Heal’s is to open an outlet store next month.

Topps Tiles has said that sales have fallen since the general election was called.

ScS has warned that orders have continued to fall, although the rate has slowed.

John Lewis saw sales plunge in the past week as shoppers waited for Black Friday.

London kitchen, bedroom and bathroom retailer Day True has opened its third store.

Marks & Spencer is to have a new head of clothing and home, with Richard Price returning to the chain.

Tempur Sealy has hired marketing and management company IMG as its licensing representative for the group’s brands as it looks to move into a wider range of branded products.

The Unite union has called strike action at Westex Carpets.

The Carpet Foundation has negotiated its second members deal, this time covering estimating software.

Upholstery retailer Arlo & Jacob is to open its fifth store in January: its fourth in the past 18 months.

Home sales rose at John Lewis in the past week, but overall sales dropped.

Furnishing retailer Swoon has appointed Rhenus Home Delivery as sole carrier for its two-man home deliveries.

Cormar Carpet Company has added to its delivery fleet with 10 new trucks.

Steinhoff International as sold Harveys, Bensons for Beds and its UK manufacturing operations to Brighthouse owner Alteri Investors.

Carpetright has bowed to the seemingly inevitable and recommended to shareholders that they accept the £15.18m takeover by its largest shareholder and owner of its bank borrowings.

In their first ever joint Christmas campaign, John Lewis and Waitrose have come together to create an advert which tells the heartwarming story of a little girl and her friendship with an excitable young dragon. 

Cormar Carpet Company has strengthened its sales team with four new territory managers.

Välinge, I4F and Unilin have settled legal disputes between themselves over LVT click sytems and agreed to end litigation in Europe and the US.

US$65m turnover rug company Obeetee is to launch in the UK next month.

Furniture trade association British Furniture Makers (BFM) has unveiled a new logo.

John Lewis saw another drop in home sales in the past week, but it was much smaller than in recent weeks.

Wet weather and Brexit uncertainty caused consumers to hold back going shopping in October.

Flooring distributor Likewise says it expects half-year sales to be £9.5m and parts of the group are trading ahead of expectations but its matting operation is ‘disappointing.’

A third large shareholder in Carpetright has said it will support Meditor’s possible £15m offer for the chain.

Ikea’s UK operation outperformed its global performance in the past year.

In less than six months Texfelt’s SpringBond underlay has prevented one million PET bottles go to landfill or the sea.

ScS’s major shareholder Sun European partners has raised £13.75m by selling 6.25million shares in the chain.

ScS’s major shareholder is to sell a significant part of its stake in the upholstery and flooring chain.

John Lewis suffered a double-digit sales fall in the week to 2 November.

Matt Williams is to leave tiles chain Topps Tiles, after 21 years at the chain, including 12 as ceo.

The country’s largest kitchen retailer has expanded further and introduced its first ‘child safe’ kitchen.

Carpet Recycling UK is expanding its geographical coverage of the UK, offering the flooring sector more options for reuse and recycling of carpet and carpet tile waste, especially in Scotland. 

Non-food retail footfall fell again in October, but the rate of decline was lower than September.

Furniture manufacturer Natuzzi has opened its fourth directly operated store in London, at Westfield White City.

Bensons for Beds and Harveys have joined Magic Radio’s Cash For Kids appeal to support Mission Christmas to distribute thousands of gifts to disadvantaged children across the country.

Former Wood Bros and Michael Tyler director Malcolm Nix is to return to the furniture industry after an 18 month sabbatical.

Nigel Oddy is set to leave his position as chief executive of The Range, less than two years after he joined the value retailer.

Flooring group Victoria is to focus on reducing its huge debts while Geoff Wilding has insisted that its recent stock market turmoil which saw it abandon plans to refinance the debt and a plunge in its share price in the face of strong short-selling, has not distracted management.

John Lewis saw a return to growth for home sales in the past week as Black Friday saw the chain enjoy its best week in its history.

The parent company of luxury kitchen and bedroom retailers Smallbone of Devizes and Mark Wilkinson Furniture has filed a notice of intention to appoint Grant Thornton, the accountancy firm, as administrator.

Libra has continued its opening of retail concessions, with an unit in Bentalls Kingston.

Bed manufacturer Shire Beds has extended its sponsorship with Leeds Rhinos by introducing a bed branded in the side’s colours and logo.

