More closures at SSG bookshops
Following the intervention of the Charities Commission in May all but two of the original 23 bookshops acquired by SSG from SPCK in 2006 are now closed.
An interim manager has been appointmented to take control from the Brewer family of the St Stephen the Great Charitable Trust (SSG) which owned the former SPCK chain of bookshops.
As of 5th June responses to Phil Groom’s blog (http://spckssg. wordpress.com/) indicated that the only former SSG shops remaining open were those in Chichester and Durham, both of which are run by ‘independent’ companies (controlled by the Mark and Phil Brewer).
The last two years have seen what was once the largest chain of Christian bookshops in the UK, and a 200 year old business, virtually wiped out by the mismanagement of the Brewers, with well over a hundred people put out of work and many suppliers left with unpaid accounts.
The closure of the Chester shop is of concern as it is understood that all personal staff records were kept at this location and it is unclear whether the closure here, and at other SSG shops, has been instigated by the Charity Commission.
The Charity Commission issued the following statement to Christian Marketplace on 10th June.
“Concerns were raised with the Charity Commission relating to governance and internal financial controls at St Stephen the Great Charitable Trust and St Stephen the Great (both registered under charity number 1119839). We contacted the trustees with regard to the issues raised with us. On the basis both of the initial concerns raised with the Commission and of the information provided by the charity in response, on 26 September 2008 we opened a statutory Inquiry under section 8 of the Charities Act 1993.
“On 28 April 2009, as a temporary and protective measure, the Charity Commission appointed Peter Gotham of Begbies Traynor as Interim Manager of St Stephen the Great Charitable Trust. Because this inquiry remains open and ongoing we would not be in a position to go into further detail at this time, but we intend, as is normal procedure, to publish a statement of the results of the inquiry setting out our findings once the inquiry is completed.”
The statement does not therefore clarify the situation with regard to the shop closures but, as the Interim Manager is now running the charity in place of the trustees, it is reasonable to assume that it is indeed the Commission who have enacted the closure of all the remaining SSG shops.
One further development is that it seems the former SSG bookshop in Worcester may have reopened, almost a year after the former manager, Steve Jeynes, was found dead at his home two weeks after having lost his job with the closure of the shop. However calls to the shop remain unanswered and we have been unable to verify this information as at 10th June. Our thoughts are however with Steve’s family, wife Joy and children Katie, Rachel, Andrew & Emily, at the anniversary of Steve’s death.
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