Pentos

This article is about the company. For pentobarbiturates, see pentobarbital. For the fictional city, see Pentos (A Song of Ice and Fire).
Pentos
Company typePublic limited company
IndustryRetail
FoundedJanuary 1972
FounderTerry Maher
Defunct1 March 1995
FateReceivership
HeadquartersLondon, United Kingdom
Key people
Terry Maher (Founder & CEO until 1993)
Sir Kit McMahon (Chairman from 1993)
ProductsBooks, stationery, office equipment, posters and cards
BrandsDillons, Ryman, Athena, Wilding Office Equipment, Hodges Figgis, Hudsons

Pentos was a British retail holding company that operated between 1972 and 1995. Founded by entrepreneur Terry Maher, the company expanded rapidly through debt-financed acquisitions and became one of the United Kingdom’s largest specialist retail groups during the 1980s and early 1990s. Its portfolio included prominent chains such as the bookseller Dillons, the stationer Ryman, the poster and gift retailer Athena, and Wilding Office Equipment. Following mounting losses, repeated profit warnings, and the failure to secure renewed banking facilities, Pentos entered receivership in March 1995, marking a notable collapse in the UK retail sector of the period.

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