www.bookdonors.co.uk
History of Bookdonors in 10 ½ Slides
Tom Murdoch-Kenny
Managing Director
September 2015
A Brief History of Bookdonors
– Bookdonors Community Interest Company
 Trading as a social enterprise since October 2005
 Started with £20k Grant from Scotland Unltd
 More-than-Profit ethos, no shareholders, long term partnerships
 Taken advantage of Grant Funding when available
 Supported by Directors Loans
 Secured long term finance (loan capital) March 2013
 Now employ 32 full time staff across three locations
– Provide employment and training opportunities for young people and the
socially disadvantaged
– Provide income generation opportunities to over 70 charities and 40
libraries across Scotland & NE England
Trading in Used Books to Help People, Charities and The Environment
200
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
Bookdonors: Context to Growth
Tonnage Collected/ Month
April 2011 - August 2015
150
100
50
0
Where do we get our Books from ?
• Collect throughout Scotland
Fleet of six dedicated vans with load monitoring
– From charity shops
– Libraries
– Community groups
• Local collection hubs
– Glasgow
– Dundee
– Selkirk
Where do they go?
• Delivered to Tweedbank
– By fleet of dedicated vans
– By truck from Glasgow & Dundee depots
– By Pallets
Dedicated 20,000sq ft Processing Facility
Processing Books
Sorting
 Manual process
 Sort by Quality
Automatic Scanning
 Grade by Price
 Reject if too
many for sale
 Reject if too
heavy
How does it work ?
• We Sell Used Books On-Line on
– Amazon (90%+ of sales)
– Advanced Book Exchange (ABE)
www.bookdonors.co.uk
Fulfilling Orders
• Pick & Pack
– 5 miles of shelving
– Each book has a
• File reference,
• Year, month file number,
• place counter (1-240)
– Orders Software generates
labels for sold books
• Manually Picked and Packaged
– Ship 8,000 books/week
Bookdonors: Context to Need for Growth
Average Selling Price (inc fees)
£5.30
£4.80
£4.30
£3.80
£3.30
£2.80
Falling Net Sales Price
- 60%
eFees fixed at 15%
Postal Costs Increasing
Bookdonors: Delivered Growth
Bookdonors: Delivered Growth
Investment to Deliver Growth
Total Investments from Social Investment Scotland
–
–
–
–
£105,000 6 Year Term Loan
£70,000 Grant
£76,125 6 Year Term Loan
Total Investment £251,125
Used for:
–
–
–
–
Vehicles ( 5 Ford Transits )
Shelving ( 5 miles of shelving)
IT Investment
Working Capital
Grant, 70000,
28%
Term Loan,
181125, 72%
Income Generation
Bookdonors Growth in Turnover
(Updated Plan - New Premises)
£2,200,000
£2,087,140
£2,000,000
£1,800,000
£1,665,997
£1,600,000
Turnover
£1,400,000
£1,316,721
£1,200,000
£1,034,437
£1,000,000
£845,709
£746,636
£800,000
£702,219
£637,259
£600,000
£448,527
£400,000
£208,979
£200,000
£50,288
£0
2005/2006
2006/2007
2007/2008
2008/2009
2009/2010
2010/2012
2012/2013
2013/2014
2014/2015
2015/2016
2016/2017
Environmental & Social Impact
Recycling,
10%
Book
Sales,
20%
Book
Processing
Bookdonors in Numbers
• 2,200 Tonnes Per Year
Diverted from Landfill
• 6.5 Million Books
Wholesale
70%
Social Impact:
– Provide income generation opportunities to over 70 charities and 40
libraries across Scotland & NE England
– Appx. 8-10% of turnover paid pack back to Charities
Social Impact
Social Impact:
• Provide employment and training opportunities for young
people and the socially disadvantaged
■ 100% Above National Living Wage
■ 0% Zero Hours Contracts
■ 0% Agency Staff
Employment Sources
Recruited From Training Scheme
Bookdonors Employment Profile
Previously Unemployed
80%
Over 50 years
25%
Under 25
years
45%
52%
Age 26-49
30%
1
www.bookdonors.co.uk
Trading in Used Books to Help People, Charities and The Environment