Bedroom furniture firm sold out of administration
Bedroom furniture chain Feather & Black, which has a store in Wilmslow, Cheshire, has been sold out of administration to Hilding Anders International (HA Group), a bedding and mattress company operating across Europe, Russia and Asia.
Under the terms of the sale negotiated by joint administrators Allan Graham and Matt Ingram, both of Duff & Phelps, Hilding Anders has acquired 17 out of a total of 20 stores, saving the jobs of 104 staff of the 123 in the business.
Three stores – and five concessions within Multiyork stores – will however be closed.
The Feather & Black brand will be retained and continue to have a presence on the UK High Street.
The brand was founded in 2005 – although the business traces its history to 1994 – and has 25 retail stores nationwide, including concessions within Multiyork Furniture, with a head office and warehouse in Chichester.
Graham said: “We continued to trade Feather & Black in administration with a view to finding a purchaser for the business as a going concern, so we are delighted that we have been able to secure a future for the brand, the business and more than 100 employees who work for the retailer.
“The majority of the stores have been sold to one of the best-known brands in the bedroom furniture sector securing the future for Feather & Black and a large number of its valued employees. This is a tremendous result for the business.”
A legal team at Eversheds Sutherland, led by Restructuring Partner Mark Wood, acted for Duff & Phelps on the transaction.
Pepyn Dinandt, chairman and group chief executive of HA Group, said: “I am very excited by this opportunity to re-enter the UK market with F&B. F&B has a strong market position, excellent customer loyalty and a deep heritage within the UK market.
“We will build on F&B’s solid platform and grow the business across both stores and eCommerce. We will continue with F&B’s current customer and product positioning whilst also looking at further ways to improve our productivity and profitability.”
