Made.com on the brink of collapse after rescue talks fail

Online furniture retailer Made.com has filed a notice to appoint administrators after rescue talks to find a buyer for the firm failed.The company’s shares were suspended on Tuesday and it stopped taking new orders last week. Bosses warned that cash reserves would run out if further funding could not be found to prop up the company. Made.com was launched in 2011 and saw boosted sales during the pandemic as people stayed at home and shopped online. However global supply chain issues have hit the company’s delivery times and the cost-of-living crisis has seen households cut back on homefurnishings. Made.com has now appointed administrators, which means that the company is likely heading towards collapse.The company now has 10 days to find a final solution for the firm, a source told the BBC. Two years ago Made.com was worth £775million when it floated on the London Stock Exchange for the first time. Today the business is worth £2 million. The company employs up to 700 staff and has offices in London, Paris, Berlin, Amsterdam, China and Vietnam. Two years ago Made.com was worth £775million when it floated on the London Stock Exchange for the first timeMade.com said: ‘In light of MDL’s requirement for further funding, and in order to preserve value for its creditors, the board of MDL took the decision on 26 October 2022 to temporarily suspend new customer orders. ‘Made has now been notified that the board of MDL has resolved to file notice of its intention to appoint administrators, with a view to appointing Zelf Hussain, Peter David Dickens and Rachael Maria Wilkinson of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as administrators of MDL.’They said that PwC would look at trying to sell the firm. They added that the board ‘currently expects that, in due course, the listing of the company’s ordinary shares will be cancelled, any residual value will be distributed to the company’s shareholders and the company will be wound up.’More to follow…