Ikea is to make 350 of its UK and Republic of Ireland staff redundant over the next two years as part of a global transformation plan that will see 7,500 positions go.

Upholstery and flooring chain ScS has seen sales growth at its core stores slip back in the past month, while its House of Fraser concessions continue to suffer.

John Lewis saw a healthy increase in furniture, flooring and furnishing orders in the past week, but it was not enough to prevent a double-digit drop in home sector sales.

A Lincolnshire furniture and flooring independent is to close after 143 years, with the great grandson of the store’s founder retiring.

Mattress in a box retailer Eve Sleep is to roll back its ambitions while tapping investors for £15m.

Roll up mattresses have gained further market share in the past six months, and now account for almost a quarter of sales.

This year’s John Lewis Christmas advert stars Elton John and tells how one gift influenced his life.

Four more branches of House of Fraser will close in the New Year after Sports Direct failed to secure lower rents on the stores. The move will also hit Sofa.com’s expansion plans.

Carpet manufacturer Cormar Carpet Company has invested more than £1.5m expanding its delivery fleet.

John Lewis saw home sales plummet in the past week.

Retail footfall fell for the 11th consecutive month in October.

 Rest Assured has expanded its network of showrooms with three across Cornwall, Somerset and Carmarthenshire.

Upholstery chain Darlings of Chelsea is to open a new flagship store in January.

Flooring group Victoria has abandoned plans to raise €450m by issuing a bond after the price demanded by investors proved too high.

Sir Charlie Mayfield, John Lewis Partnership chairman is to step down in 2020.

Bensons for Beds has continued its marketing push recruiting a sleep physiologist.

John Lewis enjoyed a rare week of increased home sales in the past week, helped by a rise in furniture and flooring sales.

Retail sales were broadly flat in October as consumers held off shopping as they waited for discounts.

Department store chain Debenhams has seen its credit rating further downgraded.

A surge in online sales and two more branches saw Ikea approach £2bn of sales in the UK.

The Orla Kiely interiors branding is to be extended to upholstery and beds next year.

The bed industry needs to lift mattress recycling rates from 15% to 75% in the next decade and tackle the issue of springs and foam being reused, it has been told.

Wilf Walsh, Carpetright ceo has insisted that the restructuring of the group is producing benefits.

The ceo and cfo of Topps Tiles have shown their faith in the chain by buying more than £200,000 of shares in the company despite a drop in profits.

Online mattress seller Eve Sleep says UK performance has been better than expected.

The Black Friday event gave John Lewis a record week, and day of trading, but home sales again slipped.

Less than a week after its sister chain Multiyork went into administration, Feather & Black has followed suit.

Ercol has announced it has appointed Daniel Sugrue as sales and marketing director.

The British Furniture Manufacturers has announced it is supporting The Furniture Awards at the January Furniture Show next January.

Steinhoff UK has poached The Range’s multi-channel director to head its online operations.

Designer Kelly Hoppen has introduced her first carpet collection, eschewing traditional designs.

Less than two months after being put up for sale, furniture chain Multiyork has gone into administration.

John Lewis saw an increase in weekly sales for the first time in almost two months in the past week, despite home sales falling again.

The Competition & Markets Authority has said DFS can complete its acquisition of rival upholstery chain Sofology.

Ikano Bank has signed a new long-term contract with DFS to provide IFC.

Andrew Mitchell has become chairman of the Long Eaton Guild for the third time ahead of a revamp.

Patrick Pattison has joined the board of furniture buying group Minerva.

Shire Beds marked its 20th anniversary by officially opening its new head office.

As many people are buying their beds online as in-store, while the average price has dipped.

Victoria has agreed to pay £246.5m to buy Spanish ceramic tile manufacturer Keraben.

Brockway Carpets has moved to strengthen its sales team with the appointment of Paul Crittenden, while Dan Milstead moves to familiar territory.

Fabric group Walker Greenbank saw more than a quarter of its value wiped out after warning on lower profits.

Polly Dickens to retire as habitat creative director at the end of January, after six years in the role.

Visitor numbers to the 23rd Furniture China 2017 and sister event Maison Shanghai jumped by more than a quarter.

Beds proved to be a highlight of trading at John Lewis last week, but sales fell in all three product directorates.

Ikea enjoyed healthy growth in the UK in the past year, despite a sharp increase in costs.

The January Furniture Show has secured a partnership with the British Interiors & Textile Association for the 2018 show.

