Online and pop-up bookseller The Book People have confirmed that more than 150 jobs have been lost after the retailer The went into administration in December.

 

 

Administrators PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) were appointed on 16 December, but a new buyer has not been found and 155 people have been made redundant.

The company operated from its head office in Surrey and co-ordinated its deliveries from a 92,000 square foot warehouse at Parc Menai in Bangor. PwC said 82 of the 142 staff at the Bangor office have been made redundant.

The reason for the business going into administration was given as being because of a “difficult trading environment that the business had been experiencing, combined with increasing working capital pressures”.

The company will continue to trade online and PwC said it intends to fulfil and deliver all orders.

The Book People was founded in 1988 by two book enthusiasts, Ted Smart and Seni Glaister, on the principle of making books available and affordable to everyone.

The business makes over 70% of its sales online, which are delivered from the Bangor warehouse. It also sells direct to schools and businesses, with pop-up shops in workplaces.

The business has an annual turnover in excess of £50 million and sells over 17 million children’s books each year.

The company, one of the UK’s largest independent book retailers, was acquired as part of a rescue deal in 2014 by private equity group Endless.

Toby Underwood, from PwC, said: “This is a tough time for everybody associated with the much-loved book brand. Despite best efforts in exploring a sale of the business, it has not been possible to do so. It is therefore with regret that we have had to make a number of redundancies today.”

Arfon MP Hywel Williams said: “I am shocked and saddened to hear this news, and extend my sympathy and support to the staff.

“My focus is on those families who have been effected by today’s announcement and I will be doing everything that I can to support those affected at this difficult time.

“It is high-time the government looked at the business environment facing companies like the Book People and the more favourable conditions that unfairly advantage multinational firms, particularly as to their tax arrangements.”