Carpetright

Carpetright Limited
Formerly
  • Hedgerows Limited (October–Nov 1988)
  • Carpetwise (London) Limited (1988–1989)
  • Carpetright of London Limited (1989–1993)
  • Carpetright plc (1993–2020)[1]
Company typePrivate
IndustryRetail
Founded1988
HeadquartersPurfleet, Essex
Number of locations
350 (2019)
Key people
Kevin Barrett (Group CEO)
ProductsCarpets
OwnerTapi Carpets
Websitecarpetright.co.uk
New Carpetright Store (2018)
Carpetright in Oxted (2019)
Carpetright in Croydon (2018)

Carpetright Limited is one of the largest British retailers of floor coverings and beds. The company is owned by Tapi Carpets.

History

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The company was established by Lord Harris of Peckham in 1988 when he opened its first shop in Canning Town.[2] It was first listed on the London Stock Exchange in June 1993. In 1999, the company expanded through the acquisition of selected shops from Carpetland and Allied Carpets.[2] It acquired its first operations in Continental Europe in 2002, and in 2005 acquired May’s World of Carpets.[2] In 2007, it added the Storey Carpets business, a firm based in Sunderland, which had 54 stores at the time.[3][4]

Cascade Investment, LLC, the investment vehicle of Bill Gates, acquired a 3% stake in the company in May 2008.[5] Carpetright expanded again with the purchase of Sleepright UK in 2008.[6] However, in June 2011 it announced significant shop closure plans and that year posted its first loss since 1993.[7]

It was reported on 21 March 2018 that Carpetright was struggling after issuing several profit warnings, and that it was looking at possible shop closures. On 12 April 2018, it was announced that Carpetright would close 92 stores, with a total loss of 300 jobs out of the total workforce of 2,700, as part of restructuring measures.[8][9]

In May 2018, Carpetright secured a £15 million loan to provide short-term working capital.[10] In November 2019, Carpetright announced that its largest shareholder, Meditor, had agreed to purchase the company.[11] A bid of £15.2 million was accepted by the company, amid fears it could not pay off its debt.[12] Carpetright have estimated that the company would need around £80 million to get out of its debt problems. The company’s gross debt was evaluated at £56 million.[13] According to Carpetright, the rescue deal will help the company complete a turnaround plan in the “very challenging consumer market”.[14] The hedge fund that will acquire the retailer is headed by Talal Shakerchi, the former professional poker player and the former fund manager for Old Mutual.[15] Investec Asset Management backed the bid made by Meditor with more than 11.3 million shares.[13] Carpetright announced the departure of chairman Bob Ivell in January 2020, as the store returned to private ownership after more than 26 years. Several non-executive directors stood down from the board because of the takeover.[16]

In July 2024, Carpetright announced it had put itself up for sale, appointing PwC to launch a formal sale process.[17] The firm was purchased in the same month by Tapi Carpets, in a pre-packaged insolvency deal, a transaction that is often associated with the new company shedding its commitments to staff and creditors.[18][19][20]

As part of the acquisition, Tapi Carpets would acquire 54 stores, along with 300 jobs and 2 warehouses. The business outside the UK (which would be kept by Nestware Holdings), 218 stores and the company's headquarters in Purfleet would not be part of the deal, affecting more than 1,000 jobs.[21][22]

Operations

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As of 2022, the company had more than 400 shops.[23] It has expanded into Belgium,[23] the Netherlands,[23] and the Republic of Ireland.[23] It sells a wide variety of beds, mattresses, carpets, laminate flooring, vinyl flooring and rugs.[24]

Marketing

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It was announced in March 2020 that Carpetright would become the new main shirt sponsor for Exeter City F.C. from the start of the 2020/21 season.[25]

References

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  1. ^ "CARPETRIGHT LIMITED overview". Companies House. 12 September 1988. Retrieved 23 January 2024.
  2. ^ a b c Carpetright History Archived 18 August 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ "Carpet firm to be sold for £20m". news.bbc.co.uk. 2 May 2007. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  4. ^ "Storey Carpets owner Carpetright agrees Meditor takeover bid". netimesmagazine.co.uk. 15 November 2019. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  5. ^ Hawkes, Steve (29 May 2008). "Bill Gates piles into Carpetright with 3% stake". The Times. London. Archived from the original on 12 June 2011. Retrieved 29 October 2016.
  6. ^ "Carpetright snaps up Sleepright". 8 December 2008.
  7. ^ "Carpetright reports first ever profits dip since floating in 1993". The Guardian. 13 December 2011. Retrieved 18 March 2017.
  8. ^ "Carpetright to close 92 outlets, shedding hundreds of jobs". theguardian.com. 12 April 2018. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  9. ^ "Carpetright to axe 300 jobs and close 92 stores in fight for survival". news.sky.com. 12 April 2018. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  10. ^ Woods, Ben (11 May 2018). "Carpetright secures £15m emergency funding". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
  11. ^ Szajna-Hopgood, Ava (15 November 2019). "Carpetright to be taken over by Meditor". Retail Gazette. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
  12. ^ "Carpetright accepts cut-price £15m rescue deal from Meditor". CityAM. 15 November 2019. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  13. ^ a b "Meditor scores win as shareholder backs its bid for Carpetright". Evening Express. 6 November 2019. Archived from the original on 5 December 2019. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  14. ^ Butler, Sarah (15 November 2019). "Carpetright agrees £15m sale to main investor Meditor". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  15. ^ Price, Rachael (18 November 2019). "Carpetright Purchased by Poker Player's Hedge Fund". Gambling News. Archived from the original on 5 December 2019. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  16. ^ Nazir, Sahar (24 January 2020). "Carpetright goes private amid boardroom exodus". Retail Gazette. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
  17. ^ Fish, Isabella (12 July 2024). "Carpetright is put up for sale". The Times. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
  18. ^ Masud, Faarea; Labiak, Mitch (12 July 2024). "Carpetright close to collapse with 1,800 jobs at risk". BBC News. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
  19. ^ THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE KITCHIN (30 July 2010), Re Halliwells Llp & Ors (Rev 1) [2010] EWHC 2036 (Ch), retrieved 22 July 2024
  20. ^ Editor, Isabella Fish, Retail (22 July 2024). "Carpetright rescue deal to save 300 jobs". www.thetimes.com. Retrieved 22 July 2024. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  21. ^ Morgan, Aoife (22 July 2024). "Carpetright rival Tapi to snap up chain in pre-pack deal today - Retail Gazette". Retrieved 22 July 2024.
  22. ^ "Tapi acquires (quarter of) Carpetright, fate of stores abroad unsure". RetailDetail EU. 22 July 2024. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
  23. ^ a b c d "Retail Sites". Retrieved 14 May 2018.
  24. ^ "Will Carpetright's shares fly again?". Walbrock Research. Archived from the original on 19 March 2018. Retrieved 18 March 2018.
  25. ^ Cooper, Joel (19 March 2020). "Exeter City Football Club announces new sponsor". Devon Live. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
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