More than 1,500 staff at Carpetright are to lose their jobs despite a deal by rival flooring retailer Tapi to save some of its stores. Tapi Carpets & Floors has bought the Carpetright brand name, the company’s intellectual property, two warehouses and 54 stores, saving 308 jobs.
However, the BBC is reporting that the remainder of Carpetright’s staff were not included in the deal and will be made redundant either immediately or over the coming weeks.
Jeevan Karir, managing director of Tapi, said that initially it had wanted to save Carpetright in its entirety but it “quickly established” that doing so was “unviable”.
He said that while the deal will save more than 300 jobs, hundreds more workers at Carpetright’s head office in Purfleet, Essex and across some shops, will only be kept on for a short time to wind down operations.
Carpetright employed more than 1,800 staff before entering into insolvency. It also had 273 shops across the country.
More than a week ago it emerged that Carpetright was close to collapse and was set to appoint PwC as an administrator while it scrambled to find extra funding.
In a statement on Monday, PwC said that administrators were working with affected employees to ensure they receive the payments they are entitled to as soon as possible.
Zelf Jussain, joint administrator at PwC, acknowledged it was a “difficult time” for those affected.
“The sale of some stores and the brand to Tapi has allowed over 300 jobs to be saved, and gives the Carpetright brand the chance to continue and flourish under its new ownership,” he said.
“However, it is deeply saddening that for the remainder of the workforce there will be redundancies. We are committed to helping those affected and will make sure redundancy claims are processed as quickly as possible.”
PwC added that Tapi has reached out to other retailers to ensure former Carpetright workers’ job applications are prioritised.
Tapi’s boss Mr Karir also said it was “desperately sad” not to have been able to save more of the business. “However, as we looked into the details of the situation, we quickly established that saving the entire business was unviable,” the company said.
Tapi said that it believed it was the only offer, however, that would have saved “a large number of roles” and the rescue would allow the business to expand into a number of different areas across the UK.
Kevin Barrett, chief executive of Carpetright’s parent firm Nestware Holdings, said its focus for the past week has been looking for extra investment to shore up jobs.
“Whilst we succeeded in finding a buyer, the deal is limited to a select number of stores rather than the business as a whole and will sadly impact a large number of colleagues and staff,” he said.