underway to ensure Bloomsbury is well placed to continue to serve its UK academic authors, and in preparation for the adoption of UKRI's proposed policy in respect of monographs from 2024.

•  Continue to engage with industry representative bodies to influence Open Access policy developments, including in respect of the response to the UK's Research Excellence Framework (REF) consultation

•  Digital subscriptions and multiple ebook purchasing models are offered direct to institutions and students

•  Develop digital resources and ebook platforms to deliver, direct to institutions and students, the content and flexible pricing models to suit readers' requirements

•  Develop a portfolio of high-quality online content services in markets we understand well

•  Use third party content and content partnerships to scale up projects more quickly and create economies of scale.

•  Continue to invest in internal resource and infrastructure to support product pipeline

•  Potential acquisition targets are assessed by the members of the Executive Committee according to strategic and cultural fit. Thorough pre-acquisition due diligence is conducted by relevant functions, including finance, legal, publishing and sales. Capital allocation for acquisitions is determined at Group level and approved by the Board. Integration plans are developed at Divisional level and are implemented by a cross-functional team of experts, with Divisional oversight

•  Regular reports are presented to the Board throughout the year on post-acquisition performance, including an assessment of any variation to the expected return on investment

•  Advances over a certain limit are required to be authorised by the Chief Executive and Group Finance Director

•  Financial forecasts are prepared prior to acquisition to predict commercial success

•  Focus on acquiring world rights where possible in order to increase sales opportunities and mitigate the risk posed by competing editions in open markets

•  Editorial guidelines and policies in place to guide acquisition decisions

• Audit Committee monitoring of scope,

development and performance of cyber

security controls

• Follow industry best practice for information and cyber security, with active management of information and cyber security risks.

• Controls include Advanced Endpoint

protection, including Next Generation

Antivirus, with events fed to a Centralised

Endpoint Protection Platform. This is supported by a 24x7 Managed Detection and Response service, which performs proactive threat hunting of our environment every 24 hours. Automation is in place to disable processes and/or isolate endpoints for high and critical threats

• Manage access to Company assets and

services on a least-privilege basis, with Multi-Factor Authentication required for remote access and when accessing business-critical cloud services

• Perform frequent vulnerability scans of the Company's internal and external network to identify and remediate emerging threats

• Encrypted backups taken daily with copies stored off site and segmented from the Company's network

• Information security policies are in place and staff training includes data protection, cyber security and regular phishing simulations

•  Sensitive personal data is stored securely and protected with password controls or encryption. User access controls are embedded in the Company's finance systems

• Establish specific governance structures to manage significant projects

• Ensure adequate resources are in place to address the requirements of systems changes alongside day-to-day business

• Ensure clear and detailed planning of each and any system changes, including the impact of other projects

•  Consistent and evidence-based approach to assumptions

•  Board approval of key assumptions

•  Continue policy of support for copyright and intellectual property rights as a fundamental facet of publishing

•  Continue to police infringements of the Group's territorial copyrights and take appropriate action to enforce such rights

•  Adopt robust anti-piracy procedures.

•  Undertake targeted enforcement action against third party infringers

•  Ensure appropriate digital rights management protection of ebooks and digital formats

•  Relationships with key counterparties are closely monitored and actively managed by senior managers. This includes frequent and regular engagement with key counterparties in order to ensure open communication and cooperation and to identify potential issues that may impact on the Company's business at the earliest opportunity. Other mitigations include having appropriate contracts and service level agreements in place, and interrogating the business continuity plans of key counterparties

•  Regular review of global supply chain resilience by the cross-function Supply Chain Working Group to ensure proactive steps are implemented to mitigate supply chain risks and prioritise supply of print titles

•  Ongoing diversification of supplier base

•  Increased local printing to mitigate shipping delays and disruptions

•  Apply additional due diligence in respect of key partners to assess their financial stability, cyber and information security practices and business continuity plans

•  Continually assess key partner capabilities and performance to ensure they are well- positioned to support the Group's long-term strategic objectives

•  Ensure effective leadership and change management governance structures and resources are in place to oversee the transition of services provision from one supplier to another

• Ongoing focus at Board and senior leadership level on creating an engaging, inclusive and rewarding working environment

• Ongoing employee engagement measures to monitor and improve employee experience and organisational culture; more information on these measures is set out on pages 48 to 52 of this Annual Report

• Continue focus on employee development through training and mentoring programmes for early and mid-career employees

• Extensive learning and development initiatives exist, ranging from individual skills training through to Leadership Development of our senior managers

• Ongoing Employee Voice Programme, allowing every employee to have their voice heard directly by senior management and the Board. HR initiatives are implemented in response to matters raised during Employee Voice Meetings

• Formal appraisal system provides the opportunity to identify learning and development opportunities to support career progression and succession planning

• Continued focus on Diversity and Inclusion initiatives

• Implement pay and reward structures that incentivise and ensure that colleagues share in the Group's success. Introduction of Bloomsbury Career Framework has involved rigorous evaluation of all roles, with external benchmarking of salaries in order to create a transparent and clear framework of job families and career levels

•  Relevant individuals within the business who are engaged in activities which relate to or are governed by key contracts are made aware of the terms of such contracts. Legal advice is sought from the Group's legal function where appropriate to ensure performance by the Company in accordance with contractual terms

•  Annual Report and Accounts is reviewed internally by the Head of Group Finance and the Group Finance Director, and externally by the Group's appointed Auditor. Material balances are tested in accordance with relevant standards. The Head of Investor Relations and the Group Company Secretary advise on content requirements under relevant regulation/legislation.

•  Mitigation in respect of the risk of a data breach is noted above in connection with Information Technology and Systems

•  Since the introduction of the General Data Protection Regulation ("GDPR"), which came into force in May 2018, the Company has implemented a range of measures to ensure compliance with the requirements of GDPR. These include the implementation of policies and guidance in key areas, the provision of training to employees, reviewing and updating the Company's data collection methods and marketing communications, updating supplier terms and conditions, and updating privacy policies on the Company's websites. The Company has appointed a Data Protection Officer to oversee GDPR compliance

•  Relevant business units are advised by the Group's in-house legal department, with specialist external advice taken where required, on forthcoming legislative and regulatory changes and appropriate measures taken to respond to such changes, including adapting operational processes and workflows where necessary.

•  Diversify the portfolio of products and services to reduce dependencies on individual customers, sales channels and markets

•  Long-term contracts with key suppliers to manage and mitigate cost increases; active price management of Bloomsbury products to recover incremental costs; diversification of supplier base

•  Staff costs are managed as part of the Group's budgeting process and annual salary reviews