Norfolk luxury furniture business seeks sale

A company that makes and sells luxury furniture is hoping to sell up after difficult trading conditions forced the Norfolk-based firm into administration.

Multiyork, which was founded in 1979, has almost 50 stores across the UK and employs just under 550 staff. It manufactures luxury furniture items at a facility in Thetford, near Norwich, but started trading from a small village in Suffolk.

Poor operating conditions and a downturn in the UK retail sector meant that the business went into administration on 22 November, with Allan Graham and Matt Ingram from Duff & Phelps appointed as joint administrators.

Multiyork’s management team are staying on in their current role and are lending support to administrators throughout the insolvency process, the firm says. All orders placed up until 22 November are being reviewed with the intention that they are all completed.

Graham said that conditions were exacerbated by economic uncertainty, rising commodity prices and soaring business rates, as well as a higher cost for important raw materials and products.

He continued: "This appears to be leading to a sharp fall in consumer confidence and less money being spent on discretionary items.

“Many now face higher borrowing costs, given the rise in interest rates, which will only serve to heap further pressure onto household finances. This has impacted certain sectors particularly hard and as a result of trading losses, Multiyork could no longer meet on-going liabilities."

According to reports, the furniture firm turned over £50.4 million in the year up to 2 October 2016, compared with £47.8 million that Multiyork took in for the previous year.

It also recovered from a pre-tax loss of £700,000 in the same period, making a profit of £479,000.

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