Footfall dropped by 2% in October, its largest October drop since 2013 and the largest monthly fall since June 2016.

Rest Assured has begun the introduction of studios among its retail stockists.

Sofology today opened its 40th branch, in Farnborough, Hampshire.

Vi-Spring and And So To Bed parent Flex Group has appointed Martin Gill as md of the retailer.

Steinhoff UK Beds have donated a number of beds to support the BBC DIY SOS team in rebuilding a support centre for a volunteer-led charity in Swansea for a Children in Need Special.

The Roots Foundation Wales is a charity based in Swansea, set up by an inspiring individual Emma Lewis, who achieved something extraordinary out of harrowing personal circumstances. With the crucial support of an amazing team, The Root Foundation Wales gives the desperately needed help and support to young people in care, care leavers, children in need and adults who have left the care system and are trying to live independently. 

 The National Bed Federation as solidified its commitment to eliminating the use of landfill for the disposal of end of life beds.

 German cabinet manufacturer CS Schmal has successfully secured insolvency protection by a German court, at the second attempt.

Furnishing chain Oka could soon be at the centre of a bidding battle which could see it sold for more than £40m.

A Midlands bed company has been refused a licence to run HGVs by the region’s Traffic Commissioner after putting road safety in jeopardy and undercutting legitimate operators.



Victoria has confirmed that it is in talks to buy Spanish ceramic tile manufacturer Keraben.

John Lewis saw its sixth successive week of lower home sales in the week to 4 November amid an overall sales drop.

Philip Hammond should deliver a ‘shoppers’ budget’ according to the BRC, after retail sales disappointed in October: especially non-food in-store purchases.

Matthias Pollman, Kolnmesse project manager for Interzum is to become furnishing division head, responsible for exhibitions including imm cologne.

The Midpoint Furniture Exhibition is to move to Manchester, alongside the Manchester Furniture Show.

Harveys is to have 27 hours of branding over the Christmas period on Sky.

The Furniture Makers’ Company and the BFM have called on the furnishing industry to take part in a government survey to help develop a Level 3 Apprenticeship Standard, befote the deadline passes on 7 November.

Upholstery chain Sofology’s use of instore technology has been recognised with a trio of industry awards.

A lack of sleep is costing the UK economy £40bn a year but this could be more than halved if the most sleep deprived workers had an extra hour of sleep.

Consumer confidence has fallen, with shoppers less confident about their personal finances, the economy, making major purchases and savings.

Furniture shone for John Lewis last week in what was a record week for the department store chain.

Ikea has enjoyed its fifth consecutive year of UK sales growth and grown its market share.

House of Fraser ceo Nigel Oddy is to leave the department store chain after less than two years in the job.

Dunelm has agreed a £8.5m prepac deal to buy lossmaking £100m turnover etail group Worldstores.

‘I look for beauty in ordinary things. Nature is filled with everyday wonders. A rainbow, for instance, is my favourite natural event. A rainbow never ceases to amaze me with its misty, elusive rays of colour. There is just so much beauty surrounding us on a daily basis,’ says Oke Nollet, Quick-Step design director.

72 years after his death the furniture designs of renowned architect Sir Edwin Lutyens are to receive a contemporary makeover.

Window coverings and flooring company Hillarys is to open its first retail store in January.

Upholstery and flooring chain ScS is ‘in a strong position’ shareholders have been told.

John Lewis shoppers put off buying from the department store chain last week ahead of Black Friday, but home sales rose.

Debenhams has become the first major department store chain to begin its Black Friday offers: with many furniture offers similar to previous winter sale deals.

Victoria has seen UK operating profits jump by more than 50% in the past six months.

Trade exhibition organiser Clarion Events has bought The January Furniture Show and Manchester Furniture Show for an undisclosed sum.

Flooring retailer Tapi is to open its first central London store this weekend.

British furniture manufacturers expect growth in employment and good performance by exporters in the next four months.

Brintons has looked to the future of design by recruiting a recent Birmingham City University Textile Design graduate to its design team.

Sealy has again supported children’s charity Cash for Kids with its Mission Christmas Appeal, which encourages people to donate either cash or at least one present, suitable for a child who would not otherwise receive a gift this Christmas.

US upholstery company La-Z-Boy has bought back the UK and Ireland license after eight years.

Furniture etailer MyFurniture has begun exporting to continental Europe after securing funding to move to larger premises.

