59 jobs will go at under-pressure Harborough firm

But administrators are hoping that the surviving parts of the firm can now operate profitably.

Almost half the firm’s 100-plus employees have been retained, and five of their stores - including the Market Harborough one - will remain open for the foreseeable future, under an operating licence granted to a new company called Furniture Barn 2016 Ltd.

The job losses are concentrated in the group’s warehouses in West Bromwich, Doncaster and Thurrock, which all closed last Friday.

The group’s warehouse at Corby will continue with fewer employees, and there will be job losses too at the company’s Market Harborough storage facility and their HQ.

Two retail stores - in Sutton Coldfield and Thurrock - will also close by the end of February, after big discount sales.

That leaves the new Furniture Barn 2016 company with five stores; at Market Harborough, Doncaster, Grantham, Kidderminster and Sheffield.

The joint administrators have confirmed they have granted a six-month operating licence to the new company, run by directors Nigel Hickman, a former director of Furniture Barn Market Harborough, and Terry Maywood.

The Furniture Barn entered administration on December 4 last year. It has continued to trade as normal, purchasing furniture and meeting customer demand.

During the administration process the joint administrators have been continually reviewing the financial position of the group.

The Furniture Barn 2016 Limited will continue to trade the businesses across all the remaining retail stores and warehouse operations, under the new licence.