Britain’s largest secondhand book retailer has been put up for sale.
City sources said Bridges Fund Management has appointed bankers from Baird to find a buyer for World of Books.
Bridges Fund Management was founded by one of Britain’s best known venture capitalists, Sir Ronald Cohen, to focus on ‘sustainable’ and ‘impact’ investing.
Britain’s largest secondhand book retailer has been put up for sale.
World of Books obtains old books from charity shops and readers via an application called Ziffit, sells the books to consumers and then recycles the rest.
The business was founded by Simon Downes, Ben Maxfield and Michael Laundon.
They came up with the idea when they bought books at a car boot sale and then auctioned them on eBay.
Bridges invested in World of Books in 2016, paying £13million for a majority stake in the business. Sources said the company might be sold for more than £100 million.
Sir Ronald is known in the City as the ‘father of venture capital and social investment’.
He was a co-founder of Apax, one of the City of London’s largest buy-out firms, which has invested in AOL, Virgin Radio and Waterstones.
A spokesman for Bridges Fund Management declined to comment.
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