The rate of British furniture manufacturing growth climbed for the first time in three months in August, according to official data released Wednesday morning.

The chairman and founder of a Chinese upholstery manufacturing group that used to own a 22-store U.K. furniture retail chain has a new chief executive after the current incumbent stepped down.

Adjusted profits jumped by a third at upholstery and soft furnishings fabrics group Romo last year as the company found growth in the U.K. and abroad.

U.K. revenue reached record levels for mattress and bedding wholesale and retail business Tempur last year with it continuing to trade ahead in the early months of this year.

La-Z-Boy U.K. has promoted Richard Greenwood to managing director with current incumbent Mark Draper also seeing his status elevated. He has become vice president, International.

A slide in gross margin impacted the bottom line last year at upholstery group TCM Living, parent to Ashley Manor, AMX Design, Alstons and Alexander & James.

The third quarter of 2022 saw more than twice the number of furniture and furnishings companies call in restructuring advisors compared with the same period last year.

A historic North West mattress ticking and upholstery fabrics wholesaler has been placed into the hands of restructuring advisors after weeks spent trying to restructure the company.

Higher output outweighed rising costs and thinner margins as North West household textile supplier Turner Bianca found bottom line growth in the year to end March.

The second iteration of erstwhile South East beds retail chain Warren Evans recorded six-figure profits in the second full year since it launched in 2019.

Southern Italian sofa conglomerate Natuzzi has bolstered its senior leadership team with three new hires, including two who join from luxury brands Versace and Louis Vuitton.

Natuzzi achieved high single-digit revenue growth in the second quarter but it could have delivered much more but for the enforced closure of its plant in Shanghai as the Chinese Government tried to keep a lid on Covid infections.

Britain's sofa and mattress makers are being landed with a new wave of price increases from across the upstream supply chain according to correspondence seen by The Furnishing Report. Some suppliers are also on allocation.

More than 50 jobs have been lost after a privately-owned mattress manufacturer folded earlier this month leaving debts of a little over £2 million.

Private equity backed foam supplier Vita Group has revealed it invested tens of millions of pounds acquiring mattress maker Usleep from the Belfield Group last year.

New borrowing and operating cashflow helped the privately-owned Whitemeadow group fund heavy capital expenditure last year as the East Midlands upholstery manufacturer invested in production.

A U.S. advisory firm has been hired to find a third-party buyer for Recticel's comfort foam operations in the U.K. in a move designed to end an antitrust probe.

The sales director of Recticel's comfort foam business in the U.K. has left the business to head up the bedding division of one of its major rivals.

The group behind the contract floorcoverings brands Heckmondwike Carpets and Paragon Carpet Tiles bolstered its balance sheet after a year in which profits climbed on wider margins and higher sales.

U.K. arm of Scandinavian hardwood floorcoverings manufacturer expects low growth amid uncertainty from the global recovery from the pandemic.

High U.K. demand post lockdown super-charged a return to profit for luxury vinyl tile (LVT) supplier Amtico as the Coventry company closed in on a decade under the ownership of U.S. flooring giant Mannington Mills.

Upholstery and beds vertical HSL repaid a £4 million bank loan two years ahead of time as it generated cash and traded strongly through the rump of the pandemic.

Platt & Hill, a supplier of foam and fibre fillings products to the beds and upholstery manufacturing sectors, slipped to a loss last year as higher costs outweighed the benefit of increased output.

Sofa manufacturing group TCM Living has recruited two well-known furniture industry executives to fill senior managerial posts at its Ashley Manor Upholstery and Alexander & James business units.

Retained profits at a Scottish fitted furniture vertical were wiped out last year as the company battled an outsized impact from Covid restrictions that impacted its business model.

Balta Group will soon be no more. The Belgian flooring conglomerate is changing its corporate name to Belysse Group with the switch to be approved at an Extraordinary General Meeting next month.

Profits declined at sofa maker Lebus Upholstery last year as the Lincolnshire manufacturer grappled higher labour and raw materials costs in the year of its sale to employees.

The National Bed Federation (NBF) named the winners of its 2022 Bed Industry Awards on Tuesday night with both Dreams and Glasswells two-time winners among 11 awards handed out in all.

A share buyback concentrated the ownership structure of the North Wales manufacturing and retail group behind the Adjustamatic beds and upholstery brand last year.

The value of carpet and smooth floorcoverings manufacturer and distributor Victoria has moved erratically in the past few days, rising by more than £100 million before a steep decline.

Adriana, the central European upholstered furniture maker and DFS supplier, upped its stake in the U.K. sofa chain on Monday, following up on its initial disclosure last week.

The quantity of carpets imported into the U.K. fell for a sixth straight month in July as strong data from the Netherlands was outweighed by weaker figures from Belgium and Turkey.

The Cath Kidston brand has entered the furniture market with a programme of upholstery and beds being sold exclusively by sofa market leader DFS.

