Manufacturing News
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- DEALS & FINANCE
The group behind the Oak Tree Mobility and Middletons brands bolstered its manufacturing capability with an under-the-radar acquisition of a motion furniture maker last year.
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- DEALS & FINANCE
A sizeable chunk of a circa £40 million U.K. cabinet furniture maker is now owned by its management team following changes in shareholdings at the private equity backed business.
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- BEDS & MATTRESSES
Millbrook Beds has agreed a three-year contract for Meachers Global Logistics to fully manage and operate its U.K. transport network on an exclusive basis.
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- RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION
National retailer Bensons for Beds has appointed the former group supply chain director of Dunelm as its new chief operating officer, the third person to hold the role since the start of the pandemic.
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- UPHOLSTERY
June saw the first increase in the quantity of upholstery shipped into the U.K. from China since the turn of the year as overall volumes continued their long-running ascent.
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- UPHOLSTERY
First half profits returned for the upholstery group behind the Alexander & James, Alstons and Ashley Manor businesses as it built sales momentum from the first quarter into the second.
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- RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION
Specialist retail investment firm Alteri Investors is beefing up its support for Bensons for Beds with fresh financial backing as the 170-store beds vertical continues to deliver its transformation plan.
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- SUPPLY & WHOLESALE
Growth slowed to its weakest level in over a year for U.K. furniture manufacturers in a sign production is catching up with the backlog from earlier high demand.
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- UPHOLSTERY
London based furniture company Andrew Martin International acquired a majority stake in a South Wales sofa manufacturer late last year, shortly before changes in its own ownership structure.
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- BEDS & MATTRESSES
Stoke bedding and upholstery components supplier Handy has secured a deal with an Italian partner that will see it offer customers fully-computerised foam cutting machinery on an exclusive basis.
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- BEDS & MATTRESSES
The owner of the Premier Inn hotel chain has appointed Silentnight as its official bed supplier in a contract win that will add millions of pounds of turnover to what is already the U.K.'s largest mattress manufacturer.
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- FLOORCOVERINGS
Listed flooring group Victoria has spent more in share buybacks in the past week than in the entirety of last year as it seeks to take advantage of a perceived undervaluation in its share price.
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- SUPPLY & WHOLESALE
Declining demand, rising costs and overall economic uncertainty across Europe will lead to a decline in PU foam production this year.
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- BEDS & MATTRESSES
The National Bed Federation (NBF), the trade association for U.K. bed manufacturers and their suppliers, has appointed Tom Williams as its new sustainability and circular economy lead.
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- DEALS & FINANCE
U.S. foam giant Carpenter offered to divest the U.K. comfort foam business of Recticel in order to get its takeover of the overall engineered foam. unit of the Belgian conglomerate over the line. But the offer didn't satisfy British authorities.
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- SUPPLY & WHOLESALE
Shippers are moving product more reliably around the globe in a sign supply chains may be beginning to normalise, according to a leading provider of analysis and advisory services in the sector.
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- FLOORCOVERINGS
The invasion of Ukraine by Russia has had a profound impact on the supply of engineered wood flooring according to a major U.K. supplier with worldwide sales north of £53 million.
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- UPHOLSTERY
Direct-to-consumer upholstery brand Maker&Son is understood to have found a new investment partner after closing in on a deal that ushers in a new era at the circa £25 million business.
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- UPHOLSTERY
At the turn of the century upholstered furniture maker Vale Bridgecraft had more than 600 stockists, comprising many of the finest independent retailers across the U.K. and Ireland.
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- BEDS & MATTRESSES
West Yorkshire mattress components supplier BC Springs built cash and stock through 2021/22 in a period that also saw the business deleverage.
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- DEALS & FINANCE
Leggett & Platt, the global maker of finished and semi-finished products for the bedding and furniture industries, has for the first time confirmed the value of its takeover of the Kayfoam Woolfson business last summer.
