36-39_Roundtable.qxp_NEW LSB 2008 GRID 09/01/2025 10:15 Page 1
INDUSTRY ROUNDTABLE
Licensing Museum & Heritage Book chats to six senior executives - Alexandra Bovey, licensing and commercial development manager, English Heritage; Declan McCarthy, head of publishing and licensing, Ashmolean Museum; Ellen Sankey, brand licensing manager, Transport for London; Maxine Lister, head of licensing, Natural History Museum; Cathy Snow, licensing manager, Royal Horticultural Society; and Elle Brenton-Rounding, licensing and brand partnerships lead, Liberty – about the year just gone, plans for 2025, the retail landscape, trends and hot tips for the year.
Brand guardians ALEXANDRA BOVEY
DECLAN MCCARTHY
ELLEN SANKEY
How was 2024 for your business? Alexandra: “It was a very busy year rolling out licensed ranges for English Heritage, which had been in the works for the last 18 months. These were mostly within the home category, and it was great to see these collections roll out across multiple major UK retailers.” Declan: “It was quite buoyant despite the uncertainty of the wider retail landscape.” Maxine: “2024 was on track to be the Natural History Museum’s most successful year for licensing to date, seeing notable growth with current partners as well as new ones. More broadly, the Museum is likely to have its busiest year ever, with an anticipated six million visitors passing through its doors. The opening of the Museum’s gardens
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LICENSING MUSEUM & HERITAGE BOOK 2025
MAXINE LISTER
CATHY SNOW
ELLE BRENTONROUNDING
has been a positive additional asset to the Museum, drawing in 1.9 million visitors since July.” Cathy: “It was a good one – with a few caveats. On the upside, we had a really strong year for new licensees to the programme, in terms of both numbers and diversity, and we now have what I believe is the strongest programme we’ve had for a number of years. We have a strong licensing team too; it has grown to cope with the increasing reach of the brand. This bodes well for some great growth during 2025. However, we’re still seeing a tough retail Above: The Barker and Stonehouse collection celebrates the rich heritage of the sites that English Heritage cares for. Left: Apparel has remained a stand out category for the Ashmolean Museum.