The Bookshop Darlinghurst is looking for a new owner.

After serving the Sydney and Australian LGBTI community for 34 years, The Bookshop Darlinghurst owner Les McDonald has announced that he is selling his business.

The store is a landmark on Sydney’s queer landscape and is a beloved community space for many loyal shoppers.

McDonald founded the shop in 1982 to predominantly supply gay men with books, magazines and merchandise that reflected their lifestyle and experiences. The bookshop opened two years before homosexual sex was legalised in New South Wales.  It quickly grew into an institution in the years following.

Changing and growing with the times, the inventory was expanded to serve lesbian, transgender, bisexual and intersex clientele as well as stock an expansive range of LGBTI-interest feature films on DVD.

McDonald plans to retire after the sale, saying, “I’ve enjoyed running this bookshop for the past 34 years and I’ll be sad to move on. But it’s time for the business to be taken over by a younger and more energetic individual. It would also be an ideal and very economic opportunity for a couple.”

He noted that the shop is extremely well-positioned for the future and already has an excellent website and mail-order business that serves the Australian community and beyond.

He added, “I believe that it’s essential that this beloved bookshop continues to serve the LGBTI community for many decades to come.”

In 2011, the business was recognised at ACON’s Honour Awards for its contributions to the LGBTI community.

McDonald is optimistic about the future of the business. Noting that ebook sales have reached a plateau, he said, “Book sales are on the rise, and specialist bookshops are not merely surviving, but thriving. There will always be a strong market for a business that knows its particular niche as comprehensively as we do at The Bookshop Darlinghurst.”

He noted that The Bookshop is not just a shop. “We’re a community hub, and a safe space for people as well, and that is something a new owner might not want to expand on.”

For more information and to express interest in this iconic business, please contact Gary Peroy of Peroys Accountants and Advisers at [email protected] or 92801999.