A Somerset furniture-making business has been sold out of administration, saving 50 jobs. Longpre Furniture was placed into administration after being hit by financial losses on contracts along with increased prices for raw materials and utility costs.
Joint administrators Neil Vinnicombe and Paul Wood, from business recovery firm Begbies Traynor, oversaw the sale of the business and its assets on March 1 to Longpre Limited.
Bruton-based Longpre Furniture was established in 1990 by master cabinet maker Paul Longpre and designer Helen Moyers. The business employs a team of craftsmen, who make furniture for customers across an international portfolio. They design and craft free-standing and fitted furniture for residential and commercial addresses.
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Mr Vinnicombe, partner at Begbies Traynor in Bath, said: “The financial situation Longpre Furniture faced has made it a very challenging time for the business, so we are delighted to be able to secure the future of these jobs.
“The losses had a significant adverse effect on cashflow, and this coupled with general economic and market uncertainty resulted in a lack of confidence that trading forecasts could be achieved, so the sale of the business injects a new confidence now we have found a way forward.”