New structure shapes up after beds firm rescue deal
AFTER being saved by a restructuring deal that injected £25m of new investment to grow the business, Bensons for Beds has unveiled its new leadership team.
Headquartered at Accrington’s Globe Centre, the firm has more than 200 stores across Britain and has distribution centres at Huncoat, Ayr and Tewkesbury.
The sale of the Bensons for Beds business earlier this month preserved 1,900 jobs. However partner furniture company Harveys - whose head office also moved to the Globe in March 2019, entered administration, with 240 redundancies.
Zelf Hussain, joint administrator and PwC Deals partner, said the group had been facing
“increasingly challenging trading conditions” in recent months, in particular the Harveys furniture business.
He added: “This has resulted in cash flow pressures, exacerbated by the effects of coronavirus on the supply chain and customer sales. It has not been possible to secure further investment to continue to trade the Group in its current form.
“Following our appointment, we immediately completed a sales process for certain business and assets of the Group. This sale puts the ongoing business on a firmer financial footing in its restructured form as Bensons for Beds only model, whilst preserving 1,899 jobs. The purchasers will be working with the existing management team to continue to grow and develop the business.
“The Harveys furniture related retail and manufacturing businesses will continue to trade in administration whilst all options are explored. 1,330 employees have been retained to support this trading period.
“It was regrettably necessary to make 240 employees redundant due to the economic position of the Group. We will make every effort to help those affected at this difficult time by liaising with the
Redundancy Payments Service and Job Centre Plus.”
Chris Howell, who has been working with Bensons for Beds in an advisory capacity since the autumn of 2019, will become chairman.
Mark Jackson, CEO of Bensons for Beds Retail Ltd, said: “It’s good to formally welcome Chris as chairman to new Bensons. His experience and contribution will be invaluable as we invest to grow.
“He and my whole leadership team are looking forward to getting Bensons back on its feet. This is a good business with a bright future, and we’ll emerge from our restructuring, refocused, resilient and ready to press ahead with our transformation plans.”
Joe Wykes will become chief operating officer, while chief financial officer will be John Sidebotham. Completing the team is Alan Williams who will continue to lead Bensons’ stores as managing director of retail.