In recent months, Duff & Phelps has led the restructuring of many businesses across the country from a wide variety of market sectors, including retail, leisure and manufacturing.
Our ability to consider the long-term impact of the operational turnaround in each case has enabled us to deliver a strong platform for each business to exit the restructuring process to the satisfaction of all stakeholders involved.
One of the most high-profile cases was the oldest surviving amusement park in the UK, Dreamland, where our approach secured over £35 million in new investment.
The relationship and the sharing of a common vision for Dreamland and Margate with secured creditor Arrowgrass, allowed Duff & Phelps to implement a detailed, broad and unique turnaround within a short period and to maximize the current and future returns for all stakeholders involved in the project.
Following the exit from administration and the satisfaction of the Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) in early January, the company was returned to the control of the directors and Arrowgrass, the new shareholder, with the commitment of ongoing funding to safeguard the future of the Dreamland project. This change secured jobs and ongoing trade with a number of local suppliers.
At the end of last year, Duff & Phelps successfully sold one of the best-known brands in the retail bedding market, Feather & Black. This was a high-profile case in the UK media, because Feather & Black is a well-established bedroom furnishings brand offering premium bedroom furniture. The brand was founded in 2005—although the business traces its history to 1994—and had 25 retail stores nationwide.
Duff & Phelps continued to trade the business as it sought a buyer and secured the successful sale of the majority of the business and its assets to Hilding Anders International (HA Group), a leading bedding and mattress company operating throughout Europe, Russia and Asia. HA Group has 26 brands across premium/international and strong regional/local segments, together with a private label offering. HA Group is focused on 21 core markets with sales in over 60 countries worldwide.
More recently, Duff & Phelps also worked with Solstice, a high-end fruit and vegetable distributor to prestigious London restaurants and hotels, sourcing fresh produce from the UK and Europe.
We were pleased to announce the successful sale of the Solstice business to Reynolds, one of the UK’s leading independent fresh fruit and vegetable suppliers. This not only facilitated business continuity, but also preserved the jobs of the entire workforce. We expect the business to continue to gain momentum under its new ownership.
