Bespoke furniture business John Lewis of Hungerford saw parts of the brand sold for £100,000 via a pre-pack after entering administration.
Andreas Arakapiotis and Simon Wall, both of bk plus, were appointed as joint administrators of John Lewis of Hungerford on 7 July 2026.
Ahead of the appointment, the company experienced rising costs alongside reduced demand. It undertook a review that determined a pre-pack sale of its assets would be the best option for creditor realisations.
Peter Davies & Sons valued the assets and initiated a marketing process, which resulted in 21 parties expressing an interest, with 11 returning non-disclosure agreements.
From this, two formal offers were received including the one from Rebecca Taylor Associates Limited, a company owned by the director of John Lewis of Hungerford Limited. This was seen as the recommended offer and was accepted.
The deal safeguarded the brand as well as retaining 22 jobs – around 50% of its workforce. The structure of acquisition saw £40,000 paid on completion with a further £60,000 as a deferred sum. The deal included business contracts, website content and domain, IP, plant & machinery, stock from its Cobham, Fulham and Hungerford showrooms, and marketing materials.
The combined stock was valued at a sum of £62,000, the website at £10,000, business contacts at £7,000, goodwill at £15,000, plant & machinery at £5,998 and both IP and marketing materials at £1 each.
“The stock and equipment held at the other showrooms was listed with a book value at the lower end of the in-situ values provided by its agents, and an estimated to realise value as the lower end of the ex-situ values provided,” the administrators report said.
With regards to creditors, preferential employee claims stood at £19,450 and are expected to be repaid from realised assets valuing £219,000. The HMRC is owed £1.9m, while unsecured creditors are owed £1.3m, which includes a further £261,000 owed to staff. It is expected that creditors will suffer a shortfall of £3.3m.
At the time of entering administration, Andreas Arakapiotis, joint administrator and partner at bk plus, said: “Rising manufacturing costs and the ongoing cost of living crisis have made trading conditions extremely difficult, with margins under sustained pressure.
“Despite these challenges, we’re pleased that this sale safeguards the John Lewis of Hungerford name and protects 22 jobs, ensuring the business’s long tradition of bespoke craftsmanship can continue.”
