A buyer is still being sought for the Bolton-based Proffitts furniture store, which fell into administration in July. The administrators were called in after the store, one of Bolton’s oldest family-owned companies, faced major cash flow difficulties. It has been continuing to trade with half of its original 12 staff and administrators RSM Tenon is still desperately seeking a buyer. A “final closing down sale” is currently being held at the premises but it is hoped this can be stopped once a buyer is found. The website at www.proffitts.co.uk has been suspended. A spokesman said discussions were being held with a number of interested parties with a view to selling the company as a going concern. The company was established in 1905 by George Proffitt, who gave up his job as a shop assistant to open a clothing and drapery business in Burlington Street, Great Lever. The store changed its focus from furnishings and by the mid-1960s, it concentrated solely on furniture and carpets. It is still owned by the fourth generation of the same Proffitt family that started the business. The company is now based at Marsden House in Bolton town centre.
