The future of kitchen retail chain Harvey Jones is up in the air after the troubled company confirmed it was seeking new investors in an attempt to avoid administration.
The brand, which has nearly 30 showrooms in affluent towns across the UK, said it was having “advanced and encouraging conversations” with potential investors after industry rumours spread about its search for a rescue deal – despite it saying it had a strong start to the year.
A statement said it had filed a notice of intent to appoint administrators to “protect the business while these discussions remain ongoing, to allow us time to reach a successful conclusion.”
The company is working with financial consultants Interpath Advisory and its accounts for 2022 are overdue at Companies House.
The full Harvey Jones statement says: “We recently commenced a review of our strategic options which would enable us to restructure the business on a sustainable basis. We are now in advanced and encouraging conversations with our key stakeholders and potential new investors, and we hope to have more news to share in the coming days.
“In the meantime, we have filed court documents that will protect the business while these discussions remain ongoing, to allow us time to reach a successful conclusion. For our customers, it’s very much business as usual as we continue to fulfil orders and build on the back of a strong January trading month.”
Vince Gunn was named as the new CEO of Harvey Jones a year ago, he replaced Darren Woolsgrove who had led the company through a management buyout in May 2022 backed by Coniston Capital.
Josh Henshaw from Coniston Capital joined the Harvey Jones board and at the time of the buyout said: “Darren and the team have built an impressive business and offer a high-end, specialist service in an exciting market. This combination made the company an attractive investment proposition and we look forward to working with them to continue to drive growth.”