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Birmingham based book wholesaler Computer Bookshops is reportedly up for sale after falling into administration.
An initial 24 jobs have been lost but 26 staff have been kept on by administrators David Bennett and Nigel Morrison of Grant Thornton.
The company will continue to trade and administrators are hoping to sell it as a going concern, according to thebusinessdesk.com.
As well as retailing and wholesaling books as bookaxis.com, CBL also sells web-based training as cnlearning.com and owns specialist retail sites such as computermanuals.co.uk.
Co-administrator Bennett, a partner in Grant Thornton’s advisory team in Birmingham, said the company had fallen on hard times after one of its key suppliers pulled out of the books market. He said:
“Unfortunately, due to a key supplier recently pulling out of the books market and deterioration in the High Street book trade, CBL has experienced an overall decline in sales. Despite making changes to its business model and achieving growth in certain divisions, CBL has not been able to diversify quickly enough and the directors took the decision to appoint Grant Thornton as administrators.”
He added: “CBL boasts an enviable breadth of customer relationships, with a reputation for service delivery which is second to none in the sector. It has a strong online presence, which has seen significant growth in recent years and an expanding range of titles, including business books, lifestyle titles and gaming manuals.”