All four finalists in the small and emerging companies category of the inaugural DesignEuropa Awards are interiors products.

John Lewis again increased home sales last week, helped by double-digit increases in beds and bedding.

The Furniture Makers’ Company, the furnishing industry’s charity, has secured a major sponsor for its Manufacturing Guild Mark.

The global flooring market will enjoy 6% growth a year between now and 2024, according to new research.

A new Ikea store could be at the centre of a ‘once-in-a-generation’ that aims to create 4,500 jobs.

David Imrie and David Langford have confirmed that their new upholstery and cabinet company will make its UK show debut at The January Furniture Show.

John Lewis has revealed its 2016 Christmas TV advertisement, featuring trampolining wild animals and a boxer dog.

Investment group L&G has upped its stake in the country’s largest flooring distributor to above 3%.

John Lewis enjoyed solid home growth last week, with strong performances from furniture and carpets.

Bedroom, kitchen and bathroom chain Betta Living has fallen into administration with business ceasing to trade as rescue plans are explored.

Dorchester furniture and flooring retailer Woods Furniture is to expand with its second store in the town.

John Sylvester, former Metro chief executive has died. He was 73.

Imm Cologne and Interzum exhibition organiser Kolnmesse has added the ZOW show to its portfolio.

Furniture Village saw like for like sales jump by 10% in the past financial year as profits climbed by 12.9%.

Former DFS owner Advent International has continued to reduce its stake in the retailer, selling half of its remaining shares.

There is less than a month to go until the glittering Christmas Ball being held in aid of The Furniture Makers’ Company gets the festive season off to a stylish start.

Scotland and north-west England flooring retailer Carpet Ways has relocated its Carlisle branch to much larger premises, while retaining its town centre presence.

Ikea has become the latest retailer to promise to pay UK staff the newly increased voluntary Living Wage, as its expansion plans suffered a setback.

Dorset furniture retailer Woods is to donate a share of sales during a pre-Christmas sale to two local charities.

John Lewis’s home performance was lifted this week as its West Elm offer enjoyed its best week.

The Furniture Makers’ Company’s annual Royal Charter Appeal has raised £20,000, enabling the charity to financially support even more university and college students studying furnishing related courses around the UK.

Snoring and stealing the duvet are the most annoying aspects of sharing a bed, according to a new survey.

John Lewis saw sales top £115m last week, but home sales dipped as shoppers turned their attention to warm clothing.

Geoff Wilding, Victoria Group executive chairman has told shareholders that the company will carry on with its acquisition policy and tried to reassure them over its debt level.

The government’s review into business rates has been delayed and high street retailers face higher rates bills.

Wools of New Zealand will have its largest presence at Domotex in January. Monochrome will be the colour theme with the Laneve branded Biscayne range from Crucial Trading in raven and mascarpone the showcase carpet.

DFS has joined the FTSE 250 Index in the latest review of the London Stock Exchange’s largest companies.

Online retailer Made.com will today launch a mattress business as it looks to ‘disrupt’ the bed market.

Lighting and carpets were the star home performers for John Lewis last week as sales topped £110m.

Harvey Norman has widened its product offer to include flooring and soft furnishings at its new flagship store.

With almost two months still to go, next year’s Domotex will be larger than this year’s event.

Greg Suthern, Furniture Village coo has exceeded his Movember fundraising target, while Martin West, Kingsmead Carpets general manager is approaching his.

Upholstery and flooring chain ScS has seen sales rise, but growth has slowed.

Upholstery manufacturer Acclaim Upholstery is to open new premises and siginificantly boost its workforce after increased demand.

The EU Timber Regulation must be strengthened to stop illegal timber entering Europe, according to fitted furniture company Empatika.

South coast flooring chain Fludes is set to open its seventh branch, taking space in Beales’ flagship Bournemouth department store.

The management of Midlands furniture group Lee Longlands has completed a management buy out ‘protecting the core values of the business.’

Greg Suthern and Martin West are approaching achieving their initial fund-raising targets for Movember, less than two weeks into the month-long project.

Benchmark Furniture and Raw Edges Design Studio have shared this year’s top award in the Wood Awards 2015.

An Old Painter’s Dream by Baltic Wood is three-layer oak flooring that was awarded the Innovations@Domotex award at Domotex 2014. The following success story shows how this textured wood surface perfectly complements the interior design of the Grill Market restaurant in Reykjavik.

