About Waterstones
Waterstones is a Retail company based in London (United Kingdom) founded in 1982, and was acquired by Elliott Management in April 2018. Retailer of books. Waterstones has completed 2 acquisitions, including Blackwell's and Foyles. Its website waterstones.com draws about 5.2 million monthly visits. Its focus areas include Consumer Goods, Retail Chains and Books.
Company details
Waterstones was founded in 1982 in London, United Kingdom, as a books retailer. Operations are maintained across approximately 250 shops in the UK, Ireland, and mainland Europe, based on data from November 2016. A web store is operated with click-and-collect services for customers. Cafe W is run in association with the bookshops, providing free Wi-Fi and food sourced from local materials.
- Headquarters London, United Kingdom
- Stage Acquired
- SectorsRetail
- Website category Arts and Entertainment · Books and Literature
- Website waterstones.com
- Social LinkedIn X Facebook
- Acquired by Elliott Management (Apr 2018)
- Latest Funding Round$167.99M (USD), Debt – Conventional
Aug 2025
- InvestorsElliott Management
& 2 more
- Investments & AcquisitionsBlackwell's
& 1 more
- Acquired byElliott Management
(Apr 2018)
Funding Insights of Waterstones
- Total Rounds 1
- Last Round Debt – Conventional — $167.99M
- First Round $167.99M
(Aug 2025)
- Investors Count 2
All 1 funding rounds of Waterstones with amounts and investors; the two latest post-money valuations are shown, the rest are part of the premium plan.
3 investors in total: 3 institutional.
Investors in Waterstones
Waterstones has secured backing from 3 investors, including institutional investors. Prominent investors backing the company include Elliott Management, Barclays Corporate Banking and HSBC UK.
| Investor | Description | Founded Year | Domain | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Corporate banking services are provided by Barclays to businesses. | barclayscorporate.com | |||
HSBC UK is engaged in providing personal and business banking services. | hsbc.co.uk | United Kingdom | ||
Multiple sectors are invested in by the hedge fund. | 1977 | elliottmgmt.com | New York, United States |
Investor details for Waterstones
The complete investor list, round-by-round participation and investor portfolios require an active premium plan.
- Complete investor list
- Round participation
- Investor portfolios
- Co-investor network
Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.
People of Waterstones
2 people are tracked at Waterstones (2 in leadership).
| Name | Role | Group |
|---|---|---|
Ian Wilcox | Head Of Finance | Leadership |
Karen Ashworth | Chief Financial Officer | Leadership |
Complete people profiles for Waterstones
Full employee and board profiles, team structure, tenure and professional contact details require an active premium plan.
- Full employee list
- Team structure
- Board tenure
- Professional contacts
Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.
Investments & Acquisitions by Waterstones
Waterstones has strategically engaged in corporate development activities, having acquired 2 companies. Notable acquisitions include Blackwell's and Foyles.
| Company Name | Description | Domain | Location | Founded | Acquired | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Books are retailed through a chain of stores by Blackwell's. | blackwells.co.uk | Oxford, United Kingdom | 1879 | Feb 2022 | •••• | |
Books are retailed by Foyles in the United Kingdom. | foyles.co.uk | London, United Kingdom | 1903 | Sep 2018 | •••• |
Complete acquisition details for Waterstones
Acquired stakes, deal sources and the complete acquisition history require an active premium plan.
- Acquired stakes
- Deal sources
- Complete history
- Exports
Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.
Timeline of Waterstones
5 dated milestones of Waterstones across 43 years, from founding to its latest funding, stage changes and deals.
- Founded Waterstones is founded.
- Exit Acquired by Elliott Management.
- Acquisition Acquires Foyles.
- Acquisition Acquires Blackwell's.
- Funding First funding round of $168.0M.
Web traffic of Waterstones
The website of Waterstones (waterstones.com) receives about 5.2M visits a month and ranks #8,132 among all websites worldwide, #762 in Books and Literature.
- Monthly visits5.2M
▼ 18.2% vs previous month
- Unique visitors3M
per month
- Global rank#8,132
among all websites
- Category rank#762
Arts and Entertainment · Books and Literature
- Bounce rate49%
- Pages per visit4.0
- Average visit2 min 50 sec
- DevicesDesktop 31% · Mobile 69%
Websites whose visitors overlap most with Waterstones. Affinity shows how closely the audiences match.
| Website | Domain | Audience affinity | Monthly visits | Global rank | Profile |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
abebooks.co.uk | abebooks.co.uk | 100% | #20,061 | – | |
awesomebooks.com | awesomebooks.com | 70% | #22,973 | – | |
| kobo.com | 65% | 8.8M | #5,694 | View details | |
faber.co.uk | faber.co.uk | 65% | #169,743 | – | |
versobooks.com | versobooks.com | 61% | #79,501 | – | |
| •••••••••• | ••••••.com | ••% | •.•M | #••••• | – |
| •••••••••• | ••••••.com | ••% | •.•M | #••••• | – |
| •••••••••• | ••••••.com | ••% | •.•M | #••••• | – |
All 40 similar websites and full traffic analytics for Waterstones
The complete similar-websites list, audience overlap and engagement analytics require an active premium plan.
- 40 similar websites
- Audience overlap
- Engagement analytics
- Traffic by brand
Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.
Unlock complete access to The Company Check
Get unrestricted viewing across everything we track — from companies and brands to investors, funding rounds, acquisitions, financials, and more.
- Unlimited viewing on all profiles Companies, investors, financials, funding, acquisitions & directors
- Full access to every database India & global coverage, advanced filters and rich profile details
- Always-on access from your team account Single premium plan for everything you see on the portal
Related news about Waterstones
Complete news archive for Waterstones
Full article history, source details, and older brand coverage require an active premium plan.
- Full article archive
- Source and publication date
- Older coverage
- Brand-specific news history
Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.
Frequently Asked Questions about Waterstones
Waterstones was founded in 1982 and raised its 1st funding round 43 years after it was founded.
Waterstones is headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is registered at London, England, United Kingdom.
Waterstones was founded in 1982 in London, United Kingdom, as a books retailer. Operations are maintained across approximately 250 shops in the UK, Ireland, and mainland Europe, based on data from November 2016. A web store is operated with click-and-collect services for customers. Cafe W is run in association with the bookshops, providing free Wi-Fi and food sourced from local materials.
Waterstones has made 2 acquisitions, including Blackwell's, and Foyles.
Waterstones has 3 investors. Key investors include Elliott Management, Barclays Corporate Banking, and HSBC UK.
Yes. Waterstones was acquired by Elliott Management in April 2018.
The website of Waterstones receives about 5.2 million visits a month and ranks #8,132 among all websites worldwide.