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.

Home furnishings retailer IKEA is partnering Tesco, the supermarket chain, to expand its collect-and-collect service for customers.

The owner of one of the U.K.'s most prominent rugs businesses has agreed a deal with restructuring advisors to acquire rival rug brand Woven after the company behind the etailer was placed into administration earlier this week.

Expanding upholstery retailer Sofas & Stuff is to launch its third new store this year and its first in Surrey.

A garden furniture and outdoor products retailer sold to the owner of the company behind bed seller Yark Beds was over-stocked at the wrong time of year because of shipping delays, administrators have said. Its problems prompted an insolvent sale earlier this month.

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.

Fresh equity investment has taken the total pumped into The Conran Shop, the U.K. and international designer furniture and lifestyle retailer, to beyond £10 million in a little over a year.

Town planners last week gave the green light to previously-signposted proposals that will transform the landmark Heal's furniture store on Tottenham Court Road in central London.

Northern Ireland department store and beds retailer S.D. Kells says it expects the trading conditions caused by the inflationary backdrop may adversely affect its results through 2022/23, but it is well positioned to cope after a strong year.

Five-store specialist retailer operates carpet and bed shops across Dorset and Hampshire.

Danish furniture and homewares retailer JYSK will this week open a new store as it expands its retail footprint in an existing U.K. stronghold for the company.

The buildout of Feather & Black's physical retail footprint took another step last week with the upmarket beds and bedroom furniture brand adding its fourth new store in 2022 so far.

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.

Likewise Group, the challenger flooring distributor that has been buying up companies and building infrastructure to take on larger rivals, says demand has continued to be strong through late summer and into the autumn.

Signposting the probable sale of the company heralded more sell-offs of Made.com's shares on Friday as it closed the week at a new all-time low.

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.

Furniture and lighting retailer Made.com Group (Made) has withdrawn its full year guidance and formally launched a strategic review that could lead to a sale of the business or its assets.

The addition of a large West Midlands warehouse late last year represents the early phase of a major financial commitment to the U.K. over the next decade for multi-brand furniture wholesale and retail group Ziel.

Upholstery and flooring retailer ScS has named John Walden as the successor to non-executive chair Alan Smith, who will retire in just over a year from now.

U.K. consumer confidence fell to an all-time low this month though the measure monitoring big-ticket spend intention remained unchanged.

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.

Privately-owned South East England floorcoverings wholesaler STS booked higher profits last year on wider gross margin and rising sales.

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.

West Elm, the U.S. mid-century modern furniture retailer with a circa £30 million U.K. presence, has begun a search for a new president after current incumbent Alex Bellos announced his departure.

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.

The owner of the company behind the Yark Beds online beds business has acquired an outdoor products and garden furniture ecommerce website following an insolvent buyout.

Soft furnishings retail chain Julian Charles Home followed through on its vow to return to profit through 2021/22 as it continued to bounce back under its new owner.

A complaint to the U.K. advertising watchdog by German mattress company Emma has resulted in a rebuke for rival Simba Sleep regarding a price promotion it ran on its website.

Direct-to-consumer mattress and sleep ancillary products brand Eve Sleep says it will take the appropriate steps to preserve value for creditors if further funding or a firm offer to buy the business is not received soon.

French furniture and home accents retailer Maisons du Monde has collected the first dividends from its U.K. ecommerce operation since it launched here six years ago.

Furniture, fashion and lifestyle retailer Oliver Bonas deleveraged last year after it generated almost £12 million of operating cashflow during a record trading period.

The largest shareholder in publicly-listed U.S. mattress and bedding company Purple Innovation wants to buy the business outright in a deal that would value it at $362 million (£317m).

Business that formerly ran wall art and picture frames ecommerce enterprise lines up Quantuma officials as potential restructuring advisors.

London based upholstery retailer The Sofa & Chair Co has seen its liabilities slashed after HM Revenue & Customs backed a company voluntary arrangement (CVA) that sees millions of pounds of debt compromised.

Home merchandise sales declined for department store chain John Lewis & Partners in the six months to end July as pandemic demand trends began to unwind.

Furniture and lighting retail sales declined by more than £37 million year-on-year in August as price inflation failed to keep the value of sales positive in the category.

Furniture, lighting and home accents retailer Made.com Group (Made) plumbed new depths on Thursday as the market capitalisation of the business fell to below £25 million for the first time.

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

Gross margin narrowed across the DFS group through 2021/22 with rising costs and supply chain disruption countering a sharp rise in deliveries as the upholstery market leader unwound its large order bank.

The addition of seven new stores helped upholstery retailer Sofology find revenue growth in the year to end June though the expansion of its retail footprint will slow in the new financial year.

Higher prices weren't enough to keep the value of cabinet furniture imports positive in July as year-on-year shipments fell for the first time in 2022 so far.

