Book distributor CMD Booksource is closing its Irish operations effective 30 September.

The company says that ‘the economic situation was such that … [it] … was not possible’ to operate the business in Ireland profitably.

Speaking about the news, Publishing Ireland President Jean Harrington said that she was terribly saddened and that the focus of Publishing Ireland would be working with their ‘affected members to help and support them in finding alternate distribution.’ She also said that it provided an example of how important it was for government to implement ‘polices to help businesses do business.’

Client publishers including Mercier Press, Columba Press, Liberties Press, UCD Press and The Stinging Fly Press will now need to seek alternative distribution from 1 October 2010.

Although the company will stop shipping and distributing books on 30 September, CMD Booksource says it will still ‘collect cash from customers and chase payment of outstanding debt, which will be paid to client publishers in the usual manner.’ This should mean that no client publisher incurs a loss because of the closure.

CMD Booksource was formed in April 2009 when Scottish-based Booksource, which is 90% owned by Publishing Scotland, took over Columba Mercier Distribution a joint venture between Columba Press and Mercier Press.

The Scottish operations will be unaffected.

A spokesperson for the company said that ‘CMD BookSource was set up as a completely separate company to BookSource, therefore [there] will be no impact on BookSource. Luckily for BookSource the downturn in the UK hasn’t been nearly as severe as that in Ireland.’