By 1975 W. H. Allen was part of the British conglomerate
Howard & Wyndham Ltd. During 1977 and 1978 the Wyndham identity was phased out, with the whole publishing line being identified with the W. H. Allen brand. The
Target Books paperback line became well known for its highly successful range of novelisations and other assorted books based on the popular science fiction television series
Doctor Who. In 1977, W. H. Allen acquired
Warner Communications' publishing division, including
Williams Publishing and
Thorpe & Porter; but by 1978–1979 W. H. Allen decided to close down both divisions. W. H. Allen was acquired by
Virgin Books in a process that spanned late 1986 to late 1987. Virgin Books was incorporated into W. H. Allen in 1989, but in 1991 W. H. Allen was renamed
Virgin Publishing Ltd.
Random House, through its United Kingdom division, acquired a 90% stake in Virgin Books in March 2007. In November 2009, Virgin became an independent imprint within
Ebury Publishing, a division of the Random House Group. ==Book series==