Sofa retailer in £300,000 sale

DFS Furniture has revealed it is selling is premium UK sofa retailer, The Sofa Workshop to luxury furniture business Halo Furnishings.

The deal, which is conditional on regulatory approval from the FCA, will see the retailer being sold on a cash, working capital and debt free basis for £300,000.

The Doncaster-based business reported the sale will reduce its cash costs of funding Sofa Workshops’ operating losses. The retailer reported a pre-tax loss of £2.9m in the 48 week period to 30 June 2019.

Tim Stacey, CEO of DFS, said, “Over the course of the past few months we have reviewed our strategy and plans across the Group with a focus on ensuring our brands are in the best possible position to support the Group in maximising its return on capital.

“After careful consideration, we have decided to sell Sofa Workshop to Halo. This transaction represents a great opportunity for Sofa Workshop and I’d like to thank all our colleagues for their hard work and commitment since the business was acquired by the Group seven years ago and wish them every success in the future.

“We will remain focused on the core elements of our strategy, namely accelerating investment in technology and omni-channel initiatives for our two scale brands, DFS and Sofology, while ensuring our complementary Dwell brand generates a consistent return. As the clear market leader with strong recognition of our brands, high showroom sales densities and advantageous vertical integration, we feel well-positioned to drive shareholder returns”