The U.K.'s Guardian Bookshop has been purchased by former head of books Sara Montgomery and former e-commerce manager Nick Sidwell. The Bookseller reported that they have founded start-up Monwell Limited, and agreed on a deal with Guardian News & Media Limited to take over the online bookseller effective immediately. The newspaper group's recent restructuring efforts have also included the closure of its dedicated children's books site in June and the end of the Guardian First Book Prize in April.
Montgomery said the business will continue to operate as the Guardian Bookshop and will retain the support of the newspaper: "We started this week running it independently, so our first months will be in the run up to Christmas. It is a really useful tool for Guardian readers, it is very popular and it sells an awful lot of books to readers each year--it is one of the largest book retailers in the U.K."