Lingham's Eleanor and Peter Davies to retire

Lingham's Booksellers, a former Bookseller Industry Awards Independent Bookseller of the Year, has been put up for sale.

Husband and wife owners Eleanor and Peter Davies have put the award-winning store in Heswall, Wirral, on the market because at 65, they want to retire.

Lingham’s won the Independent Bookseller of the Year title at the Bookseller Industry Awards in 2013.

The shop has been around for 30 years, but the Davies’ bought it in 2010 from previous owners the Retail Group. The move was a management buy-out as Eleanor had run the shop for 10 years at the time and couldn’t bear to see it closed, a sentiment she still holds.

Eleanor said: “At the time I was desperate for the town not to lose it, and in the end my husband and I, who had just retired from working in the NHS, bought it ourselves with his lump sum. Since then we have pulled it back on track. But we are both 65 now, or I will be turning 65 next year, my husband is already and we have five grandchildren we would like to be spending more time with. When my children ask if we can babysit because one of my grandchildren has chicken pox, I would like to be able to say ‘yes’.”

She revealed: “I would also love to write a book about the shop. I have been keeping a diary of all the little things that have happened here, the comedy, the strange things, the sad things and I would love to write a book on it. Whether it will be fact of fiction yet though I don’t know. So I will be looking for an agent.”

Davies has previously written four teen books with a Christian theme, published over 10 years ago by Scripture Union.

“We have got to sell the shop first and I am well aware that might not be straight forward. We are desperate to sell it as an ongoing business, it is greatly loved in the area and we want that to continue. It is a great community resource.”

The lease ends at the end of 2015 and the Davies’ would like to sell the shop before then.

Lingham's makes an annual profit and its bottom line has improved in recent years due to cost-saving measure they have taken, Eleanor said, although said she would prefer interested parties to contact her directly for a price.

When asked if she had enjoyed the experience of owning a bookshop, Davies said: “I would never not have done it. I do not think the shop would have been here now if we hadn’t have bought it. Working in a bookshop is just a wonderful thing and selling and recommending books is a wonderful job.”