MacGibbon & Kee Ltd was incorporated as a limited liability company in 1949 with its registered office at 2 Guilford Place, London, England, and a share capital of å£6,000. The first directors of the company were James MacGibbon, Robert Kee, Janetta Kee and Margaret MacGibbon. The company aimed to publish up to 3 titles a year with packing, invoicing, distribution, representation and trade promotion out-sourced to other companies. However, by 1952, the company was producing 12 titles a year but, due to low financial turnover it was decided to publish several quick-selling titles in order to increase profits but, by 1953, the company was running at a loss. Titles included fiction and non-fiction, cookery books, photograph and travel books, history and science texts and medical books.
By 1960, the company shared a number of directors with other London publishing companies, such as Arco Publications Ltd , and Rupert Hart-Davis Ltd . In 1961 , the company acquired the publishing firm of Howard Samuel and had close links with other London publishers such as Arco Publications Ltd who they acquired in 1962 , and Staples Press Ltd .
MacGibbon & Kee Ltd were acquired by the Granada Group Ltd , media group, London, in 1968 , and became a subsidiary of Granada's subsidiary publishing firm, Granada Publishing Ltd . In 1972 Granada restructured its publishing interests with the business of MacGibbon & Kee Ltd and Rupert Hart-Davis Ltd being transferred to Hart-Davis, MacGibbon Ltd . MacGibbon & Kee Ltd continued to trade as a separate company, being renamed Granada Publishing Services Ltd in 1978 . The company appears to have been dissolved in c1983 when Granada sold its publishing interests to the Scottish publishers William Collins, Sons & Co Ltd , Glasgow.
From the guide to the Records of Macgibbon & Kee Ltd, publishers, London, England, 1949-1981, (Glasgow University Archives Service)
