Last Harry Potter film boosts publisher Bloomsbury

Harry Potter publisher Bloomsbury said sales picked up from soft trading earlier in the year in July and August, with many bookworms opting to download their summer reading rather than opting for paper copies.The release of the final Harry Potter film has stoked demand for all seven books about the child wizard, Bloomsbury said. Other popular titles have included the 2010 Man Booker Prize winner, Howard Jacobson's The Finkler Question and Mao's Great Famine by Frank Dikotter.Bloomsbury also announced that it has reached an agreement with legal know-how group Practical Law Company to licence Bloomsbury law content so legal firms can access it through their computers. It will accrue Bloomsbury revenues in excess of £2.7m."Recent performance has been encouraging in contrast to the soft conditions we reported in our Interim Management Statement in July," chief executive Nigel Newton was due to tell the company's annual meeting."We are confident that Bloomsbury is now well structured for the exciting opportunities presented in the dynamic digital market place and in addition has significant strength to drive momentum in the academic and professional publishing market."