Bertrams strategic review and sale of Wordery
4 May 2020
Wholesale business Bertrams has sold its online bookshop Wordery
to Elliott Advisors, which also owns Waterstones and Barnes &
Noble. Wordery will be run as a separate business from Waterstones.
See Ruth Comerford's article in The Bookseller 1 May 2020.
The Sunday Times of 3 May 2020 reported that Bertrams is to
appoint an administrator but there has no been no confirmation from
either Bertrams or its parent company Aurelius. See Philip Jones
article in The Bookseller of 3 May 2020.
The latest update on the Bertrams website reads:
'Bertram Group undertakes a strategic review during the
COVID19 pandemic
The sale of Wordery follows the sale of Bertram Group's European
library businesses, Erasmus Antiquariaat en Boekhandel BV and
Houtschild Internationale Boekhandel BV, to Italian Casalini Libri
SPA, a strategic partner and family-owned business, at the end of
March.
These successful disposals of the e-commerce and European
library businesses have secured many jobs and, in both cases,
complement their new owners' existing models, thereby securing the
futures of both businesses. Wordery has performed well under
Aurelius' ownership receiving prestigious awards continually for
the last two years as the best online bookshop.
Separately, as a result of the economic uncertainty created by
Brexit and more recently the Covid-19 pandemic, Bertram Group is
reviewing its strategic options for the Bertram wholesale division,
a significant supplier of books to the High Street, Education
Umbrella, a key supplier of books to schools and Dawson Books a
major partner of UK Universities and French libraries and Bertram
Library Services, which serves public libraries across the UK.
There is no change to the announcement made at the beginning of
April of these businesses which are in a furloughed state for the
foreseeable future. We are abiding by the rigorous guidelines laid
out by Public Health authorities.
We thank you for your patience and understanding in the most
challenging trading period of Bertram Group's history.
Bertram Group
May 3rd 2020'