Bookbarn International, Global Seller of Second-Hand and Rare Books Offers 6% of Company Via Crowdfunding

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Bookbarn International

29 May, 2014, 15:39 GMT

BRISTOL, England, May 29, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --

  • Somerset-based company asserts intrinsic value of books in e-book age
  • Raising £75,000 via crowdfunder, Crowdcube

Believing in the underlying appeal of traditional books, Bookbarn International (BBI), seller of second-hand and rare books globally, is expanding its business. For this BBI is raising £75,000 by selling 6% of its business, inviting the public to buy shares through the world-leading equity crowdfunder, 'Crowdcube'.

Invest more than £500 and you receive tangible benefits as well as shares, including meeting Darwin's great great grandson William Pryor, Managing Director of BBI. He's a published writer while also being a publishing and internet entrepreneur. On June 18th, William will host a free supper for investors in the BBI Full Stop Cafe plus a tour of the warehouse and a short presentation. You would also qualify for free books.

"Most readers still value books that smell of books, books made of paper, ink, cardboard and glue," argues William Pryor, BBI's MD. "They may well read e-books but second-hand, aromatic books do a lot more: their value is as much in what they say from our bookshelves as in how they charm, entertain and educate us.

"As Virginia Woolf said, 'second hand books are wild books, homeless books; they have come together in vast flocks of variegated feather, and have a charm which the domesticated volumes of the library lack.'"

BBI sells antiquarian and second-hand books on 19 different e-commerce platforms around the world, including a major government-owned distributor in China.

"It never ceases to amaze me," continues Pryor, "how the 21st Century technology of the internet enables us to put our hundreds of thousands of books, an 8th Century technology, in the hands of literally millions of customers all around the world."

BBI is using another 21st Century phenomenon, internet-based crowdfunding, to raise equity finance. UK tax payers who invest more than £500 will qualify for Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) tax relief. Bookbarn International's investment case on Crowdcube can be found at: http://www.crowdcube.com/investment/clear-press-ltd-t-a-bookbarn-international-15675  

Notes to Editors  

William Pryor and his colleague Matthew Dodson took over Bookbarn International in January 2013 with their company Clear Press Ltd. They believe BBI is the largest seller of antiquarian, rare and collectable books in the world. The business sold 98,000 books in the year to February 2014 and employs 30 full and part-time staff.

Bookbarn International's 38,000 square foot warehouse is at the junction of the A37 and A39, ten miles south of Bristol.

William Pryor, a great great grandson of Charles Darwin, has written poetry, prose and film scripts as well as working in publishing, mail order and, since 1996, the internet. http://www.bookbarninternational.com