A BUYER is being sought for a Bolton bed shop which has gone into administration.
One of the two Dreams bed stores in Bolton has been saved — but the second, at Bolton Gate Retail Park has yet to find a buyer.
Dreams went, into administration on Tuesday and 171 of its 266 UK stores have since been sold to a new company, including the Middlebrook branch, which has two staff.
The Bolton Gate store has not been included in the sale and employs four staff. A separate buyer is now being sought for it and other unsold shops.
Accountancy firm Ernst & Young was appointed as administrators of Dreams, which employs 2,000 staff.
It has sold some of the company’s business and assets to Sun Capital Partners, for an undisclosed sum.
As a result, the business has secured new investment and will continue to operate as a going concern outside of insolvency.
Administrators said the new owner will honour customer orders where part payment deposits have been made for goods and customer warranties.
No one was available to comment on the news at the two Bolton branches.
But an Ernst & Young spokeswoman said yesterday: “The Middlebrook store is part of the sale and two people work there. The Bolton Gate branch is not part of the sale and administrators are trading the store with a view to finding a buyer. Four people work there.”
Alan Hudson, a joint administrator, added: “High street retailers have faced unprecedented conditions over recent years, and the market for higher-value discretionary purchases has been particularly tough.
“Dreams is a well known market leader but in common with many others has suffered as a result of this depressed retail environment, a rapid expansion of its store portfolio and onerous lease liabilities. Whilst recent performance has improved, it has seen a decline in like-for-like sales across its stores as well as its operating margins being squeezed. This has resulted in the business being unable to continue to operate outside of administration.
“However, we are pleased to announce that a sale has been completed that sees the majority of the Dreams business. The business will continue to trade without interruption, more than 1,600 jobs have been transferred and the future of Dreams on the UK high street has been safeguarded.”
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