LONDON — While millions of readers digest and reflect on the last instalment of the Harry Potter series, the company behind the publishing phenomenon is hoping to benefit from years of planning for a post-wizard future. None the less Nigel Newton, founder and chief executive of Bloomsbury, is allowing the company to bask momentarily in the success of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. It sold 2.7m copies in its first 24 hours to become the fastest-selling book in British history, meaning that in the week ending July 21 Bloomsbury accounted for nearly nine out 10 books sold in the UK. ‘It’s because the Deathly Hallows is the best book JK Rowling has ever written,’ says Newton. ‘That’s what all the children are saying and it’s true.’ There will be a Potter annuity for decades to come – a boxed set of the seven titles is out in October – but the company must prove that its successive Potter windfalls have been invested wisely. The stock market’s ambivalent view on Bloomsbury’s preparations frustrates Newton, who has seen the company’s shares drift down to 166p, far from the 374p they reached when the sixth Potter was published two years […]