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- UPHOLSTERY
Restructuring advisors have been called in to a 75-year-old upholstered furniture vertical that sells through a mix of its own-branded and run showrooms and via third party stockists.
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- CASE GOODS
German furniture vertical Hülsta banked bigger profits at its U.K. retail and distribution arm in 2021 despite downsizing its shop footprint part way through the year.
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- SUPPLY & WHOLESALE
A South Yorkshire based ready-to-assemble furniture maker recorded a bigger deficit in the period that led to an external furniture group acquiring a quarter of the business earlier this year.
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- SUPPLY & WHOLESALE
The London based company behind the Artisan Furniture brand recorded a fall in profits at its U.K. business in the 12 months to March 31 this year.
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- CASE GOODS
The sale of property and chasing overdrawn loan accounts has left better prospects for the creditors of a once-sizeable U.K. bedroom furniture maker, even those holding no collateral.
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- BEDS & MATTRESSES
Value of investments rise for owners of West Yorkshire memory foam mattress and bedding company.
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- CASE GOODS
The U.K. finances of one of the trade's largest bedroom furniture companies are in better shape after its German parent company wrote off millions of pounds worth of intra-group borrowing.
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- COMMUNITY
Some of the brightest new designers entering the industry will showcase their talent as The Young Furniture Makers Exhibition returns for the the first time in three years this autumn.
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- RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION
Senior officials at bedroom and home office furniture chain Sharps retain a significant equity position in the c. £113 million turnover company following its sale by Sun European Partners late last year.
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- UPHOLSTERY
Colin Day, the founder and previous owner of upholstered furniture manufacturer Whitemeadow, has died after a prolonged battle with cancer, his family has announced.
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- FLOORCOVERINGS
Carpet yarn spinner Lawton Yarns agreed a six-figure settlement to end a legal claim with its former owner Danspin in a deal cut ahead of its subsequent management buyout earlier this year.
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- SUPPLY & WHOLESALE
Fewer restrictions and a less onerous lockdown helped the wholly-owned U.K. arm of French furniture brand Ligne Roset return to growth last year.
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- BEDS & MATTRESSES
West Midlands beds and upholstered furniture manufacturer Furmanac Group has appointed an experienced manufacturing executive as its new production director.
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- TRADE & INDUSTRY
The furniture market worldwide has already rebounded well above pre-pandemic levels according to specialist research consultancy CSIL Centre for Industrial Studies.
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- UPHOLSTERY
U.S. headquartered upholstered furniture giant La-Z-Boy has disclosed the terms of the buyout of the Colne sofa maker Furnico—its longtime U.K. manufacturing partner—for the first time.
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- BEDS & MATTRESSES
The CEO of Tempur Sealy International (TSI) says the number of acquisition candidates worldwide are growing as the world's largest bedding company announced a multi-million dollar investment in an emerging sleep technology platform.
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- BEDS & MATTRESSES
A change in the shareholder structure at Sleepeezee has given senior management a stake in the company for the first time this century, as well as a major incentive to build the value of the Rochester bed manufacturer.
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- FLOORCOVERINGS
Steve Depport, head of the Metro Group, has been appointed a non-executive director at The Carpet Foundation, the industry group that promotes the use of carpet and those that sell it.
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- UPHOLSTERY
Sales jumped £4.1 million for Long Eaton upholstered furniture manufacturer as it narrowed losses.
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- UPHOLSTERY
Upholstery destined for customers of Maker&Son is being held back because of slow payment by the £25 million direct-to-consumer brand, which last night made a new court filing that gives it breathing space from creditors.
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- SUPPLY & WHOLESALE
Underlying sales climbed sharply at Northern Ireland based furnishing fabrics and household textiles supplier Ulster Weavers last year as it benefitted from its relationship with retail giant Dunelm.
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- SUPPLY & WHOLESALE
The acquisition and expansion of a new warehouse and distribution facility among other investments saw Liverpool home office and workplace furniture maker Dams spend almost £6 million on capex last year.
