Furniture manufacturer Summit 1977 was sold for almost £200,000 in a pre-pack deal after being placed into administration.
Huw Powell and Neil Vinnicombe, of Begbies Traynor (Central) LLP, were appointed as joint administrators of Summit 1977 Limited on 10 July 2025.
In the build up to its administration, a new Managing Director was appointed in November 2023 and over the last 18 months the directors sought to focus on improving profit by streamlining the business to be more financially efficient to achieve a return to stability.
The product mix changed into more soft seating, with a focus on emerging markets such as Build to Rent. Alongside this, Workstories remained the Company’s largest customer. However, losses continued to be incurred.
During early 2025, Workstories announced that it was moving all production away from the Company to another local manufacturer. The Company had no Service Level Agreements in place and no prior notice was given.
This had a detrimental effect on cash flow, so the board decided to seek either investment or a new partner. Further financial difficulties were experienced as a consequence of this unanticipated loss of its biggest customer and order levels reduced. Q1 and Q2 of 2025 proved very challenging, ultimately leading to the Company experiencing its worst turnover in many in years.
The position was exacerbated due to the accrual of liabilities with trade creditors which were planned to be dealt with by investment from a new joint venture party. Funds were introduced by two of the Company’s directors to allow trade to continue in the short term whilst options were explored.
However, matters were brought to a head in May 2025 when the Company started receiving a number of demand/legal letters from several creditors.
Following discussions with multiple parties, Advanced Moulds Limited trading as Advanced Furniture was identified as the proposed new partner and discussions were held with a view to entering a joint venture agreement.
Discussions regarding the joint venture were expected to conclude on 20 June 2025, but Advanced Furniture advised the board that following due diligence, they could not proceed with either a joint venture or investment into the existing entity, which left the Company needing insolvency advice as a result of severe cash flow issues.
Upon appointment of administrators, the company was sold in a pre-pack deal to Summit Workspace Limited, a newly incorporated company, for a sum of £174,000. This included £50,000 for stock and work in progress, book debts valuing £94,000, £10,000 for IP and £20,000 for fixtures and fittings.
Summit Workspace Limited was company incorporated on 7 July 2025 and is associated with Advanced Moulds Limited. The sale was completed in full and saved 53 jobs.
Advanced Furniture, which supplies contract furniture to businesses and local government, has been running since 1979 and has grown to a fill a 100,000 square foot factory in the Ebbw Vale enterprise zone.
Ken MacLennan and the team at Clarke Wilmott acted for the proposed administrators, whilst Jacob Sims, Owen James and team at Berry Smith acted for the purchaser. David Ross and team at Eddisons acted on the valuation and marketing of the business and assets for sale.
With regards to creditors, preferential creditor the HMRC is owed £121,000. Unsecured creditor claims totalled £985,000, which included £158,000 owed to its landlord, £218,000 in directors’ loans and £447,000 to the trade. It is expected that creditors will suffer a shortfall of £985,000.
Ken MacLennan and the team at Clarke Wilmott acted for the proposed administrators, whilst Jacob Sims, Owen James and team at Berry Smith acted for the purchaser. David Ross and team at Eddisons acted on the valuation and marketing of the business and assets for sale.
Neil Vinnicombe, Partner at Begbies Traynor, said: “When we were engaged to assist the company, we had to act quickly in order to get the best outcome for it and its creditors. Summit 1977 not only had a good history, strong asset base and a fantastic product, but also a lot of long-serving loyal and very talented employees.
“This made it attractive to the right buyer, and we truly believe that the new owners will be able to take the business forward and build on the back of the strong foundations that it had relied on since its inception almost 50 years ago.
“This not only gives Advanced Furniture a new and exciting addition to their business, but also continuity for the employees and customers of Summit and preserves a long-established brand.”
Tim Price, Managing Director at Advanced Furniture Limited and Summit Workspace Limited, said: “We are delighted to have rescued Summit from administration. We are very pleased to have preserved the jobs of people at the company and ensured that a significant manufacturer of high-quality British furniture stays in the area.”
