Chichester: Furniture chain collapses with 123 jobs at risk

Feather & Black, the furniture chain with a head office at Chichester, has collapsed. Allan Graham and Matt Ingram, both of Duff & Phelps, have been appointed joint administrators of the retailer.

Feather & Black is a well-established homeware brand offering premium bedroom furniture made in the UK and predominantly designed exclusively in house. The brand was founded in 2005 - although the business traces its history to 1994 - and has 25 retail stores nationwide, including concessions within Multiyork Furniture, with a head office and warehouse in Chichester. Today, the company employs 123 across the business.

Feather & Black is owned by the Wade family who also owns Multiyork Furniture, which went into administration earlier this month. Duff & Phelps is seeking buyers for both businesses.

Graham said: “The joint administrators are trading Feather & Black in administration in the short term with a view to finding a purchaser for the business as a going concern. We are confident that a buyer will be found and encourage any interested parties to come forward.”

He added: “The latest CBI survey out late last week reported that UK retail sales bounced back in November after falling sharply the previous month. Many retailers have been hit by the slowdown in consumer spending. With inflation rising faster than wages, consumers are beginning to feel the pinch and have cut back on their household budgets. As a result of these tough trading conditions, Feather & Black could no longer meet ongoing liabilities.”

The current management team is continuing in its current role and assisting the administrators during the process.

“The current intention is for all orders made before November 27 to be honoured and customers will be contacted in due course with updates relating to these orders as required,” Graham concluded.