Slightly Foxed bookshop to close

Slightly Foxed bookshop on London's Gloucester Road is to close at the end of the month due to “extortionate” rental rates.

The literary quarterly, Slightly Foxed, took over the second-hand Gloucester Road bookshop in 2009. It continued to sell second-hand books as well as a curated stock of new titles. The bookshop has also been a “showcase for the magazine’s publishing enterprises”, a meeting place for subscribers, and a venue for publishing events.

However, as the bookshop’s lease draws to an end and with ever-rising rent prices, Slighty Foxed has made the decision to “seek pastures new” and close the Gloucester Road bookshop.

Publicity manager, Stephanie Allen, told The Bookseller: "It's been tough in the retail trade for us. It's been a good six years for us, but it's getting more difficult."

A statement on the bookshop’s website, read: “We’ve loved having our bookshop on Gloucester Road… But gradually the area around the bookshop has changed. The coffee shops and pâtisseries are moving in and, as in every other part of central London, rents are rising. Now our lease on the premises is coming to an end, and we’ve concluded that it’s time to seek pastures new.”

The shop is now holding a sale of all its old and new books until it ceases trading on 29th January.

All Slightly Foxed’s own publications and book-related merchandise will continue to be available directly from the Slightly Foxed office in Hoxton Square while the company “considers new possibilities.”

The shop employed two staff members. New books manager Charlotte Colwill, will become the new manager of the Dulwich Bookshop in February and old books manager, Ben Scott, is thinking about his next move. He can be contacted on bbscott22@yahoo.co.uk.