“The End of JHS”: Vintage and Fret-King Owner John Hornby Skewes & Co. To Cease Operations at 60 Years

British musical instrument distributor John Hornby Skewes & Co. has announced that they will be ceasing operations after sixty years in business. The company is known for owning brands such as Vintage and Fret-King, while distributing other notable brands, including Danelectro, Donner, and Godin, to the UK. Oddly enough, the move is not a financial one, and the company’s statement points out that it is in good standing.

JHS (not to be confused with the American pedal brand) was owned by John H. Skewes, who died last year. The firm is comprised of a property company and a trading company, which are majority-owned by family trusts established by Skewes. After his death, the companies were to be sold, but efforts to find buyers have been unsuccessful.

“Therefore, the trustees, shareholders and board of JHS have concluded that to achieve the settlor’s mandate a process of conducting an orderly winding down of the company will commence,” Music Inc Mag explains.

“This is not a liquidation or administration process forced upon us because of insolvency. JHS is entirely solvent,” JHS stated. “Over the coming months, and we anticipate the process could take as much as 12 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, which include Vintage, Fretking, Encore, Guitar Tech, Santos Martinez, Kinsman, Antoni, Drum Tech, JHS Hornby, and The Blues/The Busker. All brands will be offered for sale to the highest bidder.”

Fret-King and Vintage both offer bass models with Fret-King leaning more towards the high end. Vintage most recently unveiled the Limited Edition VJ74 bass to mark the brand’s 30th anniversary.

JHS concluded their message by sharing thanks to the workers and customers.

“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 60 years, offer heartfelt thanks to all of the brands who have entrusted their products to our care over the years, and recognize the contributions made by our designers and contributors, who have helped us achieve so much for so long,” they wrote. “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.”