BOOKS etc.

Borders (UK) Ltd.

Former type	Private
Industry	Retail
Fate	In Administration Closure
Successor	Booksetc.co.uk
Founded	1998
Defunct	24 December 2009
Headquarters	Charing Cross Road, London, UK
Number of locations	68 (At Peak) 45 (Final Closure)
Area served	United Kingdom & Ireland
Key people	Philip Downer (CEO)
Products	Books, CDs, DVDs, Periodicals, Gift Cards
Revenue	£210 million (2007)
Profit	-£9.5 million (2007)
Number of employees	2,185 (2007)
Parent	Borders Group 17%
Website	UK Website no longer operating.

Borders (UK) Ltd., aka Borders & Books etc., was established as a Borders Group subsidiary in 1998 and in 2007 became independent of the US company. At its peak after separation from the US parent, it traded from its 41 Borders and 28 BOOKS etc. shops, with over one million square feet of retail space taking around 8% of the retail bookselling market. In 2008 and 2009 the store numbers were reduced before the collapse of the chain. They also operated one single branch in Ireland, but closed this early in 2009. On 26 November 2009 it was announced that Borders (UK) had gone into administration. All stores closed on 24 December 2009.

A typical Borders shop in the UK contained both a Paperchase stationery and Starbucks cafeconcession. In addition, some branches also contained a RED5 gadget concession and GAME video games concession.

The logo contained both the Books etc. logo and the Borders logo to reflect the fact that Borders UK operated two different brands.

In September 2007, Borders (UK) Ltd. was acquired by Luke Johnson's London-based private equity investor Risk Capital Partners in a deal purportedly worth £20 million. Bookshop Acquisitions Ltd. - a subsidiary of Risk Capital Partners - was specifically set up for the purchase and the deal included the right to use the Borders and Books etc. brand names consistent with the brand. Under the deal, Borders would receive an equity interest of about 17% in Bookshop Acquisitions.

In January 2008, David Roche stepped down as C.E.O. of Borders (UK) and was replaced by the chain's former managing director, Philip Downer. Upon his appointment, Downer called for a category review of the entire company although he made it clear there were no immediate plans to further change the structure of the business.

Subsequently, it was announced in March 2008 that Borders UK planned to close its distribution centre (based in Cornwall) on 29 August, in favour of having publishers and wholesalers deliver directly to its shops, this being exactly opposite to the decision of Waterstone's who planned to test and open their own distribution centre, colloquially referred to as 'The Hub', from the end of May.