Pentos

Pentos plc was a British holding company that operated between 1972 and 1995 and was best known for its ownership of the Dillons, Ryman and Athena retail brands.

Pentos was established from a shell company by Terry Maher in January 1972 as a vehicle for his investment in the publisher Marshall, Morgan & Scott and the joinery company Austin Hall Group. By May 1972 Pentos had acquired a listing on the London Stock Exchange through its reverse takeover of the listed Cape Town & District Gas, Light & Coke company.

Pentos entered the retail trade through its purchase of the Birmingham-based Hudsons Bookshops chain by its subsidiary Marshall, Morgan & Scott in 1972. It bought Dillon's University Bookshop in London in 1977, and the Dublin-based Hodges Figgis bookshop in 1978.

Pentos' shares were suspended and the company went into receivership on 1 March 1995.