Shoppers are being warned that the cost of a new sofa and other furniture is to race higher as the Russia-Ukraine war pushes up the cost of key materials such as timber.
“We have never seen anything like this in terms of across-the-board price increases for materials,” said Sean Holt, the managing director of the British Furniture Manufacturers (BFM), the industry’s trade body. “It is putting a lot of pressure on manufacturing in the UK and that will have to be shared with retailers and consumers.”
