Floors-2-Go shuts up shops in the Midlands

Floors-2-Go, the floor covering retail specialist, was back in the spotlight last night following its decision to close a number of shops in the West Midlands.

The 94-store retailer is thought to be planning a restructuring to turn around its fortunes and has been linked to London-based risk and restructuring firm Resolve.

Floors-2-Go's management did not return calls yesterday but the company said it planned to issue a statement last night. Resolve refused to comment.

Its shops in Bilston, Oldbury and Great Barr were not trading yesterday. Stock had been cleared from the Bilston store.

A number of directors have also left Floors-2-Go in recent months. Jim Hodkinson, who joined as chairman in January, left in May. Mr Hodkinson declined to comment. Other directors, Michael Coleman and Parjinder Sangha, are also thought to have left.

Floors-2-Go previously fell into administration in 2008, when it was backed by the private equity firm Alchemy Partners. The original founders of the chain, the Hodges family, then bought it back in 2009.

The current trading of Floors-2-Go is unclear, but a number of home improvement and furniture chains have suffered a torrid year. Focus, the fourth biggest player in the DIY market, collapsed into administration earlier this year and the UK arm of Habitat suffered a similar fate in June. Home Retail Group, the owner of Argos and Homebase, bought three Habitat shops and the brand out of administration.

The latest results for the company behind Floors-2-Go are only for the year to July 2009. The accounts are for Floor My Home, an eight-store retailer run by the Hodges family that acquired 81 Floors-2-Go shops. According to the accounts for Floor My Home, the group actually made a profit of £764,500, on sales of £34m over the year to 31 July 2009.

In January, Floors-2-Go unveiled a £3.25m injection from the investment vehicle Hotbed. At the time, the retailer said it planned to use the funds to open 60 new shops.

Source : James Thompson - The Independent
www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/floors2go-shuts-up-shops-in-the-midlands-2343361.html