Almost £1 in every £50 spent on furniture in the U.K. goes into the coffers of Dunelm Group, the expansionist homewares retailer claimed on Wednesday as it revealed new plans to grow in the category.

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.

High-profile furniture industry executive Suzy McMahon is leaving Sofology to take up a newly-created role at Oak Furnitureland, the U.K.'s largest hardwood furniture retailer.

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.

Nine straight months of value growth mean foam and sprung mattress imports have broken through the £100 million barrier at an all-time earliest point in the year.

A Hertfordshire auction house that cleared stock for major furniture retailers among a varied customer base was formally placed into administration on Monday after it had earlier ceased trading.

Double-digit U.K. margin and strong sales growth here helped French furniture brand Roche Bobois deliver higher profits in the first six months of 2022.

The value of sofa imports climbed for a 19th straight month in July despite continued poor data from the U.K.'s largest trading partner in the category.

Many furniture and floorcoverings retailers have already confirmed plans to close their doors on the day of The Queen's funeral, while trade show Long Point will now be a two rather than three day event.

Revenue bounced to beyond pre-Covid levels for off-price furniture and homeware retail chain Homesense through 2021/22 despite continued lockdown disruption and no ecommerce channel.

Upholstery retailer Sofas & Stuff will open its 22nd showroom with the launch of a new unit in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire this weekend.

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.

Steve Johnson, a non-executive director at DFS since the end of 2018, is to succeed Ian Durant as chair of the U.K.'s largest upholstered furniture retailer.

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

Award-winning independent retailer Surrey Beds has closed following a planned shutdown on the expiry of its lease. Its owner cited the prospect of rising costs as a disincentive to continue.

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.

Leading companies and institutions across Britain's furniture and floorcoverings industries have responded quickly in paying tribute to Queen Elizabeth II following her death on Thursday.

RH, the high-end U.S. furniture and furnishings retailer formerly known as Restoration Hardware, has pushed the launch of its debut U.K. gallery into next year.

Cavalier Carpets, one of the U.K.'s largest privately-owned flooring manufacturers and distributors, reinvested profits as the company bounced back strongly from the impact of the pandemic.

Furniture and home goods ecommerce platform Wayfair is preparing a new bond offering with a plan to use some of the proceeds to refinance existing borrowings.

Maison Shanghai 2022 and China International Furniture Expo, better known as Furniture China, have been postponed, a little over two weeks before they were scheduled to open.

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.

A sharp fall in sales and a switch away from a third-party logistics provider proved damaging to a kids furniture retailer that had been backed by the same financiers who supported erstwhile furniture retailer Lombok.

Cost cuts and better buying boosted margin as one of the largest department store retailers in the South West of England returned to profit through 2021/22.

Headlam Group's search for a new chief financial officer has entered its seventh month after a prime candidate for the position decided at the last-minute to withdraw.

A Yorkshire beds retailer with a large ecommerce operation has added live video chat and appointments to its offer, improving options for online customers based far from its showroom.

Major U.S. furniture vertical Bassett Furniture Industries has acquired Noa Home, the Canadian ecommerce upholstery and mattress vendor with operations in four markets including the U.K.

A North West ecommerce home goods retailer with ownership ties to the supply sector added turnover, profits and employee headcount in a breakout period, its first public-record accounts show.

Embattled furniture and homewares retailer Made.com Group (Made) has launched a new marketing campaign designed to set itself apart from competitors and galvanise sales.

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.

ScS says the new Ideal Home upholstery collections that first aired at its new-concept Coventry store earlier this summer (see related) will be rolled out across all of its U.K. stores and online.

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.

The circa £40 million retail business behind the Beds.co.uk ecommerce website is exploring diversifying into other home products beyond the bedroom.

An insurance claim and wider gross margin helped profits climb at flooring wholesale group Headlam in the first half of the year despite an already-signposted decline in revenue.

Northern Ireland based furniture wholesaler Annaghmore Agencies recovered some of the revenue lost to the pandemic last year in a period that saw it build its inventory position.

An Italian design company based on the banks of Lake Maggiore enjoyed its strongest year in the U.K. in almost a decade as home sales surged in the aftermath of lockdown.

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.

The restructuring advisors handling the insolvency of Nottinghamshire furniture importer Mark Webster and its parent company have said operations have now ceased following their appointment last month.

Modern furniture franchise BoConcept recorded highest-ever sales and EBITDA in the year to end April and said its strong order book puts it in a position to find further growth this year.

Sofa and flooring chain ScS opened the third of its new-format retail stores this weekend with a revamped unit in South Lanarkshire.

Higher prices saw the U.K. arm of Recticel achieve its widest gross margin in four years on the way to booking record sales and profits in 2021.

One of Furniture Village's seniormost executives has been recast in a new role as part of a reshaping of the board at the U.K.'s largest management-owned furniture retailer.

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.

