Administrators of collapsed bed manufacturer Airsprung has confirmed that its Airofreem division has ceased trading and has begun a winding down process.
Edward Williams and Ross Connock, of PwC were appointed joint administrators of Airsprung Group PLC and Airsprung Furniture Limited on 1 May 2026.
Detailed a newly filed report on Companies House, administrators outlined more details behind the insolvency at Trowbridge-based Airsprung, with sustained declining trade, rising import competition and growing costs all playing key contributing factors to its collapse.
Furthermore, the report shared progress on the asset realisation, with no buyer for the business or assets still secured. This remains ongoing.
The report said: “Over the past decade, the Group had faced sustained structural decline of its market. Revenues fell materially, from approximately £53 million in FY16 to £25 million in FY24, driven by import competition, weak consumer demand, and shifts in the UK retail landscape.
“In recent years, the business had also faced market-wide cost inflation across materials, labour and energy. Profitability had been consistently challenged, with losses reported in most years. This weak trading performance had been compounded by an ongoing significant pension deficit, which the business had been unable to fund from operating cash flows.
“In October 2025, the Group explored an indicative proposal from Portnard to provide a new secured borrowing facility. However, following discussions with key stakeholders, it was determined that the proposed security structure could not be implemented, and the proposal did not progress.
“The combination of pension obligations, recent restructuring costs and subdued trading conditions placed significant pressure on the Group’s liquidity position, which led to the launch of an initial accelerated sales process and short-term cash flow review in January 2026.
“A solvent restructuring of the Group, including a potential Regulated Apportionment Arrangement (RAA), was considered as an alternative to a formal insolvency process. One financial buyer submitted an offer; however, following consultation with all relevant stakeholders, it was concluded that the proposal did not satisfy the requirements of an RAA. The offer was therefore not pursued.
“By April 2026, the liquidity position had deteriorated further, exacerbated by the notification from a key customer that it intended to switch suppliers and a continued decline in consumer demand. These factors increased creditor pressure and left the Group operating on a critical payments basis.
“A second phase of the accelerated mergers and acquisitions process was launched on 9 April 2026, but generated only limited interest in the brand only. A Notice of Intention to appoint Joint Administrators was filed on 22 April 2026 to manage creditor pressure and further explore trade buyer interest. Subsequently, as no buyer could be found, the Joint Administrators were appointed on 1 May 2026.”
Following the appointment, the administrators continued to trade the Airsprung Beds and Airofreem divisions, whilst operations at the Gainsborough division ceased. Subsequently, the decision was made to cease trading the Airofreem division on 18 June 2026 and that part of the business is now winding down.
“At the outset of the administration, the purpose of continued trading across the Airsprung Beds and Airofreem divisions was to preserve value in the business, whilst the John Administrators continued to explore a sale of all or part of the business, with a view to achieving a better result for creditors as a whole than would otherwise be achievable,” the report said.
“In addition, continued trading has enabled the Joint Administrators to maximise debtor balances recovery through completing the current order book for customers, as well as realising value for stock.
“The Gainsborough division ceased trading given that the key customer from this division had already notified the business prior to appointment that it was changing suppliers, and subsequently confirmed to the Joint Administrators that it did not wish to support trading in administration. As such, the Joint Administrators took the decision to shut down operations at this site and focus on clearing the premises, in readiness for a sale of the property in due course.”
Since appointment, the administrators have received an average weekly order of c.£200k, with an estimated total trading receipt of £2.3m expected by the end of the trading period. Furthermore, administrators have continued to engage with interested parties regarding the potential acquisition of all or part of AFL’s business and assets. This process included providing access to a virtual data room and facilitating due diligence enquiries.
“Despite these efforts, the sale process has not resulted in a transaction and the prospective sale has therefore fallen away,” the report said. “The Joint Administrators are currently exploring options to wind down the affairs of the Company and realise any remaining assets for the benefit of creditors.
“The Joint Administrators will, however, remain open to considering any credible expressions of interest received and, should a suitable opportunity arise, will assess whether an alternative transaction could deliver a better outcome for creditors. A further update will be provided in the Joint Administrators’ first progress report.”
As previously reported, preferential creditor employee claims from Airsprung Furniture Limited are owed £255,000, while the HMRC is owed £1.4m, which are expected to be repaid from realised assets valuing £3.4m.
Unsecured creditors are owed £44.2m, which includes £22.7m owed to a pension scheme and £18.3m owed as intercompany debt. The trade is owned £1.7m, while employees are owed a further £3.1m. It is expected that creditors will suffer a shortfall of £48.6m.
Furthermore, creditors of its parent company Airsprung Group are expected to suffer a shortfall of £35.7m, which includes £10.2m owed as intercompany debt and the same amount owed to the pension scheme as detailed above.
A combined shortfall of both companies totals £61.6m. This includes one count of the pension deficit due to both companies being responsible for the same debt.
