Furniture Manufacturer Westbridge Furniture Enters Administration
A furniture manufacturing company supplying major high street retailers has entered administration, putting approximately 300 jobs at risk in north-east Wales.
Interpath was appointed as administrator to Westbridge Furniture Limited, located in Holywell, Flintshire, on Monday.
"It has been a challenging time for furniture manufacturers and retailers,"said joint administrator Chris Pole, citing factors such as declining sales, high interest rates, and inflation.
One employee at the Flintshire factory, who wished to remain anonymous, stated that although staff are currently working on existing orders, the factory is expected to close on Thursday under current circumstances.
The BBC has sought comment from the company and Interpath regarding the anonymous employee's statements.
The employee reported that staff were informed about the potential closure of the site on 20 March.
He added that some employees left last week, and those remaining have been told they will be made redundant regardless of whether a buyer is found, with any new owner responsible for rehiring staff.
Staff were instructed not to speak to the media about the situation.
Company Background and Administration Details
Previously known as Deeside Furniture, the company designs and manufactures sofas and other upholstered products for clients including Marks & Spencer, John Lewis Partnership, Next Home, and premium independent retailers, according to its website.
Chris Pole and Will Wright from Interpath were appointed joint administrators on Monday for Westbridge Furniture Limited and Belfield Leisure Limited, based in Ilkeston, Derbyshire, both part of The Belfield Group.
Belfield Leisure Limited, which produces and supplies soft furnishings to the UK leisure market, employs around 200 people.
"While both Westbridge and Belfield Leisure had made positive progress on their respective turnaround journeys, both companies required further injections of capital,"Pole explained.
"Unfortunately, and despite the best efforts of management to secure funding, this has not been possible, which has sadly resulted in the companies going into administration."
He added that they intend to continue trading Belfield Leisure as a going concern and maintain Westbridge operations temporarily to complete work already underway.
"We'd invite any parties who may be interested in acquiring the businesses and their assets to contact us at the earliest opportunity,"he said.
Pre-Pack Acquisition and Operational Challenges
Interpath stated that the business and assets of Westbridge Furniture Designs Limited and Belfield Furnishings Limited were acquired in February 2025, along with other trading entities of The Belfield Group Limited, through a pre-pack transaction.
This insolvency procedure involves arranging the transfer of assets to a new owner prior to the appointment of administrators.
Following the acquisition, Westbridge experienced operational disruptions that impacted the business more severely than anticipated. Combined with the loss of a key customer and weak trading in early 2025, these factors placed significant pressure on cash flow, according to an Interpath spokesperson.
Belfield Leisure's trading performance was also affected by fragile consumer confidence in the wider UK leisure market, hindering its return to break-even despite substantial cost savings and regaining market share.
The directors explored investment and refinancing options but ultimately appointed administrators when no solvent solution was found.
Administration Process and Future Plans
The administrators will continue trading the businesses to fulfill certain orders in progress while exploring options for sale of the businesses and their assets.
"The majority of the companies' employees will be retained to assist the administrators during this period; however, regrettably, there have been a limited number of redundancies across both businesses,"the administrators stated.
An Interpath spokesperson confirmed that other companies within The Belfield Group, including Tetrad Furniture Limited and Clinchplain Foam and Fibre Limited, are not in administration and continue normal trading operations.
