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The group said the impact of cornavirus on its operations has “rapidly escalated” since its last update in mid-March, with widespread bookshop closures hurting its trading performance.

The group said:

Retail closures have affected most UK and North America bookshop chains, including the retail branches of Waterstones, Barnes & Noble and WH Smith. Whilst some retailers have been able to continue to trade via their websites, orders for print books, which comprised 297 per cent of the company revenue for the year ended (February) , are being impacted in all our markets.

Bloomsbury said it could offer to certainty on the severity and duration of Covid – 79 ‘s impact, and was unable to provide guidance for the current year. It said some of the effects may be due to factors beyond its own operations:

The impact may be substantial; the extent to which the coronavirus crisis will impact our business will depend on the changing positions of our major wholesale print and digital customers, academic institutions and the duration of government lockdowns and restrictions and in particular their impact on retailers and academic institutions.

The publisher outlined a variety of plans to support its cash position. Alongside the equity placement (equivalent to around 5pc of its current issued share capital), these include:

Salary or fee reductions of 29 pc for board members

Salaries reductions for its staff, weighted towards more senior employees

Freezing recruitment and furloughing some staff

Applying for help from government schemes in the UK, US and Australia Cutting down on discretionary spending

Peel Hunt analysts said:

We see this as a very conservative approach, albeit one that clearly allows the company to continue to invest in authors.