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- BEDS & MATTRESSES
Spinks, the diversified spring maker for beds, upholstery and other applications, has hired its first-ever global sales director.
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- BEDS & MATTRESSES
Retail group Beter Bed Holding says the acquisition of a stake in a Polish bedding company is part of a plan to vertically integrate its value chain and give it more control over profit margins.
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Current incumbent to remain on the board but step down as chief executive at supplier with operations spanning the globe including the U.K. after he found his successor.
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- TRADE & INDUSTRY
Twice as many furniture, flooring and furnishings companies called in restructuring advisors in the second quarter compared with the same period last year as the market took a downward turn.
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- SUPPLY & WHOLESALE
Rising sales and wider gross margin helped Coventry kitchen furniture manufacturer Burbidge return to profit at the EBITDA line last year and narrow its net loss at group level.
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- BEDS & MATTRESSES
Ergomotion has launched its new programme of smart and adjustable beds for the European and Middle Eastern markets including what it says is the first in the sector to be connectable with Garmin wearables.
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- SUPPLY & WHOLESALE
Britain's antitrust regulator has elevated its investigation into the takeover of Recticel's engineered foam unit by Carpenter to an in-depth Phase 2 inquiry, heightening the possibility that parts of the deal affecting the U.K. will either not happen or be reversed.
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- FLOORCOVERINGS
Acquisitions helped Victoria, the diversified international flooring manufacturer and distributor, to book more than £1 billion of sales for the first time in its history in the past year.
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- SUPPLY & WHOLESALE
Rachel Conroy, founder and CEO of Gateshead contract furniture supplier HLF, has been included in a prominent business magazine's 35 Women Under 35 2022 list — a rundown of high achieving business leaders.
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- BEDS & MATTRESSES
The National Bed Federation has announced the names of the nine manufacturer and supplier members that are sponsoring this year's Bed Show and Awards programme.
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- COMMUNITY
La-Z-Boy is to expand a 14-year partnership with Ronald McDonald House Charities by fundraising for the organisation in this year’s TCS London Marathon.
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- UPHOLSTERY
Upholstered furniture shipments into the U.K. jumped sharply at the height of spring as retailers here began to receive goods ordered weeks and months earlier.
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The volume of Chinese cabinet shipments arriving in the U.K. fell by more than a quarter according to new trade data as buyers here looked to replenish stock from European sources instead.
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- BEDS & MATTRESSES
Foam and sprung mattress imports into the U.K. declined on a volume basis in May on weak data from the two largest sources of overseas made product.
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- FLOORCOVERINGS
Carpet import volumes declined for a third straight month in May on the back of weaker trade with Belgium, historically the U.K.'s largest trading partner.
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A major upholstery group that fell into administration two years ago should have been alerted far earlier to the imperilled financial situation of its largest customer.
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- BEDS & MATTRESSES
GNG Group says its new mattress manufacturing facility in West Yorkshire is now fully operational and expected to add at least 50 new jobs by the end of next year.
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- SUPPLY & WHOLESALE
Furniture factory output in the U.K. continued to run at record levels according to new May data with manufacturers racing to unwind big order books as a result of earlier demand.
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- DEALS & FINANCE
The owners of motion beds and upholstery group Furmanac say the West Midlands manufacturer will be a stronger business as a result of a planned corporate restructure.
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- UPHOLSTERY
Experienced furniture industry executive Simon Davies says he is excited and energised to be joining TCM Living, the sofa group behind brands including Ashley Manor and Alexander & James.
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The managing director of Mobus Fabrics says its sustainable, environmentally friendly flame retardant coating GreenFR has created a buzz in the retail sector and is now the main FR finish applied by the West Yorkshire supplier.
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- BEDS & MATTRESSES
The owners of Sealy U.K. have recapitalised the Aspatria bed manufacturer with a further debt investment as it laid down a marker in the first period since Silentnight sold the business.
