Home 5 News 5 Historic Bookseller Blackwell’s Goes up for Sale

Historic Bookseller Blackwell’s Goes up for Sale

by | Feb 2, 2022 | News

One of the UK’s most historic booksellers is up for sale for the first time in its 143-year history.  Blackwell’s of Oxford, which operates 18 shops as well as a website, has always been in the Blackwell family, but now its owner Julian (Toby) Blackwell has decided to sell.  “I would have loved to have handed over the company to its staff,” he said.  “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.”

The retailer ended 2021 with a 1.9% increase in revenue, despite the pandemic.  It was attempting to move the company towards employee ownership, but the uncertainty posed by the pandemic made this difficult.

Blackwell’s CEO David Prescott said: “The sale of Blackwell’s represents a genuinely unique and exciting opportunity for any potential buyer to own a much loved and trusted bookselling brand.  The business has been quietly and successfully transitioning itself in recent years to establish a substantial global online presence alongside a core portfolio of iconic shops.”

Those iconic shops include the celebrated Oxford Broad Street store, whose basement Norrington Room – named after Sir Arthur Norrington, president of Trinity College at the time – boasts some 3.5km of shelving.  The retailer also owns Heffers in Cambridge.

Blackwells was the first to publish JRR Tolkien.  Before he became famous for Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, the bookseller published children’s poem Goblin’s Feet.

Prospective buyers for the retailer include Waterstones, which is owned by the aggressive New York hedge fund Elliott Advisors.

Waterstones bought up rival independent Foyles in 2018 and previously took over booksellers Dillons, Hatchards and Ottakar’s.  Whether a bid by Waterstones would trigger a referral to the Monopoly and Mergers Commission remains to be seen.

Prescott concludes: “We hope that a new owner and investment will help us to secure a long term future for Blackwell’s and its booksellers for many years to come. As we look to start a new chapter for the company, I’d likely to publicly thank Toby for his support and commitment over many, many years. Without him, Blackwell’s simply wouldn’t be here today.”

Blackwell’s sale is being handled by Begbies Traynor Group Advistory.

Recent News

17Jul
Penguin Supports Winn Amid Controversy

Penguin Supports Winn Amid Controversy

Penguin said release date of On Winter Hill would be changed in order to ‘support the author’ after allegations that Raynor Winn lied in her bestselling memoir. Author Raynor Winn’s new book has been delayed because questions about her bestselling work The Salt Path have caused her and her husband “considerable distress”, her publisher has […]

17Jul
Farshore  Revives ‘Portly the Otter’

Farshore Revives ‘Portly the Otter’

HarperCollins’ children’s imprint Farshore has acquired The Adventures of Portly the Otter: Untold Tales from the Wind in the Willows by award-winning children’s author M. G. Leonard. The book of exciting spin-off stories from the much-loved classic The Wind in the Willows, written by Kenneth Grahame and illustrated by E.H. Shepard, will publish in March […]

16Jul
Firefinch to Debut in 2026 with Star Authors

Firefinch to Debut in 2026 with Star Authors

Publishing veteran Kate Parkin, who worked for Random House and was most recently MD of the adult publishing division at Bonnier Books UK, is launching a new independent publishing house, Firefinch.  It is a co-venture with her Bonnier colleague Margaret Stead who was Bonnier publisher. Among the authors who are making the jump with them […]

Related Posts

Farshore  Revives ‘Portly the Otter’

Farshore Revives ‘Portly the Otter’

HarperCollins’ children’s imprint Farshore has acquired The Adventures of Portly the Otter: Untold Tales from the Wind in the Willows by award-winning children’s author M. G. Leonard. The book of exciting spin-off stories from the much-loved classic The Wind in the...

Firefinch to Debut in 2026 with Star Authors

Firefinch to Debut in 2026 with Star Authors

Publishing veteran Kate Parkin, who worked for Random House and was most recently MD of the adult publishing division at Bonnier Books UK, is launching a new independent publishing house, Firefinch.  It is a co-venture with her Bonnier colleague Margaret Stead who was...

Al Faya: Where History Took Its First Steps on the Sands of the Desert

Al Faya: Where History Took Its First Steps on the Sands of the Desert

In a timeless moment etched into the memory of human heritage, the sun of Sharjah rose once again on the map of the world, this time through the gateway of deep history. At its recently concluded 47th session in Paris, the UNESCO World Heritage Committee officially...

Previous Next
Close
Test Caption
Test Description goes like this