Art consultancy and valuation firm Gurr Johns bought auction house Dreweatts in October and the brand name, but not the staff, of book specialist Bloomsbury from stamp and coin specialist Stanley Gibbons Group.
Late last year it then announced that Stanley Gibbons also sold the brand name of Mallett. Mallett’s stock was sold off via auction last year.
Stanley Gibbons said in a stock exchange announcement: “The group sold the intellectual property rights and goodwill in respect of the Mallett brand, part of the group's interior division… for a consideration of £100,000.”
George Bailey, previously the chairman of Dreweatts and Bloomsbury, was brought in by Gurr Johns to run the auction house and is working on plans for the Bloomsbury and Mallett brands.
Stanley Gibbons had first entered into an agreement to sell Dreweatts to Mark Law's Millicent Holdings in May 2017. However, the deal did not complete due to lack of funds.
Gurr Johns paid £1.25m plus a maximum additional consideration of £0.4m (over the next 20 months) for Dreweatts and Bloomsbury last year.
Stanley Gibbons embarked on the asset sales to pay down debt. Last year it also sold its stake in the Masterpiece London fair.
In December it said it had raised £6m from the sale of ‘non-core businesses and assets’ and its total bank debt is currently £16.8m. It is now focusing its stamp and coin businesses.
