British furniture maker collapses into administration after 70 years with 124 jobs cut

Moores Furniture Group, established in Wetherby in 1947, appointed James Clark and Will Wright from Interpath as joint administrators.

Of the firm's workforce exceeding 450 employees, 124 have been made redundant.

The remaining 336 staff members are being kept on temporarily to assist with completing outstanding work.

Those losing their positions will receive support in claiming from the Redundancy Payments Service.

The business attributed its downfall to difficult market conditions, escalating expenses and subdued levels of new home construction.

James Clark, joint administrator, stated: "The strong headwinds facing the UK construction industry continue to have an impact on companies up and down the supply chain."

Despite efforts to reduce overheads, the company could not overcome these pressures.

Mr Clark noted that Moores had made "strong progress" in cutting costs but ultimately succumbed to the challenging environment.

Attempts to secure fresh investment or find a buyer for the entire operation proved unsuccessful, leaving administration as the only remaining option.

The administrators confirmed that Moores' customer database and certain intellectual property assets have been acquired by Wren Trade Kitchens Limited, a subsidiary of Wren Kitchens Ltd.

Mr Clark explained that this transaction "provides an opportunity to minimise disruption for customers and suppliers, and which will enable Moores' heritage in kitchen manufacturing to continue as part of the Wren family."

Wren Kitchens has secured an exclusive arrangement allowing affected customers to move their existing orders across to the rival firm without complication.

Although Wren had engaged in discussions with Moores prior to the collapse, the company was unable to rescue the business from administration.

Wren Kitchens expressed regret at its competitor's demise, stating: "Whilst the company was a competitor of ours, we believe it is in everyone's interests to have a strong kitchen industry based here in the UK."

The company has recently unveiled plans for a new sales office in Harrogate through its contract division.

In a potentially positive development for those still employed, Wren has agreed with the administrators to explore possibilities for offering jobs to a substantial portion of Moores' sales, operations and internal support personnel.

This arrangement may provide some relief for the 336 workers whose long-term employment prospects remain uncertain following the administration.