IT’S A case of sticking to the knitting for books and stationery retailer Eason & Son Ltd.

The company has put its property assets in the UK and its interests in South Africa up for sale as it withdraws from what it considers to be “non-core” activities and focuses its efforts exclusively on the island of Ireland.

In Britain, the retailer is selling property related to its former BBS subsidiary. This involves the freehold on 15 shops, of which 13 are, ironically enough, rented to rival WH Smith.

The proceeds should be material to the company and will be used to help fund its planned €20 million investment in the Irish business over the next three years.

In relation to South Africa, BDO Corporate Finance has been engaged to handle the sale of Eason Electronic and Eason Electricity. Both have seen their revenues and margins eroded in recent times.

In the past two years, Eason has booked impairment charges of €8.4 million on the South African businesses.

Eason’s managing director Conor Whelan told me this week that a “number of interested parties” have engaged with its advisers and he is hopeful the process can be completed within six months.