British bed chain Warren Evans up for sale

British bed and mattress manufacturer Warren Evans has confirmed reports it is trying to sell the business.

The firm said it had appointed restructuring firm Duff & Phelps to help it find a new investment partner.

The company is currently owned by eponymous founder Warren Evans, who started the handmade beds firm in 1978.

The firm said it expected to secure a deal by the end of March and that it had already received "a number of offers" from companies keen to invest.

"We started a process some months ago to find the right partner to take our company out into the larger UK marketplace," it added.

DFS buys assets from failed Multiyork

Feather & Black furniture chain collapses

The bed firm, which sells its goods online, has 14 showrooms across London and the south east.

Reports suggested that the company was due to lose up to £2m this year, but Warren Evans said its sales were "exceptionally good and our market share is increasing rapidly".

Sales for the Christmas to New Year period were up by over 15%, it added.

The firm said the decision to seek investment was "not unusual".

"It was a decision that was taken to maintain our position as one of the UK's top bed and mattress retailers," it added.

It said in the meantime that business was "carrying on as normal".

Tough trading conditions

The move comes amid a difficult period for furniture firms with High Street chains Feather & Black and Multiyork falling into administration in late November.

Both chains blamed tough trading conditions.

DFS Furniture bought the Multiyork brand and some of its store leases, while Swedish firm Hilding Anders bought almost all of Feather & Black's stores.

Warren Evans was started almost four decades ago by then 17-year-old Mr Evans who borrowed £200 from his sister to start his handmade beds business.

By 1985 he had opened the brand's first showroom and since then has steadily grown the firm.