Borders U.K. targets bookish singles

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Don’t laugh: Borders U.K. is hoping that lovelorn literary singles will gravitate to its site to connect with other like-minded readers for some off-the-page encounters. The Bookseller is reporting that Borders’ new online dating service, optimistically dubbed “Happily Ever After,” will successfully match “people who share similar interests and hobbies.” And, not incidentally, sell a ton of product:

Visitors to the Borders website can sign up to the new service over the next few weeks for £1 per month. After that period the subscription will be £9.99 per month. The site also showcases a wide range of books for all the latest advice on dating.

Profiting off of others’ unhappiness is obviously nothing new – it’s the raison d’être of the self-help publishing industry – but this seems a bit over-the-top nonetheless. Not that this is the first time anyone has tried to marry dating services and bookselling: Penguin U.K. did something similar last year, in conjunction with the dating web site Match.com.

Recession woes for Borders UK and Bertelsmann

There are more signs this week that the beleaguered book-selling chain Borders UK could be up for sale. On Thursday, The Independent reported that owner Luke Johnson has hired a corporate finance firm to seek out new “funding opportunities” for the 51-store chain.

The bookseller, which operates the Borders and Book etc fascias, has hired Clearwater Corporate Finance to run any sale, although a sales memorandum has not yet been sent out. The appointment is the clearest signal yet that the Channel 4 chairman Mr Johnson – whose private equity house Risk Capital Partners acquired Borders UK for £20m in 2007 – is poised to offload the struggling bookseller. Market sources said that Borders UK, which is believed to be loss-making, could be sold for a nominal sum.

Borders UK declined to comment on speculation that it would be put up for sale, but a spokeswoman confirmed it had appointed an adviser to “seek out funding opportunities”. She added: “We will be keeping our staff and suppliers fully appraised of this activity.”

In other recession-related news, Bertelsmann, the company that owns Random House, has denied speculation that it plans to cut as many as 10,000 jobs across its various divisions, though CEO Hartmut Ostrowski has allowed that the company is preparing for “the largest cost cutting program in [Bertelsmann's] history” to cope with the global economic slowdown.