PE-owned book store chain Borders UK seeks buyer to avoid administration

The high street name, which has 45 stores throughout the UK, has suspended sales on its website. In a statement, the company said that it, “is currently unable to process new orders for books while the business is in discussion with potential buyers. Existing customer orders are also being delayed but will be fulfilled.”

Three distributors are understood to have cancelled their supplies to the retailer. Random House - the publisher of Dan Brown’s popular titles, which include The Da Vinci Code - Hachette UK and Independent Alliance have cut their business ties, according to a Guardian report.

Retailers WH Smith and HMV, which owns the Waterstone's bookshops, have been mooted as names interested in picking up some of Borders’ assets.

Borders was acquired in a management buy-out backed by private equity firm Valco Capital Partners in July this year. Valco bought the company from Risk Capital Partners, the private equity firm headed by Channel 4 chairman Luke Johnson, in 2007 for £20m (€22.2m).

Borders has suffered due to a general migration of consumers to the internet for book purchses from retailers such as Amazon.com. 

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