Bensons for Beds pulls rival Eve Sleep from administration for undisclosed price
- The purchase – the price of which was not disclosed – came after the online mattress retailer said it had ‘moved heaven and earth’ to stay afloat
- Discussions with several potential buyers came to nothing and chief executive Cheryl Calverley said she had made the “heartbreaking” decision to bring in administrators.
- It triggered the swoop of Bensons, which is owned by private equity firm Alteri Investors
Eve Sleep was pulled from administration by rival Bensons for Beds after collapsing under the weight of an “economic tsunami”.
The purchase – the price of which was not disclosed – came after the online mattress retailer said it had “moved heaven and earth” to stay afloat, including putting itself up for sale.
But talks with several potential buyers came to nothing and chief executive Cheryl Calverley said she had made the ‘heartbreaking’ decision to bring in administrators, sparking the breakthrough for Bensons, who is owned by the private equity Alteri Investors.
Eve Sleep was pulled from administration by rival Bensons for Beds after collapsing under the weight of an ‘economic tsunami’
“Eve Sleep is a brand that we know resonates strongly with key customer groups and we look forward to unlocking its full potential,” said Nick Collard, boss of Bensons for Beds.
Eve Sleep’s collapse came as embattled online furniture retailer Made.com said it was in talks with buyers over its own bailout deal.
She gave bidders until the end of the month to submit “binding offers”.
Shares of Eve Sleep are listed on the stock exchange at 101p in 2017, giving her a value of £140m.
The stock was trading at 130p at the end of this year.
But the company was unsuccessful and was hit by the departure of one of its co-founders and a failed merger with rival mattress maker Simba.
Stocks lost almost all of their value.
They were worth 0.53p when he filed his admin case. Eve Sleep warned shareholders would now be wiped out.
Calverley said: “Despite monumental efforts to restructure the business and reshape the cost base, Eve’s scale was simply insufficient to withstand the economic tsunami that has accelerated over the past six months and enable her to to continue as an independent business.”
