New Page for Used Book Seller After £13m Deal

A West Sussex company which claims to be the largest seller of used books in Europe has sold a majority stake in the business to Bridges Ventures in a multimillion-pound deal.

Bridges has invested £13m to buy a majority stake in Goring-by-Sea-based World of Books, which was founded by a group of entrepreneurs in 2002 and is touted as a "pioneer" in the re-use and recycling of books.

The business works with thousands of charity shops and recycling merchants to collect and buy used books, while also purchasing unwanted books directly from consumers. It re-sells as many books as possible through its own platform, as well as other websites such as Amazon and eBay, while the rest are recycled to make corrugated cardboard packaging and news print.

Managing director Stephen Boobyer will lead the company as chief executive, and will be supported by co-founders Simon Downes, who has been promoted to chief technology officer; Mike Laundon, who will continue to run the company’s rare books division; and operations director Ben Maxfield.

"We chose Bridges as an investor because we felt they shared our values, understood our sector and our vision of what World of Books can achieve in the future," Boobyer said.

Chairman Kenneth Blair and co-founder Arthur Maxfield will transition from their current executive roles over the next six to 12 months. However, they will remain actively involved with the business as non-executive directors.

Bridges partner Oliver Wyncoll and investment director James Hurrell will join the World of Books board, while an experienced non-executive chairman will be appointed in due course. 

Spectrum Corporate Finance advised shareholders and acquisition debt was provided by Clydesdale Yorkshire Banking Group.

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