Furniture retailer completes latest acquisition

Sharps Bedrooms, a Bilston-headquartered fitted furniture retailer, has completed its second acquisition in the space of under a year. The firm has acquired under-stair storage and loft solutions provider Clever Closet.

The deal, which follows Sharps’ September 2023 acquisition of custom furniture company Fittingly, adds further capacity to the firm’s network of 31 showrooms across the UK. Following the acquisition, Clever Closet founder Paul Jacob will remain with the business to support the Sharps team.

Kevin Smith, Chief Executive of Sharps Bedrooms, said that Clever Closet “have become the clear market leaders in fitted under-stairs storage solutions.”

Smith continued: “We believe that our knowledge and installer base, combined with their clever product solutions will create significant growth across the UK.”

Clever Closet founder Paul Jacob added: “We are very excited about the opportunity to work with the UK’s market leader in fitted furniture, and this will help us grow our business even further.”

Sharps Bedrooms’ acquisitive activity comes during a busy period of transition for the company, which reported turnover of £135 million in the year to September 2023 – up 6 per cent from the previous year – and cut its pre-tax losses from just under £5 million to nearly £4 million.

The business is moving its sales model away from physical stores towards a digitally-led, online shopping format. Reflecting this, the company has closed a significant number of showrooms over recent years, with six being shuttered in the year to October 1 2023, following a further 21 closures the previous year.

This shift comes amid a consistent decline in in-person shopping since the COVID-19 pandemic, combined with wage and energy cost inflation.


Distressed acquisitions could be a valuable and cost-effective way for UK retailers to transform their businesses

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