Bed manufacturer Vogue Beds tried to rescue the business by downsizing its product range and production alongside investing in its sales team ahead of its collapse.
Chris Brooksbank, of CB Business Recovery Ltd, was appointed as Administrator of Vogue Beds Limited on 1 April 2025.
In the build up to entering administration, the company decided at the back end of 2023 to hold more stock due to inconsistencies with suppliers. However, 2024 started off poorly for the whole furniture industry.
Alongside the decline in trade, rising utility bills and the cost-of-living crisis caused a huge slump in the retail industry. By the middle of 2024, several big companies were reporting a 30-40% drop off in sales.
To try and overcome these problems, the company hired a sales director from the industry to try and increase the sales as well as hiring more staff in the sales team. The company also changed the whole range of mattresses by downsizing the range and introducing better value models and reduced production hours down.
None of these solutions worked in trying to bring an upturn for the company, and following a review in March 2025, it was deemed that the company was insolvent.
Following the appointment of an administrator, the Barwell-based business ceased trading with immediate effect, bringing an end to 35 years of trading, with all 49 employees being made redundant.
The administrator appointed Sanderson Weatherall LLP to review and value the assets of the business, which concluded that the stock had a cost price of £303,000 and was estimated to realise approximately 10-15% of this value.
A sales pack was prepared and circulated to 30 interested parties, as well as Sanderson Weatherall’s own database. One offer in the sum of £14,000 plus VAT from an independent third party was submitted for part of the stock, which Sanderson Weatherall recommended to be accepted as it continues further lines of enquiries with various other parties to sell the remaining stock.
The company had outstanding Book Debts of almost £105,000. After making a general bad debt provision of 19%, it was anticipated that realisations in respect of these debtors would be £85,490. At the time of the report, a sum of £80,950 has been collected.
As for creditors, preferential employee claims totalled £47,890, while the HMRC is owed is £204,736. “Based on current information, any distribution to primary preferential creditors will be dependent on the debtor, stock realisations and the administrator’s investigations,” the report said.
Unsecured creditors are owed a combined sum of £1.1m, which includes an inter-company loan of £277,000 owed to Vogue Group Holdings Ltd and around £407,000 owed to the trade. It is expected that creditors will suffer a shortfall of £1.28m.
At the time of entering administration, Vogue said in a statement: “It is with deep regret after 35 years in business that Vogue Beds Limited has ceased trading and entered into administration.
“This decision was not made lightly and comes after exhaustive efforts to navigate the increasingly challenging economic climate the Company has faced after Covid, but especially these last 18 months with unprecedented market disruptions and unsustainable financial burdens coming into effect from April 2025 and despite its best efforts to restructure and seek alternative solutions, the Directors have reached the difficult conclusion that administration is the only viable course of action.
“It is understandable that this news will be unsettling for employees, customers, suppliers, and partners. The Directors are committed in working with the Administrator to ensure a smooth and transparent process during this difficult time.”
