Falling confidence blamed as furniture chain Multiyork put into administration

Furniture chain Multiyork has gone into administration, putting nearly 550 jobs at risk.

Administrator Duff & Phelps said Multiyork, which has 50 stores across England and Wales, had been hit declining consumer confidence.

It told Sky News the company would continue to trade as normal for the next few weeks while it looked for a potential buyer.

“Trading conditions for UK retailers continue to be difficult due to a number of factors including economic uncertainty, rising commodity prices, increasing business rates and the fall in value of the pound which has increased the cost of importing raw materials and products,” said joint administrator Allan Graham.

Less money being spent

“This appears to be leading to a sharp fall in consumer confidence and less money being spent on discretionary items.”

Mr Graham said the British Retail Consortium had reported that consumer spending power has been on a downward trend over the past year, as rising inflation caused shoppers to become more cautious over what they could afford.

“Many now face higher borrowing costs, given the rise in interest rates, which will only serve to heap further pressure onto household finances,” he said.

“This has impacted certain sectors particularly hard and as a result of trading losses, Multiyork could no longer meet on-going liabilities.”