Bensons for Beds acquires eve Sleep brand out of administration

Accrington-based beds retailer, Bensons for Beds, has announced the acquisition, out of administration, of the eve Sleep brand, website and related assets, for an undisclosed sum.

The business said it intends to retain eve Sleep as a standalone brand and re-launch evesleep.co.uk later this month.

The move to acquire the eve Sleep brand will widen Bensons’ appeal and is a measure of its ambition as it continues to invest in its retail, manufacturing, digital and distribution operations, it said.

The acquisition also comes weeks after Bensons secured additional investment from owners Alteri Investors to drive its growth strategy and transformation plans.

At the time of that new investment, Bensons made it clear it would accelerate digital development and today’s (October 17) acquisition of the eve Sleep brand from the administrator underlines that commitment.

Bensons for Beds chief executive, Nick Collard, said: “eve Sleep is a brand that we know resonates strongly with key customer groups and we’re looking forward to unlocking its full potential as it takes advantage of our scale and reach.

“What’s more, bringing in eve Sleep alongside our own growing portfolio of high quality in-house brands will help us widen Bensons appeal to a broader set of customers.

“With the backing of our owner, Alteri Investors, this is another indication that we are delivering on our pledge to fulfil the promise of the Bensons for Beds brand itself – not just as a retailer of market-leading proprietary brands, but with a distinctive and coherent set of owned brand sleep solutions for any customer, both digitally and through our stores.”

Operating from 166 stores, Bensons aims to create a network of 180-190 physical locations over the next two years and continues to relocate into better units in the towns in which it already trades.

Gavin George, CEO of Alteri Investors, said: “It is encouraging to see Bensons continuing to strengthen its position in what remains a challenging market.

“eve Sleep is a strong brand name that resonates with a different demographic of younger consumers. Alteri is pleased to back Bensons’ management in the acquisition of a brand which will augment the group’s offer, widen its appeal and boost its digital credentials.”

Founded in 2015 as a direct-to-consumer sleep wellness brand, eve Sleep is based in Camden, North London. It served 55,000 customers in 2021. The eve Sleep range includes the number one and number two ranked mattresses in the UK according to Which?.

eve appointed Matt Ingram and Jimmy Saunders from Kroll as joint administrators this morning.

The appointment of the administrators followed the announcement of a formal sale process in June 2022.

Matt Ingram, managing director, Kroll said: “eve Sleep is a well-established brand with huge visibility across the UK, however it faced a challenging market backdrop over the past year. The company launched a formal sales process in June 2022, but with UK consumer confidence reaching a record low in August 2022, this process was unsuccessful.”

eve Sleep was founded in 2015 and listed on AIM in May 2017. It sells its products through a retail partnership with DFS and through its online portal.