An auction house that has cleared stock for some of the biggest names in the furniture industry has ceased trading and signalled its intent to appoint administrators.

A three-store sofa retailer with branches across the East Midlands has deleveraged its business after paying down long term debt during a profitable year to April 30, 2022.

Three of the biggest retail brands in the country have announced multi-million pound investments in prices across furniture and home categories as they look to stimulate demand amid rising living costs for customers.

The imminent U.K. arrival of RH, the luxury furniture retailer formerly known as Restoration Hardware, will be supported by the launch of a clearance store at one of the industry's most popular destinations.

Glasswells is expanding the capacity of its third party storage arm as the privately-owned company builds on continuing investment across its home furnishings retail activities.

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.

Home goods giant IKEA is expanding the rollout of its London-centric click-and-collect service after a pilot programme earlier this year.

Freemans and Grattan, major vendors of home merchandise and two of the largest mail order shopping brands in the country, say customers' spending focus has shifted from furniture to fashion as pandemic trends unwind.

A fast-emerging ecommerce furniture retailer and wholesaler booked large seven figure profits through the pandemic and ahead of external investment earlier this year.

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.

A Chicago-area investment firm has doubled its position in ScS, the U.K.'s number two upholstered furniture retailer.

Home and lifestyle retailer The White Company is to build on the introduction of a new format 'curated store' concept earlier this spring with the addition of a second unit.

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.

A dedicated ecommerce site and new space inside Sterling stores will help BoConcept near double output in Scotland through 2023, the Danish brand's franchisee has told a national newspaper.

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.

Discount variety retailer The Original Factory Shop cut borrowing by more than half in a year where adjusted profits trebled and it added a net 14 stores to its national estate.

Refund requests outstripped sales revenue on some days during the worst of the supply chain crisis according to administrators handling the fallout from a once prominent ecommerce upholstery business.

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.

National retailer Furniture Village has introduced The Yorkshire Collection, a programme of nine mattresses and seven divan bases from Leeds bed maker Harrison Spinks.

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.

National retailer Bensons for Beds has launched its first collection of high-end mattresses from bed maker Hypnos as it looks to broaden its offer for higher-spending customers.

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.

The CEO of the group behind modern furniture and home décor retailer West Elm said cutting lead times is a focus as the brand continued to gain traction in its second quarter.

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.

Cabinet and upholstery importer Mark Webster Designs and its parent company Mark Webster Holdings were both formally placed into administration earlier this week.

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

More than 50 global furniture equities spanning market leaders in the U.K. and China saw the value of their shares fall on Tuesday on a grim day for the home furnishings industry.

A major Far East retail corporation operating IKEA stores in selected countries across the region found top and bottom line growth in the six months to end June.

Sales and profits climbed last year for a West Yorkshire flatpack furniture enterprise that sells through third parties such as Very and Amazon as well as via a sister ecommerce business.

High-end upholstered furniture brand opens latest showroom.

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.

A second six-figure equity issue inside four months has elevated the paper value of a prominent U.K. furniture search website.

Ecommerce-led case goods retailer Top Furniture followed a breakout trading period through the pandemic with further gains in 2021/22.

Ecommerce home goods giant Wayfair is to lay off 870 people across its global operation as it adjusts its investment priorities amid a weaker trading environment.

Gwyn Burr has told Made.com (Made) she intends to step down from the board of the company with immediate effect to give more focus to her other professional commitments.

A North West supplier of new, clearance and overstocked furniture online is trading through a different company under common control following a group restructure.

Upholstered furniture and floorcoverings retailer ScS has relaunched its Gateshead store in the North East as part of a plan to roll out new concept showrooms with a series of technological and visual enhancements.

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.

Volumes were lower for the fourth month in a row for furniture and lighting retailers in July amid worsening confidence among consumers for high value items.

IMM, the international furniture fair historically held annually in January, will return after a three-and-a-half year hiatus with a one-off dateline in June next year, organisers have decided.

Chief financial officer promoted at £180 million ready-to-assemble furniture manufacturing conglomerate.

Upholstery and carpets retailer ScS has bolstered its operating board with the appointment of an experienced retail executive as its first ever chief marketing and digital officer.

Made.com (Made) has confirmed a capital raise is among the options being considered to plug a potential funding gap after the furniture retailer burned through cash at a higher-than-expected rate in the first half.

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.

Consumer price inflation for furniture eased to a six-month low last month according to new official data out Wednesday morning. But the total remains stubbornly high.

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.

The West Yorkshire group behind the Freemans and Grattan home shopping brands has been recapitalised with million of pounds of new equity funding.

Upholstery brand Arlo & Jacob is launching a debut programme of handcrafted rugs designed by Julie Smith, its chief stylist and creative partner.

Furniture retailer Loaf has launched a new integrated advertising campaign featuring an updated strapline after partnering with a different marketing agency.



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