Historic Birmingham retailer buys stores from administrators
RETAILER Lee Longlands has bought four stores from administrators who have continued to trade the collapsed Furniture Barn Group.
Furniture Barn had eight stores across the Midlands and North when it appointed FRP partners Nigel Hamilton Smith and Geoff Rowley as joint administrators last December.
They closed three warehouses in West Bromwich, Doncaster and Thurrock , and subsequently decided to close its stores in Sutton Coldfield and Thurrock.
Birmingham retailer Lee Longlands has now acquired the stores located in Kidderminster, Grantham, Sheffield and Doncaster, and will start trading from these stores immediately.
Darren Campo, financial director for Lee Longlands, said: “This is the first major investment for Lee Longlands since the MBO was completed last year. It’s an important and exciting opportunity for us that is aligned to our strategic growth objectives.”
All stores will form part of the Lee Longlands Trading Group but will be branded as Furniture Barn, although the Kidderminster store will be rebranded as Lee Longlands in the next three to six months.
The 26 staff employed at the four stores will be retained with a further 10 roles being created.
The Furniture Barn website has also been acquired as part of the deal, but Lee Longlands will not take ownership or control of the website until May 8, when the Market Harborough store – which does not form part of the acquisition – will be closed down by the administrators.
