Booktopia Enters Voluntary Administration Amid Revenue Struggles

Australian online book retailer Booktopia has entered voluntary administration, following a first-half revenue downturn and struggles to secure additional funding.

The ASX-listed company on Wednesday appointed McGrathNicol restructuring partners Keith Crawford, Matthew Caddy, and Damien Pasfield as voluntary administrators.

The administrators are ‘undertaking an urgent assessment of Booktopia’s business while options for its sale and/or recapitalisation are explored,’ McGrathNicol Restructuring said.

The first meeting of creditors will occur by Monday, July 15, with an exact date to be shared with creditors ahead of time.

The news arrives months after February’s difficult FY24 H1 trading update, in which the 20-year-old business revealed revenues of $86.3 million, down 22% from the prior corresponding period.

The business said its focus on upgrading its fulfilment centre contributed to lower sales, with cut-back inventory, slower delivery times, and wound-back marketing efforts hampering its efforts.

Those results marked a significant turnaround from its COVID-era results, buoyed by a surge in readers seeking books to occupy them through lockdowns.

Booktopia announced the redundancy of approximately 50 staff members in June as it sought to cut costs.

At the same time, the company announced co-founder Tony Nash would step down, marking a significant change from its leadership.