the firm was established 1980 in London by its Libyan publishing entrepreneur Mohammed Fergiani as the English imprint of Dar Fergiani Arabic publishing house which he established first in Libya and later in Egypt since 1952. It was named after the first letters of Dar Fergiani, which operated mainly in Libya since 1950's until it was forced outside the country after Gaddafi regime came to power in Libya and targeted and banned privately owned publishing companies. The founder Mohammed Fergiani emigrated in the late 1970s, returning later to Libya in 1990's to reopen several bookshops and continue its publishing operations in Libya and several other Arab countries.