Lenders take control of CBPE portfolio company Sofa.com

An industry source told Unquote that a "controlled, consensual" restructuring of Sofa.com had taken place, with the company continuing to trade and staff remaining in their roles. Creditor LGT European Capital will reportedly secure a controlling stake in the business.

CBPE was invested in Sofa.com via its eighth fund, which held a final close on £405m in 2010. The source said Sofa.com was a relatively small investment for CBPE and the business had suffered unforeseen headwinds, including a downturn in UK consumer confidence and Brexit-related factors.

A number of furniture retailers have found themselves in difficulty recently, including MultiYork, Sofology and Carpetright.

CBPE declined to comment on the restructuring.

Previous funding
CBPE acquired a majority stake in Sofa.com in February 2015, in a deal understood to have been worth around £50m.

Company
Established in 2005, London-headquartered Sofa.com is a multi-channel retailer of sofas, armchairs and beds. The company controls its supply chain from manufacturing to delivery.

Sofa.com generated an operating loss of £14.6m in the year ending in February 2017, according to publicly available documents, down from a £4m loss year-on-year.

People
Sofa.com – Vince Gunn (CEO).

• Tweet  
• Facebook  
• LinkedIn  
• Google plus  
• Send to  

• Topics
• Exits
• UK / Ireland
• Consumer
• United Kingdom
• Close Brothers Private Equity (CBPE)