Small business campaign names book club in top 100

Gently Used Book Club owner Pat Austin (right) said she was pleased to be selected

The owner of a Wolverhampton book business has said she is proud to be named as one of the 100 most impressive independent firms by the Small Business Saturday UK campaign.

Pat Austin runs The Gently Used Book Club, an online business which saves books from landfill and delivers them to subscribers each month.

She has been featured in the group's annual list ahead of Small Business Saturday on 7 December, which is a nationwide campaign urging people to shop local.

Ms Austin said she was grateful to be recognised and thanked the city council, which she said kickstarted her firm with a grant during the pandemic.

Councillor Chris Burden, cabinet member for city development, said the authority was joining the call to encourage public support for local small businesses.

The campaign group, which features one business a day in the lead up to Saturday, said it aimed to support more than five million independent businesses across the UK.

Ms Austin said she was pleased to be selected.

“It makes me very proud to see my hard work recognised in this way," she said.

“Pat is one of the many success stories – we pride ourselves on being an entrepreneurial city, and to think Pat established this business during lockdown and is now seen as one of the top 100 most impressive small firms in the UK by the Small Business Saturday Campaign is just incredible," Burden said.