Retailers in England and Wales may face having to pay staff more to work on Sundays if the government presses ahead with plans to liberalise Sunday trading.

John Lewis is to open its first stores in Continental Europe next year and an At Home in Brighton and Hove in 2017.

Government plans to allow local councils let larger retailers to open for longer on Sundays in England and Wales could be rejected by MPs.

Furniture retailers were among the few sectors that were able to shrug off the effects of Black Friday as retail sales dropped last month as shoppers anticipated discounts at the end of November.

Part of the rear of Leeds retailer Hill’s Furnishings city centre store has been demolished after a major fire on Friday.

The John Lewis Christmas Man on the moon advertisement has been watched online by almost 10million people.

John Lewis will begin the pre-Christmas marketing push this evening when its Christmas advertisement is shown on Channel 4 this evening.

The year-on-year increase in house prices approached 10% last month, according to Halifax’s House Price Index.

Wooden flooring importer Anbo International has secured financial backing from its bank as it looks to grow significantly.

Buyers from furniture and furnishings stores, boutiques, galleries and lifestyle stores will products for furnishing, design, lifestyle and decoration Ambiente from 12-16 February.

Harrison Spinks’ nursery division has secured its first stockist for its NaturalStart mattress collection.

Marks and Spencer has seen profits rise after it cut back on promotions and focused on full-price sales.

Martin West, Kingsmead general manager and Innermost have vowed to concentrate on top lips to support Movember.

Lord Kirkham is the largest shareholder in flooring chain Tapi, launched by Martin Harris.

Serene Furnishings has appointed agents covering Ireland and the south of England.

John Lewis again lifted sales last week, helped by a strong Home performance.

German bedroom and office furniture manufacturer Wellemobel has insisted it will still exhibit at IMM Cologne after filling for insolvency.

Fresh from launching an upholstery subsidiary, Harrison Spinks has launched a contract division.

Furlong’s Movember team has made great strides in its effort to raise £5,000.

Bedding entrepreneur John Cotton was honoured at Buckingham Palace yesterday as he received his MBE award from Prince William.

Cath Kidston is to end day to day involvement with the chain she founded 21 years ago.

LVT, vinyl and laminate producer IVC has completed its €10m investment in three wind turbines, generating about a third of the group's annual energy use.

Shoppers are set to spend £1.5bn more next month, with online sales leading the way.

Matt Scott, Scott's Furnishers, Burnham-on-Sea, Somerset salesman has become the first person to graduate from the Sleep Council Sales Academy.

Strong homeware sales helped John Lewis easily break the £100m weekly sales target.

Spink & Edgar Upholstery is to introduce its first designs next month, with springs replacing 60% of foam and other man-made materials in the seat cushions and frame.

Ikea UK has been named as ICAEW Sustainable Business of the Year at the 2014 National Business Awards.

Tempur Sealy, the world's largest bed company, has recruited US marketing veteran Jay Spenchian to a new top role as executive vice-president, chief marketing officer, where he will be responsible for its six brands.

ScS owner Sun European has appointed bankers Investec to examine a possible sale or return to the stockmarket.

Furlong Flooring's efforts to raise at least £5,000 for Movember have continued to progress, with a further £815 being raised in the past week.

The Zen Resort and Spa sales centre in Yichun City, China has been named as the best retail design at this year's Society of British and International Design awards.

AEE Interior Design's Visioni decorative panels won the Residential Product at year's Society of British and International Design awards, beating off competition from 14 other finalists.

Victoria boosted UK sales by almost 60% and delivered more than £2.5m of profit in the past six months, thanks largely to its ownership of Westex.

Carpet Craft Flooring has boosted its environmental efforts, investing in a carpet crushing machine to support its zero to landfill policy.

Police in Hull searching for a missing furniture worker have found a body.

The Cypriot furniture industry is to try to boost its presence in the UK market.

DFS is set to strengthen its direct and online marketing after appointing a permanent agency. In recent years it has used a number of agencies on a project-by-project basis.

Upholstery company Parker & Farr is to relocate production to sister company Wade Upholstery.

The administrator of Paul Simon has set a deadline of mid-July to sell the failed chain's brand and other intellectual property.

Shaun Lewis, Victoria Carpets sales and marketing director is to leave the company after almost 14 years for a new role in the flooring industry.