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- BEDS & MATTRESSES
Heritage bed manufacturer Millbrook Beds has new owners after the founding Croll family agreed to sell the Southampton manufacturer to concentrate on their other expanding business interests.
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- SUPPLY & WHOLESALE
Stakeholders have until Monday of next week to come up with a solution that will appease the U.K.'s antitrust regulator.
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La-Z-Boy U.K. is sponsoring a family-friendly music festival taking place in the Lake District later this month where headline acts include Stereophonics, Supergrass and The Kooks.
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- BEDS & MATTRESSES
Hypnos, one of the U.K.'s largest bed manufacturers, has appointed Dave Baldry as its new group managing director with a brief to lead both its contract and retail divisions.
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- SUPPLY & WHOLESALE
Profits more than doubled at the Ashley Wilde group last year as the Hertfordshire headquartered furnishing fabrics group delivered an eighth straight increase in revenue.
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- BEDS & MATTRESSES
Antitrust regulators in the U.K. have told Carpenter and Recticel to address competition concerns to prevent the proposed takeover of the latter's engineered foam unit by the former from being referred for a more in-depth investigation.
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- BEDS & MATTRESSES
Pocket spring maker Wolf Components is expanding its manufacturing footprint in South Yorkshire amid rapid growth that has seen it become a key supplier to the U.K. mattress industry.
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Profits climbed three-fold for Wales based fitted kitchens, bedroom and home office manufacturer and retailer Sigma 3 last year as it more than reversed a sales decline through the first year of Covid.
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Kitchen, bedroom and bathroom furniture giant Symphony is making a ten-figure outlay as it invests in the build out of its vast manufacturing plant in South Yorkshire.
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- UPHOLSTERY
Creditors have backed a company voluntary arrangement (CVA) that puts an end to a two-year administration process for a one-time £55 million upholstery group.
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- FLOORCOVERINGS
Wood flooring specialist Havwoods will open its second store this year and its fifth overall as it continues expanding its retail footprint in wealthy parts of the country.
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Linley, the prestige London furniture and interiors group, says it is on a solid footing and demonstrably able to trade successfully after a year in which the structural economics of the business improved.
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The md of furniture components supplier Wade Spring says the combination of new export business and an expanded engineering offer were a major driver in increased profitability last year.
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- RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION
Russell Harte is now chief operating officer at upholstery market leader DFS after the retailer redistributed management duties across its senior leadership team.
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- FLOORCOVERINGS
Britain's biggest carpet maker held almost four times the value of raw materials at the year end as it invested heavily to enable it to meet surging demand for its products and deliver its highest ever profits.
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- TRADE & INDUSTRY
The management at two thirds of furniture companies are prioritising sustainability, according to a survey by The British Furniture Confederation (BFC). That is not enough, according to its chair.
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- FLOORCOVERINGS
Directors at carpet yarn spinner Lawton Yarns have completed a management buyout (MBO) of the company, ending the two year stint under the ownership of London private equity group Breal Capital.
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North West upholstered furniture manufacturer Buoyant will book a sharp decline in profits in the year to September 2022 after higher raw material costs combined with recruitment challenges.
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- BEDS & MATTRESSES
Television and radio presenter Colin Murray will be the host of the National Bed Federation (NBF) Gala Dinner and Awards Ceremony, taking place September 20 at the Telford International Centre.
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Man Wah Holdings says the company will appeal after a jury awarded more than $100 million in damages for the alleged infringement of a former supplier's intellectual property. A judge will now decide the actual figure, likely to be a fraction of that amount, pending an appeal.
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- BEDS & MATTRESSES
About one in four products bought by the National Bed Federation (NBF) as part of its ongoing due diligence finished product testing programme revealed major flammability and trade descriptions issues.
