Major furniture maker that supplies ‘leading brands' across UK abruptly ceases trading with ALL workers to lose jobs
Andrew Paul Furniture, which supplied "leading brands" across the UK, had to cease trading.
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The major furniture maker, which manufactured chairs and sofas for well-known brands, has closed down after a decline in sales.
Andrew Paul Furniture employs 178 highly skilled wood machinists, frame makers and upholsterers in Long Eaton who will now lose their livelihood.
The firm stopped trading on June 26 after 15 years on the market and is about to go into liquidation.
This means that all employees will be let off and the company's assets will be liquidated in an effort to pay off its debts.
Post-Covid struggles
According to the company's financial records for 2024, Andrew Paul Furniture has provided goods to "leading brands" and is a part of the "recognised centre of excellence for upholstered furniture" in Long Eaton.
The furniture maker produced "modern designs to high specifications" by combining traditional craft and the latest technology.
But the firm struggled with a challenging market climate following Covid-19.
In the report, bosses said: "Like all manufacturers in the furniture trade, business has been very difficult and cutbacks in all areas of the business have had to be made.
"The company has experienced a slight downturn in trade and in recent years has made losses."
The firm owes £2million in debt
The financial filings have also revealed that the firm owes creditors over £2million over the course of the next year.
The lion's share of this money, around £1million, is owed to other businesses which had worked with the furniture maker.
The company had implemented a restructuring programme in a bid to save itself from bankruptcy and even moved its production to Meadow Lane premises to reduce costs.
However, in the same financial report the firm had admitted that its future was uncertain.
Despite the efforts, Andrew Paul Furniture saw a decrease in turnover from £14,242,283 in 2023 to £12,944,655 in the previous year.
RETAIL PAIN IN 2025
The British Retail Consortium has predicted that the Treasury's hike to employer NICs will cost the retail sector £2.3billion.
Research by the British Chambers of Commerce shows that more than half of companies plan to raise prices by early April.
A survey of more than 4,800 firms found that 55% expect prices to increase in the next three months, up from 39% in a similar poll conducted in the latter half of 2024.
Three-quarters of companies cited the cost of employing people as their primary financial pressure.
The Centre for Retail Research (CRR) has also warned that around 17,350 retail sites are expected to shut down this year.
It comes on the back of a tough 2024 when 13,000 shops closed their doors for good, already a 28% increase on the previous year.
Professor Joshua Bamfield, director of the CRR said: "The results for 2024 show that although the outcomes for store closures overall were not as poor as in either 2020 or 2022, they are still disconcerting, with worse set to come in 2025."
Professor Bamfield has also warned of a bleak outlook for 2025, predicting that as many as 202,000 jobs could be lost in the sector.
"By increasing both the costs of running stores and the costs on each consumer's household it is highly likely that we will see retail job losses eclipse the height of the pandemic in 2020."
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