North East home furnishings retailer ScS has bought an innovative sofa firm in a pre-pack deal that saves 53 jobs.
The Sunderland firm announced it has acquired the brand, domain names, website, intellectual property and stock of Snugsofa.com from the administrators of Snug Shack Limited, for £875,000.
Snug was founded five years ago by Robert and Peter Bridgman as a challenger brand to pioneer the modular sofa-in-a-box concept. It became recognised for its speed of delivery, innovative product design and ability to fit into any home. In the financial year 2021 the company recorded revenues in excess of £30m, up from £7m a year earlier, while also winning industry awards and growing its social media community to more than 300,000 followers.
Read more: Latest letting announced for Newcastle Helix office The Spark
However, Snug’s growth ambitions faltered at the end of last year, when it was faced with difficult trading conditions against the backdrop of the challenging economic climate. It called in administrators after seeing a 700% increase in shipping costs, unfavourable exchange rates, and further effects of the cost of living crisis. Although predominantly online, Snug also operates from one store in Leeds and ScS said it expects there to be an opportunity to add Snug concessions to the group’s stores, “providing the brand with significantly improved national visibility and penetration”.
A Tyneside games design studio is diversifying into new markets after securing a five-figure investment.
Gateshead’s Infinity27 was set up three years ago as a design studio providing games, immersive VR and AR and real-time 3D solutions to clients across the UK. Based at the Proto centre in Gateshead, the company has adapted to create Skills Bootcamps, funded by the Department for Education, which combine live project work with on-the-job professional work.
The sessions aim to help people gain the skills they need for high-skilled, high-paid jobs in the games and immersive tech sector. Infinity27 is now using £25,000 from the North East Small Loan Fund, obtained through regional fund management firm NEL Fund Managers, to expand its capacity to deliver more Skills Bootcamps and win new business outside its home region.
The company has so far provided 70 professional development placements to students, graduates, career changes and T-Level students, and it has also worked with a number of North East colleges, including Sunderland College, New College Durham and Gateshead College, to help shape the content and impact of the bootcamps. They each include a guaranteed interview for an role in the games or immersive industry.
Tyneside digital firm SPG has snapped up a Sunderland hardware company in moves that aim to boost the energy performance of North East buildings.
SPG, based at the Helix Newcastle science and business hub, has acquired Axon System, based at the North East BIC, to provide a solution that will address the challenges facing facilities, planning and construction departments. Axon System’s tech helps by integrating with the fabric of the building, using sensors and other devices to give a precise picture of how a building is being used at any time.
Gareth Humphreys, CEO at SPG said: "The potential for growth is huge and we’re proud to be making it happen in the North East, with tech that has been developed by experts in the region.”
Sunderland food firm Moguntia Food Group is looking to expand on the back of a £7m finance deal.
The firm, which sells seasoning and spices across Europe, sealed the multimillion-pound invoice finance package with NatWest, which it aimed to use to ramp up its UK operations.
The Hetton-Le-Hole family firm, which has 125 staff, was founded in Mainz, Germany, in 1903 and now manufactures and sells seasonings, spices and a range of free-from savoury products to the food industry in 29 different countries. Moguntia directors said the package gives the firm the flexibility to take advantage of opportunities for strategic acquisitions, as well as the ability to react to changes in the market or increases in customer demand.
Two firms specialising in new build mortgages have been sold out of LSL Property Services group to a joint venture it operates with private equity investor Pollen Street Capital.
Group First Limited and RSC New Homes Limited have been acquired from the Newcastle-based plc by Pivotal Growth, a business set up to become a national leading mortgage broker. The deal is worth seven times the combined Group First and RSC Ebitda in 2024 and capped at a maximum of £20m.
LSL says the move is in line with its strategy to simplify its group and focus on growing its financial services business. The owner of the Reed Rains and Your Move estate agency businesses has built up its financial services division, which reported record revenues in the first half of 2022 and now accounts for 10.2% of the total purchase and re-mortgage market.
A North East distributor of cycling accessories and outdoor sports equipment has its sights on further European growth having secured access to £25m funding.
Darlington's ZyroFisher, which works for brands such as SRAM, BMC and CamelBak as well as its own in-house label Altura, is working with Manchester-based Praetura Commercial Finance, which has provided an asset-based lending facility. The North East firm has ambitions to grow its presence in Europe after acquiring French cycling distributor Royal Velo France in 2018.
From its 100,000 sqft Faverdale Industrial Estate warehouse, ZyroFisher supplies 28,500 product lines to retailers such as Evans and Halfords. It also provides marketing, ecommerce and tech support services to brands.
The deal sees Praetura's team supporting ZyroFisher management in a bid to expand beyond the UK, Ireland and France. The lender has form in the cycling industry, having provided £3.25m of funding to indoor exercise and training bike firm Wattbike.
Accountancy firm Armstrong Watson has acquired Newcastle rivals Joseph Miller in an undisclosed deal.
The £19.7m turnover Carlisle-based firm, which operates bases across the North West, Scotland, Yorkshire and the North East, says it wants to attract more owner-managed and family business as clients in the region.
As part of the move, all of Joseph Miller's 22 staff have joined Armstrong Watson, which will continue to operate its existing office in Waterloo Street and Joseph Miller's Dean Street offices until it relocates to larger premises in the coming months. It is the sixth acquisition for Armstrong Watson in 18 months and one of its largest to date.
Subsea cabling specialist Tekmar has secured a series of contract wins worth a combined £10m for its cable protection products and deck equipment.
The North East firm, which is considering a takeover offer, told the London Stock Exchange that its Pipeshield International Limited and Subsea Innovation Limited businesses would deliver the contracts, which includes work in the Middle East, and an order for a launch and recovery system.
The Middle East work will be delivered in the first half of this year with products manufactured at Pipeshield's regional supply bases in Damman and Doha. The contracts - worth a combined £8m - include the design, manufacturing and supply of concrete sleepers, concrete mattresses and other equipment.
READ NEXT