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- BEDS & MATTRESSES
Savoir Beds co-owner Alistair Hughes has stepped down as managing director having hired former Maker&Son executive Nicholas Alexandre as his successor. Mr Hughes remains a director, focussed on long term strategy and growth.
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- CASE GOODS
Cabinet manufacturer Wegmans Furniture Industries booked revenue up nearly a third in the first quarter driven by an even bigger improvement in Europe, where the U.K. is a key market.
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- DEALS & FINANCE
The past week has seen a rout of global furniture industry stocks with billions of pounds of value disappearing into the ether as the market capitalisations of dozens of companies declined, many in the U.K.
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- UPHOLSTERY
Top-of-the-market upholstered furniture maker George Smith recorded a fourth straight bottom line improvement and third consecutive profit as it traded strongly last year.
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- LEGAL & RESTRUCTURING
Takeover followed winding up petition issued by a timber supplier to the mattress and beds vertical.
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- TRADE & INDUSTRY
Mark Eastwood MP has been appointed chair of the All Party Parliamentary Furniture Industry Group (APPFIG). The Dewsbury official takes over from fellow Conservative Mike Wood, who has led the group since it was reformed after the General Election.
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Upholstered furniture manufacturer Roger Lewis is to concentrate its activities in the contract arena following a restructuring process that sees it exit the retail sector.
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- BEDS & MATTRESSES
Premium bed maker Savoir repaid debt, built cash and found gross margin gains as it worked through a bulging worldwide order book last year.
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- BEDS & MATTRESSES
Britain's leading bed makers are turning increasingly bearish amid the unwind of previously-bulging order books, rising costs and a less-rosy demand outlook.
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- BEDS & MATTRESSES
National retailer Bensons for Beds has launched a new line of mattresses and beds under the historic Staples & Co brand with an option count north of 28,000 combinations.
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- BEDS & MATTRESSES
Foam and sprung mattress imports into the U.K. continued their ascendancy at the beginning of the second quarter driven by a mix of established and emerging suppliers.
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- BEDS & MATTRESSES
Devon bed manufacturer Vispring is to open a flagship store in central London, its first standalone showroom anywhere in the world.
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Actona has agreed to buy Polish sofa maker SITS in a deal that means the design, wholesale and manufacturing group has added about £180 million in upholstery revenue through acquisitions in the past year alone.
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- UPHOLSTERY
Upholstery import volumes from China fell by almost a quarter in April as retailers and wholesalers grappled with the rising cost of shipping products in from the country.
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- BEDS & MATTRESSES
Keen & Toms Holdings, parent to bed maker Hypnos and white glove delivery company Keen & Able, remained cashflow positive through the height of the pandemic as supply chain challenges hindered its ability to turn strong demand into profit.
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- BEDS & MATTRESSES
The operators of bed brands that have no direct manufacturing of their own will be able to apply to join the National Bed Federation (NBF) after the U.K. trade body widened its membership criteria with a new category.
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- UPHOLSTERY
Man Wah Holdings, the world's largest motion furniture maker with operations across the Far East and Europe, is considering the spin-off or separate listing of a component subsidiary.
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- SUPPLY & WHOLESALE
The value of U.K. furniture production remained at a historic high level in April but fell below revised record figures for the end for the first quarter.
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- BEDS & MATTRESSES
A director of the business now trading the semi-national multichannel retail brand Bedworld has been fined and had his van seized and crushed after admitting fly-tipping.
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- BEDS & MATTRESSES
The National Bed Federation (NBF) has named the eight independent judges for the 2022 Bed Industry Awards across the five manufacturer and component supplier categories.
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- FLOORCOVERINGS
Floorcoverings suppliers and their customers must work in unison amid rising prices and an expected fall in demand, according to a worldwide collective representing companies in the sector.
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- RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION
Upholstery market leader DFS has cut its full year profit expectations as a result of continuing supply chain disruption and a slowdown in order intake. It said it still expects to take market share.
