Guinness To Set Record

The Guinness World Records book could become the most expensive "list" publication if owner Hit Entertainment can get the £60 million it’s asking for it.

The arbiter of thousands of the biggest, smallest and daftest achievements is being offloaded because Hit wants to concentrate on developing kids’ characters such as Bob the Builder and Barney the dinosaur.

First published in 1955, the records book has sold 110 million books worldwide and has been translated into 37 languages.

The 2002 edition spent more than 20 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list.

Hit, which is owned by private equity firm Apax Partners, acquired the book when it bought Gullane Entertainment in 2002. Gullane had bought it from Diageo, owners of Guinness stout, in 1997.