Potter is rare silver lining for book trade

Publisher Bloomsbury said it remained cautious about current trading, despite a "resurgence of excitement" in the Harry Potter books.

The group described the UK consumer economy as the toughest it has been for decades and said that the uncertainty over the future ownership of Waterstone's had led the retail chain to ration orders in recent months.

It has been helped by growing e-book sales but, with the bankruptcy of Borders in the US adding to pressure on the industry, it warned that trade revenues were still soft.

Bloomsbury said the website launch by JK Rowling of Pottermore.com contributed to a pick up in demand for the Harry Potter books ahead of the release of Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Part 2.

The company will also receive a share of the revenues from the sale of e-books from Pottermore.com, which is expected to commence later this year.

The update on trading came as Bloomsbury announced the acquisition of Continuum, an academic publisher specialising in theology and philosophy, for 20.1 million.