Julian Charles rescued out of administration after tax rises bite
Julian Charles, the luxury bedding and homewares retailer, has been rescued out of administration after struggling with falling sales and increasing taxes.
The Manchester-headquartered company’s business and assets have been sold to Great Bedding Co Ltd in a deal which safeguarded 230 out of 251 jobs and more than 25 trading sites as well as separate concession locations.
Marco Piacquadio and Alan Coleman of FTS Recovery had been appointed as administrator to oversee the process.
According to a document filed with Companies House, the company behind Julian Charles owed almost £3.5m when it entered administration.
Julian Charles was founded in Lancashire in 1947, has 70 outlets across the UK and operates 41 stand-alone stores, plus concessions such as Boundary Mill and in garden centres.
It had previously been owned by SKG Capital which acquired the brand in June 2020.
In January 2024, City PM reported that Julian Charles had posted a pre-tax loss of £978,580 for the 12 months to 30 April, 2023, down from a profit of £288,225.
During the year, the company’s turnover increased slightly from £17.3m to £17.6m.
At the end of that financial year, the brand had 73 trading locations made up of stores and concessions
In a statement, FTS Recovery said: “In recent years the company has suffered a number of economic headwinds which have resulted in cash-flow difficulties and left it unable to meet all its current liabilities.
“Aside from a significant drop in turnover, the company is mindful of the impact of the increasing tax burden, particularly those announced in last October’s budget, having a direct impact on its bottom line as a result of increasing employment costs.”
Julian Charles faced ‘devastating combination of rising costs and declining consumer confidence’
Marco Piacquadio, director FTS Recovery, said: “As is typical when parachuted in, we were focused on seeking to rescue as many elements of the business as is possible, always front of mind being the position of the employees, consumers and other creditors and stakeholders.
“This was a relatively complex transaction with significant scale and the ability to move quickly was key.
“I am grateful to have achieved a really pleasing result given the circumstances and we wish the new owners and remaining staff and stakeholders the very best going forward.
“I would also like to thank the wider professional advisers who helped with the transaction.
“Our legal team was led by Hayley Phelps of HCR Law, with considerable wider input also required from HCR’s property team given the scale of sites involved.
“Thanks also to John Pye Auctioneers and Valuers, who ran a substantial marketing process under the provisions of SIP 16, led by Gary Harper and his team.”
Alan Coleman, director FTS Recovery, added: “A devastating combination of rising costs and declining consumer confidence have hit the UK’s retail sector hard in recent years, Julian Charles included.”