Buyers sought for Walmsley branches following administration

Buyers are being sought for some of the 60 branches of furniture chain, Walmsley after it entered administration this week.

The company became the latest home furnishings store to fall victim to the recession on Thursday, following the recent collapses of Floors-2-Go, Lombok and the UK arm of Habitat.

Administrators have been appointed to the company from financial services firm, Leonard Curtis. It is understood that they have already managed to sell on some 25 branches of the store, to a buyer thought to be a major private equity firm. The administrators are continuing to search for buyers for the remaining branches.

A Walmsley spokesman said, "A sale was completed immediately following the appointment to an unconnected company. The sale included all of the stock of the business and the buyer has taken over 25 of the stores."

The business was founded in 1933 and claimed to have more stores on the high street than any other furniture retailer. It was formerly headquartered in Preston, before management switched its head office to Wednesbury in the Midlands.

Figures have shown that it achieved sales of £25.8 million in the year to 30 April 2010, which were down from £27.4 million in the previous year. The business managed to remain profitable, however, posting a pre-tax profit of £106,000.

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