Bookspeed expands after sales grow to £9m

Specialist book and gift supplier Bookspeed has more than doubled its operational capacity to more than 25,000 sq ft by investing significantly in additional warehouse facilities. The expansion follows a hike in the company's turnover from around £6m in 2015 to just under £9m in 2017.

Bookspeed is a book wholesaler and toy and gift distributor. Its new facility on Edinburgh’s Albert Road, which is located close to the firm’s headquarters at Salamander Yards in Leith, has upped the company's operational space from around 13,500sq ft to more than 25,000sq ft.

Lewis Dawson, commercial director at Bookspeed, said the new facility was "integral" to the company's plans for ongoing growth.

“In 2015, we set out to double our turnover and have already surpassed growth expectations three years ahead of our plans and increased our team by 20% to more than 40 staff", he said. "We have also grown our customer base and geographical reach across the UK, while continuing to work with long-term customers and trading partners. Our focus is to build on this success and continue to expand in the coming years as we add new ranges and exclusive non-book product lines to our portfolio. In recent years, we have invested significantly in all parts of our business including our IT infrastructure which now allows us to operate out of the two sites concurrently.”

(Left-right) Bookspeed's managing director Matthew Perren, sales director Fiona Stout and commercial director Lewis Dawson

Bookspeed’s expansion reinforces its commitment to investing in Edinburgh and local employment, the company said. The firm, which is an accredited Living Wage Employer, has evolved considerably over the past three decades since it was founded in the city in 1986 by Dawson’s parents, Annie Rhodes and Kingsley Dawson, who both continue in the business as board members. The company’s senior management team also includes managing director, Matthew Perren, and sales director, Fiona Stout.

Over the last 15 years, the company has undergone a "major evolution" by transforming from a field-based to fully-digital sales operation where its sales account managers work remotely with its now 2,000-strong customer base all over the UK. 

Dawson said: “We have always maintained that the physical book has a bright future, particularly for our markets where books are purchased not just for their content, but for their design, format, colours and textures. Through adding gifts and toys to our more than 50,000-strong book range, we are substantially extending our offering.”