More than 200 workers have lost their jobs following the collapse of Ilkeston furniture manufacturer Belfield Leisure, with administrators warning that unsecured creditors are unlikely to recover any money.<\/p>\n
The company, part of the Belfield furniture manufacturing group, entered administration on March 23, 2026, with debts to secured lenders exceeding \u00a34m.<\/p>\n
A new report from administrators Interpath reveals that all 207 employees have now been made redundant, while efforts to recover outstanding debts and sell the company’s remaining assets continue.<\/p>\n
The business initially continued trading under administration in an attempt to complete customer orders and maximise returns to creditors.<\/p>\n
However, operations ceased on May 1, 2026, and the company subsequently vacated its leased premises.<\/p>\n
The report shows that 96 employees were made redundant immediately following the administrators’ appointment, with another 41 redundancies completed by March 31.<\/p>\n
A further 22 employees were made redundant following the loss of two key customers, leaving 111 workers temporarily retained to support the winding-down process.<\/p>\n
All remaining employees have since been made redundant.<\/p>\n
During the administration, the company generated approximately \u00a32.2m in sales, completing outstanding orders before trading ceased.<\/p>\n
Administrators also recovered \u00a33.8m from outstanding customer debts, although they said further recoveries were not anticipated.<\/p>\n
A further \u00a335,147 was raised through the sale of residual stock and fabric.<\/p>\n
Plant and machinery were sold through an online auction, with proceeds still being reconciled at the time of the report.<\/p>\n
The company’s two secured creditors are Virgin Money, trading through Clydesdale Bank, and Blandford Security Limited.<\/p>\n
Virgin Money was owed approximately \u00a33.3m when administrators were appointed, while Blandford was owed \u00a30.9m.<\/p>\n
Administrators said recoveries from outstanding debts and trading receipts would be used to repay Virgin Money, but warned there was unlikely to be sufficient money to make a distribution to Blandford.<\/p>\n
The report estimates ordinary preferential creditor claims, principally relating to former employees, at approximately \u00a3200,000.<\/p>\n
While these creditors may receive a dividend, the amount remains uncertain.<\/p>\n
HM Revenue & Customs is owed an estimated \u00a31.9m in secondary preferential claims and is considered highly unlikely to receive a payment.<\/p>\n
Unsecured creditors are also expected to receive nothing.<\/p>\n
The report reveals that administrators have incurred time costs of \u00a31.25m, representing 1,633 hours of work at an average hourly rate of \u00a3765.<\/p>\n
A total of \u00a3400,000 has been drawn in administrators’ remuneration, with further fees subject to the administration’s approved charging arrangements.<\/p>\n
Administrators Chris Pole and Will Wright said additional work had been required because of the complexity of the administration, including creditor negotiations, employee redundancies and the recovery of outstanding debts.<\/p>\n
The company had operated within the Belfield Group, which also includes Westbridge Furniture Limited, Clinchplain Foam and Fibre Limited, Tetrad Furniture Limited and Westbridge Production SRL in Romania.<\/p>\n
The administration is currently scheduled to run until March 22, 2027, with a further progress report expected before that date.<\/p>\n
Administrators said their remaining work would focus on reconciling debtor recoveries, resolving creditor claims and completing the company’s tax affairs before determining how the administration should conclude.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Administrators reveal major creditor shortfalls following failed rescue of furniture manufacturing business<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":2110381,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[79,7,78],"coauthors":[95],"class_list":["post-2116986","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-creative","category-manufacturing","category-sponsored","tag-derbyshire","tag-top-story"],"yoast_head":"\n