Lord Harris of Peckham has orchestrated a multimillion-pound agreement to save Carpetright, the flooring retailer he founded approximately 35 years ago. Tapi, the rival flooring chain he subsequently co-founded, has purchased the Carpetright brand, intellectual property, 54 stores, and two warehouses through a pre-pack administration, a deal that will preserve more than 300 jobs.
The deal with Tapi, founded by Lord Harris’s son, Martin Harris, reportedly does not include some 200 other stores which now face the risk of closure, with more than 1,500 staff in the firing line. Reports indicate Tapi was the only competitor to have made an offer that included saving both jobs and stores. 
Jeevan Karir, managing director of Tapi was reported in Daily Mail as saying: ‘Our goal, initially, was to try to save all of Carpetright. However, as we looked into the details of the situation, we quickly established that saving the entire business was unviable. The business has been materially loss-making for a number of years, and it has significant debt held by the owner.’
Administrators at PricewaterhouseCooper (PwC) were reportedly put on standby as Carpetright sought a ‘period of protection’ to secure additional investment.
Zelf Hussain, a joint administrator, was quoted in the Guardian as saying: ‘Carpetright has fallen victim to challenges facing many retailers, especially those selling big-ticket items.’
He said other factors including a big reduction in consumer spending due to cost of living pressures, lower home sales and a ‘debilitating cyber-attack’ in April this year made it ‘impossible for the business to continue in its current form’.
The acquisition of Carpetright would enable Tapi to expand into a number of new areas, the company said. Lord Harris continues to have a role on the board of Tapi, which he co-owns with about 1,000 investors, the largest of which is the executive chair, Will Barker of the US investment firm Camelot Capital Partners.
The Times reported that annual revenue at Carpetright is understood to have dropped to about £200 million in the past year, compared with £372.6 million in the 14 months to January 1, 2022, and £493.2 million for the 18 months to October 31, 2020. The chain had more than £150 million in external debt and has lost more than £25 million annually in recent years.
Carpetright was founded in east London by Harris, who stepped down as its chairman in 2014. The business was delisted from the London Stock Exchange in 2019 and it was bought by Meditor, which had taken on almost 30% of its shares and more than £40 million of its debts the year before.

IMAGE COPYRIGHT: HMedits2020