GAK is gone: UK music store giant GAK just got bought by Gear4music for £2.4 million

On Tuesday 25 March GAK's bright yellow bricks-and-mortar store on Brighton's North Road failed to open, instead displaying a message which read: "Closed for maintenance. We apologise for the inconvenience”. However, as more time dripped by it appeared that things weren't well in the GAK camp.

Now GAK's fortunes are out in the open and it's not good news for those hoping that the firm could continue trading from its much-loved Brighton store.

The GAK brand – which stands for Guitar, Amp, Keyboard – grew throughout the 90s via its original owner Gary Marshall, expanding its physical store and most notably moving into mail order and online sales in 2002.

In 2021 it passed to new owners Max McKellar and Ian Stephens.

At the time of the sale they told local paper The Argus that: "While GAK and the music industry have encountered and overcome challenges in recent years, we are now perfectly placed to take advantage of both short and long-term opportunities."

However, after failing to open in the days following that 25 March note in the window and the closure of the firms website and Reverb stores, fans suspected the worst.

And at least one customer who'd ordered a guitar online was sent an email stating: “Unfortunately, due to unforeseen circumstances the shop is closed and we’re unable to do any trading for the time being.”

"For sale: A musical instrument retailer with a turnover of £20,364,000"

And when The Argus reported a listing on Business Sale Report offering “a musical instrument retailer and supplier in the South East of England, with a turnover of £20,364,000” as being for sale, it appeared that the GAK game was up.

Now, via a new posting, it appears that the company has new owners. Stepping in to take on all of GAKs business and assets is the popular online Gear4Music chain, announcing via a statement on Gear4music's website that the company “has purchased the remaining stock, together with certain intangible assets including websites, trademarks, and commercial data, from the Administrators of GAK.co.uk Ltd and The Guitar, Amp & Keyboard Centre Ltd (together, “GAK”).”

Importantly, however, for fans of the Brighton store, Gear4Music is “not acquiring any part of GAK's trading business, nor any other assets or liabilities, and has no current plans to use the GAK trading name.”

Indeed, the www.gak.co.uk URL now redirects to the Gear4Music homepage.

While Gear4Music is a major UK trader and does have a large showroom as part of its UK business based in York, it appears that the company is in no hurry to take on any bricks and mortar right now.

And it gets worse

And while Gear4music are hoovering up GAK's stock and business their announcement also confirms that GAK has become insolvent, pointing out that the original company still “legally exists and remains responsible for its liabilities" via its insolvency agency, rather than any debt or commitment to customers being taken on by Gear4music themselves.

Instead, Gear4music suggest that GAK's customers may be able to “make a claim as an unsecured creditor in the insolvency” and it's assumed that any warranties or guarantees previously issued by GAK as part of a sale are most likely now void.

Meanwhile GAK's Brighton-based staff are now, after weeks of uncertainty, facing redundancy.

Speaking to The Argus, Brighton store employee Connor Wyatt said Connor confirmed that on March 31, staff were informed the business was going into administration and on April 7, staff were told they would be made redundant.

Connor has attached a poster to GAK's shutters giving his contact details, reading: "I'm still around for repairs if you need me".

Every cloud?…

The good news?

Shares in the publicly traded Gear4music increased “by 19 per cent to 139.9p in early trading” according to The Business Desk with the purchase of stock in the deal hitting a value of £1.8 million “together with certain intangible assets including websites, trademarks, and commercial data" costing in a further £0.6m.

It's clear that this represents something of a bargain (for a company "with a turnover of £20,364,000") and the removal of a rival from the (specifically UK) market also can't have hurt.

The closure of GAK in the UK follows the cross-European wind-up of Dutch retailer Bax Music, the closure of American chain Sam Ash's retail stores the US-based 300-store Guitar Center chain being recently listed by Moody’s and S&P Global Ratings as "distressed".