Bookshop chain awaits next chapter

Tuesday saw the deadline for interested parties to register an interest, and several approaches have been made. Last weekend the chain began a clearance sale, designed to maximise footfall in shops and to protect the value of the business for potential buyers.

Strong trading has been reported since the sale began. No redundancies have been made in shops, but there have been some job losses among head office staff in Brighton.

By selling existing stock, the administrators aim to make the business as attractive as possible.

Simon Appell, a partner at Zolfo Cooper, said: “ It would be highly premature to discuss any possible store closures at this point in the process. But we can confirm that we’ve received several encouraging offers for the business and will now be reviewing these.

“Meanwhile, we’d like to continue to thank staff for their efforts across the business.”