Ideal Homes faces crisis
Administrators have been called into a chain of home furniture stores that has an outlet in Cannock.
Ideal Homes Furniture Store, Voyager Drive, Orbital Retail Centre, is one of three Midlands' stores affected after parent company Kingsway Beds Limited announced it had gone into administration.
The announcement was made last night. Sales were already down on 40 per cent compared with last year and directors of the company, who also have stores in Leicester and Derby, decided they would not be able to trade through the economic slowdown.
Begbies Traynor have been called in and have stressed there are no immediate plans to make any redundancies among the 20 staff.
The company has outstanding orders worth around £500,000 and administrators say their objective is to make sure they are all honoured.
Administrator John Lowe said: "It is a real shame that well-run and established businesses are failing due to factors outside their control.
"Management has pro-actively taken measures to counter the falling sales but finally had nowhere else to turn. Sales were 40 per cent down on last year.
"Stores are open for business as usual and we are working very closely with the management to protect the interests of customers who have paid deposits on furniture orders.
"It is our objective to sell the business as a going concern and have all outstanding orders and deposits honoured."
The company's turnover from April 2008 to date was £4.2million. The previous year saw a turnover of £6.2million.
The business was established in 1996 from Blackbird Lane, Leicester and as it grew, further stores were opened in Cannock and Derby.
