ONE of Southampton’s last independently run bookshops is celebrating after a fundraising appeal secured its future.

October Books in Portswood Road faced a bleak future after a cash-flow crisis put it in danger of not being able to afford to renew the lease.

The co-operatively run bookshop which has been in Southampton for 37 years and in Portswood Road for 11 years, is thanking its customers and others who helped it reach its £6,000 target it needed after a three-month campaign.

The crisis at the bookshop started when sales were down, partly due to Southampton University’s Student Entitlement Card, which was introduced in 2011 and gives users £300 pre-loaded to buy books, stationery and other goods from John Smith’s shops and website. 

Now it is being phased out and the shop is hoping that the long-term future will be rosy.

Ian Lamming of October Books, said: “We have been so pleased with the excellent support from our customers, without whom we would really struggle.

“Since the appeal, sales have been up and they improved dramatically in response to our appeal, and people often would come in and buy an extra book and we had a good lot of donations and loans.”

Mr Lamming, stressed that despite the campaign being successful, the future does depend on sales. 
He added: “Provided we maintain this level of support then our future is guaranteed.”