Established Independent Bookshop In Central London For Sale

Property Information

Property:

Leasehold

Lease Terms:

10 years. no business rates.

Leasehold Rent:

£12,000 per annum

Location:

Central London.

⬤ Holborn Station is a 5-min walk; Covent Garden, Temple and Chancery Lane are all under a 9-min walk. Waterloo and Blackfriars Stations are each a 20-min walk; or 5-min cycle. Excellent cycle, and bus routes across London.

⬤ Is on a corner site on a pedestrianised square. No other independent bookshops in London operate on a university campus in central London (LSE); a 5-minute walk from two other universities (King’s College London & the Courtauld Institute); 30 seconds from Lincoln’s Inn Fields. Daily footfall from students, faculty, and conference attendees, whilst attracting readers from neighbouring law firms.

Premises Details:

⬤ The premises are very small and set over two storeys (ground floor and basement). They are leased from the institutional landlord for ten years at approximately GBP £12,000 per year, with no business rates payable. For a central London retail site this represents a favourable arrangement and provides long-term stability.

Size in square feet:

600 sq ft

Energy Performance Rating:

B

Business Operation

Management type:

This business has absentee ownership.

Expansion Potential:

⬤ Sells a range of new and used books. There is great scope for a new owner to improve, optimise and digitise operations and boost sales.

⬤ Alongside the retail operation, hosts over sixty live author events each year. These include book launches, panel discussions, and conversations with novelists, historians, journalists, and public intellectuals. Past speakers include Zadie Smith, Gordon Brown, Mick Herron, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Antony Beevor, Andrew Roberts, Ryan Holiday, Elif Shafak, Nicholas Stern, and Ben Okri.

⬤ The bookshop frequently collaborates with institutions across London, including LSE, UCL, The Edition Hotel, Rathbones, and Soho House. These partnerships bring a wide range of authors and speakers to the programme and connect the bookshop to a broader intellectual and cultural network.

Reasons for selling:

Owner moving abroad this year.

Trading hours:

9-6pm. Occassional evening events.

Employees:

1

Years established:

1994

Other Information

Support & training:

As we transition into this new chapter, we are committed to ensuring total continuity for both our clients and our operations. To support this, all current staff members will remain in their roles, providing the consistent expertise and familiar faces you rely on. Furthermore, we are implementing an extensive training program designed to bridge the gap between our current workflows and new ownership standards. This ensures that every team member is not only retained but also fully equipped with the resources and knowledge needed to excel under the new leadership.

Furniture / Fixtures value:

£18,000 - included in the asking price

Inventory / Stock value:

£25,000 - included in the asking price

Relocatable:

This business can be relocated