Family-owned Edinburgh firm on 'mission to put more books into the world'

An Edinburgh-based book wholesaler with high-profile customers including Historic Environment Scotland, the National Trust, and Fortnum & Mason, is looking to open new growth chapters after inking a deal set to expand its warehouse capacity by more than 40 per cent.

Family-owned Bookspeed has bought the neighbouring building at its site in Leith’s Salamander Yards, its home since 2000, boosting its warehouse and office space by 12,000 square feet, with the new space expected to be fully operational from spring 2025 after a refurbishment. It comes after it expanded its capacity in 2017.

The firm’s MD Lewis Dawson has now told The Scotsman that the timing of the deal was “very fortuitous” – and comes after strong growth over the past five years, while it is expected to help it increase its turnover by 50 per cent from current levels over the next five. He said: “This is an exciting period of positive change for Bookspeed. It’s our mission to put more books into the world and a significantly expanded warehouse will help us do that… this expansion allows us to further modernise our warehouse and introduce more improvements and efficiencies into what we do.”

From left: co-founders Annie Rhodes and Kingsley Dawson, with their son Lewis Dawson, the firm's MD. Picture: contributed.

Bookspeed was founded almost 40 years ago by his parents Annie Rhodes and Kingsley Dawson (who remain in the business) as a next-day books wholesale service with a major focus on inclusivity regarding factors such as gender, ethnicity, religious belief, and sexuality. It now has more than 70 staff and supplies thousands of UK retailers with about two million books a year, operating in sectors such as gift, culture and heritage, visitor attractions, and garden centres.

Its customers also include clothing, homeware, and gift retailer Oliver Bonas, Westminster Abbey, garden centre chain Blue Diamond, and the Natural History Museum. Dawson says books on sale at such sites are there to “help tell the stories” of each place, such as more insight into the history and architecture of a historic site, or for a shop “bring more depth to the retail story that they're looking to communicate to their consumers”.

The firm’s expansion also comes amid a post-pandemic pick-up in people buying and reading books, and Dawson and Bookspeed are seeing consumers increasingly veer towards physical books, especially in aspirational leisure sectors, as they mull the increasing presence and impact of digital devices on mental wellbeing. Another factor he sees as a growth driver for the wholesaler is “how giftable books are... I think there's something about gifting your book to somebody that shows you've really thought about who they are and what they're interested in, and you're giving them an object that isn't disposable”.

The MD added that the firm – which is eyeing further hires and again increasing capacity further down the line – sees much more room for growth in its existing sectors after the latest boost of its physical footprint. “This will allow us to continue that journey, but also go into pitching for bigger bits of business with the confidence that we will be able to deliver on the operational requirements.”