Made.com goes bust, with 400 jobs axed at beleaguered furniture seller
9 November 2022, 10:36 | Updated: 9 November 2022, 13:15
Online furniture seller Made.com has gone bust, with nearly 400 jobs lost on Wednesday, as Next swooped to snap up the beleaguered retailer this week.
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Next bought the company, which was valued at £775 million just two years ago, for just £3 million - including its brand, websites and intellectual property.
Administrators PwC confirmed on Wednesday that the deal will result in 320 redundancies, while 79 more staff who had resigned and were working through their notice have also been forced to leave the business immediately.
PwC said on Wednesday that "a small number of employees" were kept on "to support the orderly closure of the business."
Made operating subsidiary MDL filed for administration on Tuesday. PwC moved quickly to wrap up the deal with high street clothing staple Next on Tuesday.
Made chairwoman Susanne Given said: "Having run an extensive process to secure the future of the business, we are deeply disappointed that we have reached this point and how it will affect all our stakeholders, including employees, customers, suppliers and shareholders.
"We appreciate and deeply regret the frustration that MDL going into administration will have caused for everyone."
The news is a particular fall from grace for Made, which listed on the London Stock Exchange with promises of accelerated growth and leading the online furniture market.
Made had previously harboured hopes of finding a buyer to inject the £70 million in cash it needed to stay afloat for the next 18 months - but said in October that this would not be possible.
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The embattled retailer appointed administrators PwC last week after being hit by soaring costs and slowing customer demand.
The company had also stopped accepting new orders. Made said that it is currently not offering refunds or accepting returns from customers, although it is still intending to fulfil previous orders.
The retailer has offices in London, Paris, Berlin, Amsterdam, China and Vietnam.
It is understood the company had garnered interest from a number of parties to purchase parts of the business since tipping into insolvency before tying up the deal with Next.
The firm's shares had already been suspended.
