Almost 300 employees have lost their jobs at a North Wales furniture firm after it went into administration.
Westbridge had established itself as a well-regarded furniture designer and manufacturer, providing sofas and other upholstery to various blue-chip high street chains and premium independent retailers. The company employed just under 300 staff at its headquarters in Holywell, Flintshire.
Back in March, Chris Pole and Will Wright from Interpath were named joint administrators to Westbridge Furniture Limited and Belfield Leisure Limited, located in Derbyshire. The administrators had kept the businesses running while evaluating market appetite for potential buyers and preserving employment and premises.
Today the joint administrators delivered a crushing blow regarding Westbridge – announcing that 297 employees had been made redundant, reports North Wales Live.
They stated: “Chris Pole and Will Wright from Interpath were appointed joint administrators to the company on 23 March 2026 following operational disruption, weak trading and the loss of a key customer. Since their last update, the joint administrators had maintained operations at Westbridge Furniture, while they completed outstanding work in progress and assessed interest in the business.
“Without any viable offers for the business, production ceased on 2 April and the business progressed with a wind-up process. It is with regret that the majority of the business’ 297 remaining staff have since been made redundant.
“The administrators will continue to provide support to those impacted, including supporting them with claims to the Redundancy Payments Service. A small number of staff have been retained to assist the joint administrators in their duties.”
Chris Pole, managing director at Interpath and joint administrator of Westbridge Furniture Limited, said: “The team at Westbridge has shown exceptional professionalism in maintaining production while we explored options.
“Regrettably, as no viable offers for the business were received, it was no longer possible to continue trading and we have had to take the difficult decision to close the business. We recognise this has been a challenging period for staff, and I’d like to express my sincere thanks for their commitment.”
The joint administrators have subsequently agreed the sale of the exclusive intellectual property and design rights to the complete Westbridge independent product catalogue to sofa and upholstery manufacturer, Whitemeadow.
The purchaser plans to engage with stockists of Westbridge products to ensure continuity wherever feasible. Chris Pole continued: “The agreement to sell the IP and design rights to Whitemeadow preserves Westbridge’s range for retailers. We wish the Whitemeadow team all the best as it embarks on a development programme to reintroduce those designs to the market.”
The Joint Administrators remain trading while exploring options for Belfield Leisure Limited, which also forms part of The Belfield Group.