Luxury furniture firm Smallbone of Devizes teeters on brink of collapse

High-end furniture manufacturer Canburg, which owns brands such as up-market designer Smallbone of Devizes, is on the edge of bankruptcy as it faces administration.

The firm has filed a notice to appoint accountancy firm Grant Thornton as administrator this week, Sky News first reported.

Hundreds of jobs could be at risk if proceedings go ahead. The Wiltshire firm was last said to have 275 staff on its payroll, according to Companies House filings in 2016.

Its investors include the British Growth Fund (BGF), which backed the business in 2014 at £8m in return for a 20 per cent stake. Today, filings have revealed its stake accounts for more than 25 per cent of Canburg.

The firm last reported a profit of £1.88m before tax in the year ending June 2016, rising slightly from £1.8m in the same period a year earlier.

Sources told Sky News that Canburg had been struggling for some time as it sought a potential sale, with a spate of stores across its brands having been closed down. Filing of the company's latest accounts were delayed this month.

The news follows the collapse and financial woes of several high street home furnishings businesses, including sofa manufacturer Multiyork and bed and mattress firm Warren Evans. Others, such as House of Fraser, Marks & Spencer and Homebase, have been forced to cull store numbers and cut back on staff.

The company's chief executive Leo Caplan stepped away from the business in September, replaced by its new executive chairman Ian Gray.

Canburg, BGF did not immediately respond to requests for comment, while Grant Thornton declined to comment.