Bristol bedroom furniture manufacturer Swanglen, which collapsed after being hit hard by the collapse of Britain’s biggest bed retailer Dreams, has been bought out of liquidation by major UK bed firm Airsprung.
Swanglen supplied headboards and other furniture to major retailers and bed manufacturers. It recently ceased trading and all 28 employees were made redundant. The firm’s total liabilities stood at more than £800,000.
Now, under a deal struck by accountants Mazars’ Bristol office, which had been handling the liquidation, many of the employees will be taken back on by Airsprung and the business, under the new trading name of Swanglen Furnishings, will operate from its original base on the St Vincent’s Trading Estate.
Tony Lisanti, chief executive of Trowbridge-based Airsprung Group said: “Swanglen are a well-known manufacturer and will complement the other activities of the Airsprung Group.
“I can confirm that the purchase will secure the employment of a significant number of the employees of the original business. It will continue to operate from its Bristol base and will supply its products to a very wide range of major UK retailers.”
As well as manufacturing headboards – its core product – Swanglen also sold beds, chairs, storage units and footstools.
Swanglen Furniture was formed in 1985 but has been trading for around 35 years as it launched via the acquisition of the business and assets of a predecessor company.
The business grew to achieve an annual turnover of nearly £4m, making 1,500 headboards a day.
But following the loss of orders with its major customer Dreams, which went into administration in March, Swanglen was forced into liquidation.
Mazars restructuring services partner in Bristol, Tim Ball, who was appointed liquidator at a creditors’ meeting earlier this month, said: “That resulted in a significant bad debt for the company and the loss of a major part of its annual sales.
“The other major reason for the failure was the decline in sales generally since the recession commenced in 2008
“Airsprung Group is a major bed manufacturer and Swanglen Furniture’s main product was headboards for beds. Hence it is a good fit.
“This should mean that a large number of the jobs will be saved when the business restarts in its former premises.”
The sale would also result in a better outcome for creditors, he said.
The Airsprung Group can trace its history back well more than 100 years.
From making mattresses in a small workshop in Trowbridge it has grown to become one of the country’s largest bed manufacturers and large employer in the local area.
It produces more than 600,000 beds and mattresses a year and owns well-known brands such Airsprung Beds, Gainsborough, Hush and Hush-a-Bye Beds. It is also an upholstered furniture specialist under the Cavendish Upholstery and Collins & Hayes names.
