14 Wesley Owen shops saved as IBS-STL sells off trading divisions
The Board of Trustees and Senior Management of Carlisle-based Christian charity IBS-STL UK, formerly known as STL, have announced the sale of two of its three trading divisions: Authentic Media and STL Distribution, as well as the sale of a significant number of its retail stores that comprise the third trading division: Wesley Owen.
A large number of jobs have been secured as a result of the sale and the charity’s mission of ‘Advancing the Christian Faith’ will continue.
The management team has worked closely with the Baker Tilly Corporate Finance LLP over the last month to secure the sale of all or part of the charity’s business units. Completion of the sale agreements is expected to be finalised shortly, with the new owners taking control immediately thereafter. The management team said this was “extremely good news and ends a period of uncertainty and anxiety for many of our employees”.
The sale details are as follows;
• Authentic Music based in Milton Keynes has been bought by Kingsway Communications operating from Eastbourne.
• Authentic Book Publishing and eight Wesley Owen Stores (Bath Birmingham, Bristol, Bromley, Coleraine, Derby, Glasgow and York ) have been sold to Koorong, which is owned by the Bootes family. Based in Sydney, Koorong has 18 stores operating successfully throughout Australia. It has purchased all of the Authentic and Paternoster intellectual property and author contracts, the freehold properties in Glasgow and York, the Wesley Owen trading name, and the domain name, wesleyowen.com. They plan to continue to operate from the Milton Keynes area.
• STL Distribution has been purchased by John Ritchie Ltd a small but ambitious book distributor based in Kilmarnock, Scotland. John Ritchie Ltd has purchased all of the Carlisle properties and intends to make Carlisle its main base. It will continue to trade as STL Distribution. John Ritchie Ltd is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Lord’s Work Trust which has substantial resources and supports Christian projects around the world.
• A further six Wesley Owen stores (Bolton, Cambridge, Coventry, Guildford, Kingston and Stockport) have been acquired by Christian Literature Crusade (CLC), whose head office is in Halesowen, West Midlands.
• There are ongoing discussions with a number of groups interested in retaining their local Christian bookshops. This may take some time to arrange, and therefore Baker Tilly has retained the services of SKG, who specialise in closing down sales in the retail sector. SKG will take over all the stock in the remaining 26 Wesley Owen shops, sell off stock for a period of 6-8 weeks under a special license, and hand back the shop units to Baker Tilly. At that point, parties interested in individual stores may approach Baker Tilly with a view to acquiring the business.
In each case the new owners will purchase the assets of the parts of the business; no one is taking over responsibility for the IBS-STL UK charity which will be put into Administration.
Commenting on the sales, Keith Danby Chief Executive said: “I am delighted with the developments. I could not have imagined five weeks ago such a positive outcome. All along we have had three goals in mind; the continuity of the distribution of Christian resources, safeguarding as many jobs as possible, and finding purchasers who would invest in the businesses and take them to a new level.
“We believe all of the purchasers fit these aspirations and we wish them every success going forward.”
Danby paid tribute to all the staff, saying: “This has been a very difficult time for all of our staff around the country. Some have worked for the charity for almost 20 years. They are dedicated, hardworking and passionate about the mission of the charity. It has been a very difficult year for everyone and the uncertainty of the last month has created extraordinary anxiety for people with families, financial commitments and obligations yet they have continued to fight for the survival of the company and done their very best to keep going.”
Michael Fitch, Chairman of the Board of Trustees also stated his delight: “The work of Authentic, STL Distribution and Wesley Owen is very important in advancing the Christian faith in the UK and we are delighted that this work will continue under the ownership of these high calibre operators. I want to also thank all of the employees for their hard work under difficult circumstances.”
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Russell Cash, Partner at Baker Tilly Restructuring & Recovery, said: “IBS-STL has suffered from a number of financial difficulties over the last few years, including the failed implementation of a new computer system in October 2008. The effects of this have caused cash flow pressures, excess stock, and supply chain difficulties. These problems have been exacerbated by the economic downturn.
“We have received a great deal of interest across the group and though it is very satisfying to safeguard such a significant number of jobs, there are still a large number of retail units that we are now focused on looking to sell. It is our aim to work hard over the next few months in a bid to secure new buyers and investment for the remaining stores.”