Furniture makers' output remained positive on a year-on-year basis during the height of the summer though growth was the weakest since lapping the start of the pandemic.

Shares in DFS climbed to their highest level in nearly four weeks as the U.K.'s largest upholstered furniture retailer reacted to Polish sofa maker Adriana acquiring shares in the business.

The sofa group behind the Ashley Manor and Alexander & James brands is preparing for the planned departure of group creative director Scott Coggan, one of the highest-profile designers in the upholstery sector.

Carpe Diem Beds, the Hilding Anders-owned Swedish bed brand, is expanding into the U.K. wholesale market as part of plans to increase its footprint in the British retail sector.

Half-year revenue was close to flat in Europe for the bedding giant behind the Mlily brand as global growth slowed after a double-digit uplift in the first quarter.

Sofa Brands International, parent to many of the largest upholstery brands in the U.K., is undergoing a restructuring process that has resulted in the departure of a number of senior executives, and other officials being handed new roles.

Upholstered furniture maker and retailer Arlo & Jacob is shifting its headquarters to the East Midlands in a move that will result in the closure of its former base in West London.

Mattress distributor DBC International has signed a partnership deal with Adova that sees it become the exclusive distributor of Simmons' Generation and Beautyrest collections in the Netherlands and Flanders.

Higher prices helped Belgian carpet maker Associated Weavers (AW) achieve double-digit sales growth in the U.K. last year, though it sold fewer square metres of product in the process.

The probability that three major foamers will continue to serve the U.K. mattress and upholstery markets has increased after Carpenter and Recticel conceded the planned takeover of the latter's engineered foam unit would lessen competition.

Narrower gross margin contributed to profits falling at the Karndean flooring group last year despite revenue jumping by the equivalent of about £74 million.

Profits reached their highest level in five years for the East of England manufacturing group behind brands such as The Old English Bed Company and Mattison Contract Beds in 2021/22.

Second quarter profits declined at Stressless and IMG brand owner Ekornes as higher prices and increased deliveries could only partially mitigate against rising costs.

One of the world's most famous furniture and product designers has lent his creative skills to a new sofa model launching in the U.K. this week.

The Shanghai-listed upholstery group behind brands spanning Kuka and Rolf Benz among others shrugged off the impact of local Covid measures to find top and bottom line growth in the first half of 2022.

Recticel says the disposal of the business unit taking in its comfort foam activities serving U.K. mattress, sofa and direct-to-consumer brands will be delayed, possibly until the first quarter of 2023.

The first Covid lockdown heralded a mass launch of new enterprises across U.K. furniture and flooring production, wholesale and retail. More than 2,600 of those companies have already folded.

Cabinet and upholstered furniture maker Ben Whistler returned to profit last year after the bottom line took a hit through the first period of Covid.

Airea, the parent company to contract floorcoverings brand Burmatex, has hired experienced home goods retail official Mederic Payne as its chief executive officer.

Rising prices and increases in the value of both domestic production and imports helped the U.K. sofa market reach an all-time highest value last year, beating the previous record set in 2016.

Volumes climbed sharply among tufted carpet manufacturers last year while production of woven carpets was flat despite lapping restrictions from the previous year.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has named the officials who will make up the inquiry group looking into the takeover of Recticel's Engineered Foam unit by Carpenter.

Furniture exports climbed in the three months to end June on the back of strong growth from the two largest buyers of U.K.-made goods.

Privately-owned furniture importer and distributor Mark Webster Designs and its parent company Mark Webster Holdings have each filed a notice of intent (NOI) to appoint administrators.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Declining demand, rising costs and overall economic uncertainty across Europe will lead to a decline in PU foam production this year.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

West Yorkshire mattress components supplier BC Springs built cash and stock through 2021/22 in a period that also saw the business deleverage.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Value of investments rise for owners of West Yorkshire memory foam mattress and bedding company.

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.

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.

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.

Colin Day, the founder and previous owner of upholstered furniture manufacturer Whitemeadow, has died after a prolonged battle with cancer, his family has announced.

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.

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.

West Midlands beds and upholstered furniture manufacturer Furmanac Group has appointed an experienced manufacturing executive as its new production director.

The furniture market worldwide has already rebounded well above pre-pandemic levels according to specialist research consultancy CSIL Centre for Industrial Studies.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Sales jumped £4.1 million for Long Eaton upholstered furniture manufacturer as it narrowed losses.

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.

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.

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.

Spinks, the diversified spring maker for beds, upholstery and other applications, has hired its first-ever global sales director.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Stakeholders have until Monday of next week to come up with a solution that will appease the U.K.'s antitrust regulator.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Russell Harte is now chief operating officer at upholstery market leader DFS after the retailer redistributed management duties across its senior leadership team.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Takeover followed winding up petition issued by a timber supplier to the mattress and beds vertical.

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.

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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