Moben And Dolphin Customers To Lose £1.5m

Customers of Moben Kitchens and Dolphin Bathrooms who paid a cash deposit are set to lose their money, after the parent firm collapsed.

Administrators Deloitte say that unless the business is sold at the last minute, 453 customers with deposits totalling £1.5m are unlikely to receive any refund.

That equates to an average loss of over £3,300 per person.

A further 921 customers should be able to get refunds worth £2.6m from their credit or debit card provider.

And those who have placed a deposit with Homeform's third branch Sharp Bedrooms will have their orders honoured by a new company that has bought the bedroom business.

The Manchester-based group has suffered "significant difficulties" in recent months as trading slumped.

Administrators have made 557 staff redundant but another 627 jobs have been saved after the Sharps Bedrooms business was sold in a "pre-pack" deal.

It was bought by a division of private equity firm Sun Capital Partners, which also owns Homeform.

As part of the deal, it also acquired 96 of the company's 160 showrooms and concessions and a factory at Bilston in the West Midlands amid a massive downturn in the industry .

Kevin Smith, managing director of Sharps, said: "It's 100% business as usual for Sharps."

The Moben, Dolphin and Kitchens Direct businesses have now been closed, although the administrators still hope to sell the brands.

Joint administrator Phil Bowers said: "The business has suffered from the extreme pressures currently hitting retailers of high value items, as customers shy away from big ticket purchases such as kitchen and bathrooms."

It is thought that about 1,500 self-employed fitters and designers also depended on Homeform for their livelihoods, although many of these are expected to get work with the new firm.