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- DEALS & FINANCE
A North West based direct-to-consumer manufacturer and retailer of children's mattresses and bedroom furniture lists a new trading entity following the insolvency of its former operating company.
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- SUPPLY & WHOLESALE
Ministry of Furniture (MoF), the contract manufacturer that emerged from Remploy in 2014, has moved to a new head office and showroom facility in Neath, South Wales.
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- FURNISHINGS & ACCENTS
The failure of a West London soft furnishings supplier dating back to the mid 1980s leaves creditors facing a large shortfall.
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- BEDS & MATTRESSES
Leading British bed manufacturers have agreed a five-point commitment to take steps in unison that will address global environmental damage. It is part of a new National Bed Federation (NBF) initiative called Pledge for Our Planet.
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- FLOORCOVERINGS
Mike Scott will retire as chief financial officer at diversified flooring conglomerate Victoria later this year after six years in the role. His replacement joins from outside the industry.
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- SUPPLY & WHOLESALE
Furniture exports out of the U.K. continued their recovery in the first quarter of 2022 but still have some distance to travel to return to historic highs.
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- BEDS & MATTRESSES
Restructuring advisors have achieved a third substantial return for creditors of the predecessor Silentnight company, more than eleven years after its business and assets were sold in a prepack deal to its current owner.
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- UPHOLSTERY
Upholstery supplier Nicoletti Home is building further manufacturing capacity nears its southern Italy headquarters with a new factory coming on stream in the next month.
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- UPHOLSTERY
Italian upholstered furniture giant Natuzzi says it has been scouting new vendors in more stable geographic areas as it looks to plot a course through supply chain challenges.
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- UPHOLSTERY
Sofa company Arlo & Jacob is to be the lead sponsor of the National Premier League tennis finals at the historic St George's Hill Lawn Tennis Club in Surrey.
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- BEDS & MATTRESSES
Britain's largest bed maker Silentnight has launched a marketing campaign to promote Sleepunique, the new interactive mattress recommendation tool it introduced last month.
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- FLOORCOVERINGS
Historic manufacturer Ulster Carpets has become one of just four carpet makers and six flooring companies to have been granted a Royal Warrant by The Queen.
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- UPHOLSTERY
The insolvency of a direct-to-consumer upholstered furniture company making armchairs, sofas and dining chairs from its factory in the Cotswolds leaves creditors, chiefly the bank, facing a shortfall.
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- BEDS & MATTRESSES
Kent bed maker Sleepeezee says nearby Romney Marsh Wools is its new supplier of wool, and will be the provider for all mattresses containing wool material.
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- SUPPLY & WHOLESALE
Henry Tadros will take over as chairman at heritage furniture maker Ercol [ercol] this summer, the Princes Risborough manufacturer has announced. He succeeds his father, Edward Tadros.
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- CASE GOODS
Surrey furniture maker moves to South Coast and rebrands while its predecessor operating company was placed into administration earlier this week.
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- BEDS & MATTRESSES
Net profits more than doubled for the second straight year for West Yorkshire mattress manufacturer Apollo Beds through 2020/21.
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- FLOORCOVERINGS
Cost cutting and a five percentage point improvement in gross margin lifts Wiltshire carpet group back into profit after a circa £300,000 bottom line turnaround.
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- BEDS & MATTRESSES
The National Bed Federation (NBF) says it expects to attract more than 1,500 visitors to the 2022 Bed Show, with online registration now open ahead of the autumn event.
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- BEDS & MATTRESSES
Benelux investment fund chaired by floorcoverings manufacturing scion reallocates shareholdings to newly-created holding company.
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- BEDS & MATTRESSES
Jim Gerety, md of bed maker Vispring, has been elected president of the National Bed Federation (NBF) at its Annual General Meeting. He succeeds David Moffitt, CEO of Kayfoam Woolfson.
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- BEDS & MATTRESSES
The global bedding giant behind the Mlily brand enjoyed double-digit revenue growth in the first quarter, driven largely by success in North America. Sales in Europe were close to flat.