Laminate and wood flooring firm Green Tree Distribution is to open a second distribution centre to cover the south of the country as part of a major expansion project.

DFS will continue investing in refurbishing its stores after it helped deliver a 5.1% rise in sales in the past quarter.

John Lewis enjoyed success with home big-ticket items and the introduction of interest free credit on flooring last week.

Fitted furniture company Omega has seen significant savings since bringing its distribution in-house and switching to new software.

Interiors and online where the star performers in retail sales in February as consumers were deterred by the weather.

Furniture, flooring and home accessories led the way in consumer spending last month, according to research.

Furniture companies have again been challenged to prove their green credentials.

NBF has moved to end suggestions that any members have failed to pass the recently introduced audit process as the deadline for meeting the audit has yet to expire.

A double-digit increase in lighting sales helped John Lewis to a 'modest' increase in total sales last week.

Upholstery retailer CSL is to open what it hopes will be the first of 18 new stores in December.

Interiors retailers saw a rise in sales of 5.2% during the Easter period, according to the latest figures from GfK.

The amount of homes sold in the UK over the past three months reached its highest level since January 2010 as buyers across the country began to return to the market, according to the latest Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors residential market survey.

Former BFM director of commercial affairs, Adam Mason, is launching a business this month assisting British furniture manufacturers to start or develop their international sales.

Independent bed retailers hoping that the break-up of Dreams would provide them with a bit of breathing space will be disappointed, as a new two-pronged threat emerges.

The flooring group's sales to the UK domestic market through its branded subsidiaries and network of wholesalers rose by 5.4% in 2012, reaching £337.5m.

Shapland says 'steady as you are'. Carpetright saw UK retail sales grow by 3% on a like for like basis in the six months to 27 October. It was also able to lift gross margins from 58% to 61.7%.

Barker & Stonehouse, the eigth store retailer, is about to post its year end results at Companies House. The figures will show revenue is down 8% to just under £40m, and profit, before tax is down from £2m to just over £1m.

Stockport retailer becomes the first Quick-Step Academy trained fitter to achieve the government backed standard.

Last week's The Flooring Show attracted just over 3,000 visitors, of which, figures show 2,400 trade visitors from 25 countries attended the 2-4 September event.

Fabric and upholstery group Colefax has warned that UK and European sales dipped over the summer.

What is said to be the largest furniture store in North Wales is to close, with the owner blaming the opening of a bypass decimating passing trade. Dodrefn Cymru in Tremadog, Gwynedd will close on Friday with three staff being made redundant.

'It's time the penny dropped for those who continue to free ride on the back of the Intellectual Property belonging to others,' says Dids Macdonald ACID ceo after yet another copying case is settled.

Upholstery importer BM Furniture has axed its wholesale operation, switching to a container only business.

Laura Ashley has enjoyed an increase in sales – and expects the growth to continue.

Jobs go and one branch is closed at the 133 year old chain.

Former finance director to become chief executive.

A union's campaign to keep Brintons in Kidderminster has taken to the streets as the manufacturer's former head office is put up for sale.

The looter who burned down House of Reeves store last August has been sent to prison for 11 and-a-half years as the Reeves family describe the fire as a bereavement.

Furniture, flooring and homewares chain Dunelm has seen sales growth despite a drop in footfall.

For the next few days I'll be blogging from Frankfurt, Hannover and Cologne as the European interiors trade show season gets into full swing. Today: Heimtextil day one.

Furniture, flooring and kitchen chain Dwell is to open its first store in Wales.

MFI looks set to return to the interiors market on 30 November, almost exactly three years since the demise of the chain. However doubts have been expressed about its success.

Sales of home accessories and textiles picked up last month, but, as expected, overall retail sales were kept in check by the mini-heatwave of the final week of September.

The future of carpet manufacturer Brintons could be decided with days, rather than weeks Interiors Monthly has learned.

Talks between the family owned firm and its ‘preferred bidder’ were described as ‘very close’ and ‘going well’ by a source familiar with the negotiations.

The bidder has been reported as being US private-equity firm Carlyle Group, and that it will pay £38m, including Brinton’s £18m of bank loans.

The funeral of Harry Thursby, former Sunderland furniture and carpet retailer is due to take place on Tuesday. He died on 4 July, aged 94. An upholsterer, Thursby set up on his own re-upholstering suites in 1947 after being unable to return to his pre-war job, initially using his mother’s front room.