The business is a long-established and successful local bookshop, first opened in 1949, trading from premises at 74 Tranquil Vale in the heart of Blackheath Village in South-East London.
Its corner site at the junction of Tranquil Vale and Royal Parade, facing the open expanse of the heath, makes it a prominent and well known landmark in the area.
It is surrounded by many restaurants, wine bars, cafes, shops, and pubs and lies across the road from the main bus stop in the village which all provide a constant stream of potential customers.
The shop trades as a second-hand and antiquarian bookshop, which also carries a range of maps, prints, original art, posters and other ephemera traditionally associated with bookshops (vintage postcards, maps, journals etc).
The bookshop has a long local history and has been mentioned in a number of books set in and around Blackheath; it has also been used as a TV/filming location, most notably for the first series of the TV show ‘Spooks’.
As well as the physical shop, stock is also listed on the Abebooks website. This allows for listing of stock with photographs, enabling potential customers to browse stock online and to order through the website or by contacting the bookshop directly.
The retail value of current listed items is in the range £85-90,000 but this forms only a small proportion of the shop’s entire stock.
There is scope for enhancing the online presence significantly - there are currently around 900 items listed.
Reproduction maps and prints of Blackheath, Greenwich and SE London are produced for the bookshop by The DPC in Woolwich; most of the stock carried is exclusive to the bookshop.
The shop last changed hands in August 2017, following which there has been an ongoing process of expanding and improving the stock.
There is a large storage facility in Woolwich, fifteen minutes’ drive away, at Thameside Studios with space to sort and price books and list them online.
The bookshop has a website and also owns the address; in addition, the bookshop has a Facebook page, and a twitter account with a little over 1,000 followers.
The shop is currently open everyday, except Wednesday, operated by the owner, together with two part-time colleagues. It would be possible to run the shop alone but it is probably best suited to at least two people.
The premises are leasehold on the basis of an eight-year lease (2023-2031), renewed in April 2023.
