Almost 300 jobs have been lost following the collapse of Ilkeston furniture manufacturer Westbridge Furniture, 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 totalling approximately \u00a35.7m.<\/p>\n
A new report from administrators Interpath reveals that all 298 employees have now been made redundant, while the company’s statement of affairs lists total liabilities of approximately \u00a313.9m.<\/p>\n
The collapse follows the failure of efforts to secure the business’s future, with administrators initially continuing to trade for a short period to complete outstanding customer orders and maximise returns to creditors.<\/p>\n
The company employed 298 people when administrators were appointed.<\/p>\n
Forty employees were made redundant immediately, with another 21 redundancies and five resignations recorded by the time administrators issued their proposals.<\/p>\n
Five employees were initially retained to support the collection of outstanding debts, but all have since been made redundant.<\/p>\n
Administrators said the company completed a limited period of trading before ceasing operations.<\/p>\n
During that period, Westbridge generated sales of \u00a3682,591, comprising \u00a3674,530 from UK customers and \u00a38,061 from overseas customers, including Ireland.<\/p>\n
The company also recovered approximately \u00a32.8m from outstanding customer debts, with further recoveries expected.<\/p>\n
Stock sales generated \u00a373,926, while intellectual property assets, including designs and technical specifications, were sold for \u00a3168,500.<\/p>\n
A vehicle was sold for \u00a37,200, with the company’s remaining plant and machinery disposed of through an online auction.<\/p>\n
However, the proceeds are unlikely to cover the company’s outstanding liabilities.<\/p>\n
Virgin Money, trading through Clydesdale Bank, was owed approximately \u00a32.5m when administrators were appointed, while second-ranking secured creditor Blandford Security Limited was owed \u00a33.2m.<\/p>\n
Administrators said recoveries would be used to repay Virgin Money, with any remaining funds potentially available to Blandford.<\/p>\n
Blandford also holds security over the company’s intellectual property, and administrators expect it to receive a distribution from those assets.<\/p>\n
However, the report warns that other creditors face a bleak outcome.<\/p>\n
Ordinary preferential creditor claims, principally relating to former employees, are estimated at \u00a3400,000, but administrators consider it highly unlikely that sufficient funds will be available to make a payment.<\/p>\n
HM Revenue & Customs is owed an estimated \u00a33m in secondary preferential claims and is also expected to receive nothing.<\/p>\n
Unsecured creditors, including suppliers and other businesses owed money, are not expected to receive any dividend.<\/p>\n
The report reveals that administrators have incurred time costs of \u00a31.43m, representing 1,679 hours of work at an average hourly rate of \u00a3852.<\/p>\n
A total of \u00a350,000 has been drawn in administrators’ remuneration.<\/p>\n
Joint administrators Chris Pole and Will Wright said additional work had been required to recover outstanding debts, negotiate with creditors and complete the company’s closure.<\/p>\n
The administration also involved the resolution of retention-of-title claims from suppliers seeking to recover goods that had not been paid for.<\/p>\n
Westbridge Furniture was part of the wider Belfield Group, which also includes Belfield Leisure Limited, Clinchplain Foam and Fibre Limited, Tetrad Furniture Limited and Westbridge Production SRL in Romania.<\/p>\n
The administration is scheduled to continue until March 22, 2027, with administrators planning to complete outstanding debt collections, resolve creditor claims and finalise the company’s tax affairs.<\/p>\n
They have also secured approval from creditors to move the company into dissolution once the administration has concluded.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Administrators warn creditors face major losses following closure of manufacturing operations and redundancies<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":2108634,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"coauthors":[95],"class_list":["post-2117001","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-manufacturing","tag-derbyshire","tag-top-story"],"yoast_head":"\n