Administrators working for Betta Living have sold the order book and “other certain assets” of Dean House Limited, trading as Betta Living, to a team comprising “former management of the company” in a transaction structured to help deliver existing orders.
Anthony Collier and Ben Woolrych, partners at FRP Advisory, said the move “may secure a small number of new job opportunities based largely in the North-West for some ongoing trade”.
“The Acquirer will be assessing the orders on a case-by-case basis both in terms of delivery and fit.”
The administrators were appointed on November 8 and had been exploring options to rescue the business of Betta Living out of administration.
Prior to this, the business had ceased to trade and the majority of staff, totalling around 300, had been sent home across Betta Living’s 24 outlets. All staff have now been notified of redundancy.
Betta Living provided fitted and home furniture and over the past few years had expanded its store footprint rapidly to meet growing demand.
But the administrators revealed “rising occupational costs from newer space” had pushed the company into a loss-making position and squeezed cash flow, more recently to unsustainable levels, leaving no viable option other than for the company to seek the protection of administration to allow for a more viable long-term solution to be found.
“We are pleased that a solution has been found with a view to fulfilling existing customer orders, which may also lead to the creation of jobs in the future,” Collier said.
“However, we are disappointed that a buyer for the business as a whole could not be found, which will unfortunately result in store closures and redundancies.
“We will be working closely with those impacted by store closures over the coming days. Our immediate priority will be to work with any former employees and ensure that they are able to make timely claims from the Redundancy Protection Service.”