Pentos

Pentos plc was a British holding company that operated between 1972 and 1995 and was best known for its ownership of the Dillons, Ryman and Athena retail brands.^[1]

This article is about the company. For pentobarbiturates, see pentobarbital. For the fictional city, see Pentos (A Song of Ice and Fire).

Pentos was established from a shell company by Terry Maher in January 1972 as a vehicle for his investment in the publisher Marshall, Morgan & Scott and the joinery company Austin Hall Group.^[2] By May 1972 Pentos had acquired a listing on the London Stock Exchange through its reverse takeover of the listed Cape Town & District Gas, Light & Coke company.^[3]

Pentos entered the retail trade through its purchase of the Birmingham-based Hudsons Bookshops chain by its subsidiary Marshall, Morgan & Scott in 1972.^[4] It bought Dillon's University Bookshop in London in 1977,^[5] and the Dublin-based Hodges Figgis bookshop in 1978.^[6]

Pentos' shares were suspended and the company went into receivership on 1 March 1995.^[1]

References

1. "Last chapter for Pentos Buyer likely for Dillons". Glasgow Herald. 2 March 1995. Retrieved 17 October 2021.
2. Maher 1994, pp. 1–3.
3. Maher 1994, pp. 20–23.
4. "Marshall, Morgan acquire bookshops". The Times. 19 April 1972. p. 24. Retrieved 18 October 2021.
5. "Dillon's bookshop taken in Pentos stable for £650,000". The Times. 19 July 1977. p. 24. Retrieved 18 October 2021.
6. Falvey, Deirdre (21 April 2018). "Hodges Figgis: A 250-year-old story of selling books". Irish Times. Retrieved 18 October 2021.

Bibliography

• Maher, Terry (1994). Against My Better Judgement: Adventures in the City and in the Book Trade. London: Sinclair Stevenson. ISBN 1-85619-518-X.