“That will be the end of JHS after more than 60 years”: Vintage and Fret-King owner John Hornby Skewes & Co is closing down – but not because of financial troubles

Vintage and Fret-King owner John Hornby Skewes & Co. Ltd has announced it will be shutting down after 60 years in business despite being profitable.

The surprise decision, which brings the firm’s six decades of operation to a close, follows the death of late company founder John Hornby Skewes, who passed away last year.

As per a statement from JHS, “The JHS business comprises of a property company and a trading company, both majority owned by family trusts set up by the late John H. Skewes, the settlor of those trusts who stated that after his death, the Companies should be sold.”

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The formal steps to wind down the business's operations have now commenced, with the process expected to take up to 12 months. It comes after attempts to sell the business, so it could move forward under new proprietorship, failed to bear fruit.

JHS adds that the process “is not a liquidation or administration process forced upon us because of insolvency”.

The statement continues: “Over the coming months, and we anticipate the process could take as much as twelve months, the company will continue to trade, downsizing along the way, gradually disposing of its stock and assets, including its valuable trademarks and other intellectual property.”

Those brands include Vintage, Fret-King, Encore, and acoustic guitar maker, Santos Martinez. The remaining stock “will be offered for sale to the highest bidder” the statement continues.

JHS' Garforth, England, headquarters will also be vacated, ending a 35-year tenancy, out of which countless electric guitars, basses, acoustics, and amps have been crafted and sold.

“The trustees, shareholders and directors of JHS would like to pay tribute to the immense hard work of generations of staff who have worked so diligently in the company over the last sixty years,” the statement adds.

“Most of all, we would all like to say a huge and most sincere thank you to you, and all of our customers around the world, without whom, we would not have had a business at all.

“So many relationships and friendships have been forged, so much has been achieved, and here at JHS, we will miss all of that.”

Recent Vintage highlights have seen the launch of $150 Retro desktop amp, which vied to challenge Positive Grid and Boss in the amp modeller market, and its Revo Series, which takes a leaf from Fender's Paranormal playbook for a standout range of affordable offsets.

The JHS estate rounds out its statement by hinting at “great deals to be had” as it looks to part with its last remaining stock.