Nightmare for Eve Sleep as it races to find a new owner

ShAReS in eve Sleep crashed as the mattress maker put itself up for sale and warned revenues would slump this year.

The company, which sells mattresses and bed frames online, has been hit by falling consumer confidence and rising inflation.

It expects the cost of living crisis to continue for ‘some time’, meaning it will miss its sales and profit forecasts, and haemorrhage cash. In the first five months of this year sales in the UK were 15pc lower than the same time last year.

Shares crashed 21.2pc, or 0.35p, to 1.3p and are down 71pc since the start of the year.

eve is racing to find a buyer to take the firm private, and fund its push into the ‘wider sleep wellness space’.

A potential US investor’s interest has ended, and eve has warned there is ‘no certainty’ any offer will be made.

A takeover would mark the end of a torrid five years as a listed company. It floated on the London Stock exchange in 2017 at 101p per share and rose to briefly top 130p. But shares have since plummeted, wiping out 99pc of its value.

Chief executive Cheryl Calverley said eve could become the first digital sleep wellness retailer, but needed funds from a buyer or new investor.

AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould said: ‘eve has had anything but a soft landing since listing. The company has given its shareholders plenty of sleepless nights and after its latest item of bad news – missing revenue forecasts – it is giving up the ghost and putting itself up for sale.’