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- UPHOLSTERY
Gilles Bonan, the former chief executive and chairman at French furniture group Roche Bobois, has been appointed to the board of Natuzzi.
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- BEDS & MATTRESSES
Guest bed, mattress and sofabed maker Jay-Be said it limited supply to certain export markets to ensure its home market demands were met first as it grappled supply chain challenges through 2020/21.
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- UPHOLSTERY
U.K. upholstery group TCM Living found big sales growth in the first quarter of 2022 on the back of increased demand and the delivery of orders carried over from the end of last year.
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- BEDS & MATTRESSES
An increase in the value of goods arriving from close-to-home markets lifted foam and sprung mattress imports in March, new data shows. Volumes declined.
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- UPHOLSTERY
Revenue from European markets including the U.K. have jumped by half for upholstered furniture conglomerate Man Wah Holdings in the past year, driven largely by output from its Far East factories.
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- BEDS & MATTRESSES
Volume declined for Leggett & Platt's bedding business in the first quarter but the diversified spring maker and supplier of other mattress components successfully passed on higher raw material costs.
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- FLOORCOVERINGS
The value of carpet imports advanced in high single digit percentages in March, masking a fall in the quantity of goods arriving at U.K. borders. Turkey proved the exception, delivering an increase on both counts.
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- FLOORCOVERINGS
The carpet and rugs business bought by Victoria in a carve-out of Balta Group's operations booked thinner margins in the first quarter as higher costs countered the impact of rising sales.
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- BEDS & MATTRESSES
An overhaul of the National Bed Federation's (NBF) annual bed industry awards will see first-time winners in categories for the best individual bed store or department and sales representative.
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- BEDS & MATTRESSES
Shire Beds' sales and marketing director Fara Butt was named Business Woman of the Year 2022 at the Yorkshire Choice Awards during a ceremony held earlier this month in Leeds.
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- RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION
Kitchen maker and retailer Wren grew sales and profits by almost a third as it shrugged off the impact of three months of store closures at the beginning of the year — a period when rival DIY sheds continued to trade.
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- UPHOLSTERY
Italian and Polish sofa factories led a sharp increase in imports at the end of the first quarter with the total value of upholstery arriving at U.K. ports up by more than £50 million compared with last year.
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- SUPPLY & WHOLESALE
Scandinavian dining and lounge furniture source issues clarion call for new partners.
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- FLOORCOVERINGS
Decision, widely anticipated, follows divestment of certain I.P. and other soft flooring divisions.
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- DEALS & FINANCE
A U.K. ready-to-assemble cabinet furniture manufacturer that has supplied the likes of Argos for many years has divested 25 percent of the business to an East of England group with an expanding roster of interests in the furniture sector.
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- UPHOLSTERY
Natuzzi, the Italian upholstered furniture conglomerate, has sold a fifth of the Singapore based business unit that runs its non-Chinese stores in the Asia-Pacific region under a plan to expand its retail footprint. The deal was first disclosed last year (see related).
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- TRADE & INDUSTRY
Inside tips to help furniture manufacturers attract the best talent and get the most from their training programmes will be delivered at an inaugural regional industry networking event, organised by the British Furniture Manufacturers (BFM) at Ercol.
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- ECOMMERCE
Italian furniture conglomerate Calligaris Group is to launch a third ecommerce platform with the introduction of a direct-to-consumer website for its Connubia brand.
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- SUPPLY & WHOLESALE
The combined turnover of U.K. furniture manufacturers reached a ten-figure total in a month for the first time in history as factories continued to be busy fulfilling outstanding orders taken late 2021 and into the early weeks of this year.
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- BEDS & MATTRESSES
The managing director of the business behind the historic Relyon and Dunlopillo brands says growth with independent customers was a standout as it laid down a marker in the first period since its 2020 buyout.
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