Blackwell’s up for sale for first time

In the UK, independent bookshop chain Blackwell’s is up for sale, reports the Bookseller.

Blackwell’s comprises 18 shops including flagship stores in Oxford and Cambridge. It’s the first time the family-owned chain has been put up for sale in its 143-year history.

Despite the pandemic, Blackwell’s has grown its sales for the past five years due to a boom in ecommerce, and ended 2021 with a 1.9% year-on-year revenue increase. After a move towards becoming an employee-owned business was hampered by the pandemic, the Blackwell’s board undertook a review and unanimously agreed the business should look for a new owner.

Blackwell’s CEO David Prescott said staff had been briefed ahead of the announcement but the sale is still at its ‘early stages’, and he would not be drawn on potential buyers yet.

Current owner and president Julian Blackwell said: ‘I would have loved to have handed over the company to its staff, but I also accept that in order to grow and remain competitive in the future, it is time for new ownership, ideas and investment.

‘I have always stood for innovation and transformation in the constantly changing world of bookselling. I am delighted to have supported, and now see, Blackwell’s become a significant player in online bookselling and to have helped keep alive the concepts of service and expertise so well embodied by our chairman and board and our wonderful staff.’

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