AN online bookseller which suffered a sharp fall in sales sparked by the cost-of-living crisis has closed with debts of around £547,000 and the loss of 15 jobs. 

Brexit and the conflict in Ukraine were also factors in the decline in sales for Westbury-based A Great Read Ltd. 

Insolvency practitioners Begbies Traynor from Bristol has been appointed as liquidators to the company, which has been trading since 2007. 

The company was based in Unit 3 on the Woodland Industrial Estate in Eden Vale Road, Westbury.

The job losses include IT director Adam Hillis, sales director Jonathan O’Shea and publisher David Wavre.

Mr Hillis and Mr O’Shea became directors in January 2021 to help boost its online business following a 25 per cent drop in sales.

Mr Wavre’s wife, Jane Wavre, later resigned her role as secretary on November 24 2021 and Tracy Seviour was appointed secretary on the same date.

The liquidation of A Great Read Ltd is being handled by Simon Haskew, a partner at Begbies Traynor’s Bristol office, and his colleague Neil Vinnicombe.

Mr Haskew said: “We have been working with the directors of the business to wind up affairs during what has been a very challenging time for them all round.

“Despite the company having done relatively well in its early years and having moved to larger premises as the business grew, the fall in sales of at least 25 per cent caused by Brexit and the subsequent further decline, made worse by the current economic climate, meant it was impossible for them to continue.” 

When first formed in April 2007, A Great Read Ltd sold books directly to customers, partly through direct mail, but the company’s internet trade quickly took off and sales moved exclusively online.

The company had around 62,500 active customers in the UK, with business particularly brisk in the run-up to Christmas each year. 

However, in January 2021, the company saw a drop in sales of “at least 25 per cent” as a result of Brexit, from which it never recovered.

Export sales to the USA and Australia were also hit hard because of the Covid-19 pandemic and increased airfreight costs. 

At the beginning of 2022, sales crumbled further as customers’ discretionary spending was squeezed by the cost-of-living crisis, and the impact on prices because of the conflict in Ukraine.