Carpetright: Bensons for Beds rescues Portsmouth store but other Hampshire locations set to close - full list

Bensons for Beds has snapped up 19 following the collapse of the retailer which tumbled into administration last month. Carpetright was struggling in the face of weaker demand and a major cyber attack in April.

The company employed 1,852 people and operated 273 stores across the UK before entering insolvency. This includes stores in Park Gate, Fareham, Central Retail Park, Havant, Wellington Retail Park, Waterlooville and other locations in Andover, Southampton, Winchester and on the Isle of Wight. The site at Ocean Retail Park in Burrfields Road has been saved by the new Bensons deal.

Carpetright’s brand, intellectual property, 54 stores and two warehouses were bought by rival Tapi. The failure ultimately led to the closure of more than 200 other stores and immediate redundancy for 1,018 workers. Bensons said it hopes to start trading from the first former Carpetright shop “within the next few months” and hopes to create job opportunities for former Carpetright staff.

Nick Collard, chief executive, said: “Increasing the number of Bensons stores remains a key growth priority and we are excited about this opportunity to take on 19 store units. Today’s announcement supports our overall plan to expand our current 162-strong store estate to over 200 over the next few years.” It comes despite bosses at Bensons highlighting “challenging” conditions for the sale of big ticket furniture items.

“Since our return to profitability in 2023, we’ve continued to see significant market share gains across all our core categories, reflecting the hard work from all our colleagues across the organisation,” Mr Collard added. “This work, alongside the announcement today on the new stores, leaves us well placed when the wider market starts to recover, allowing us to realise the longer-term ambitions for Bensons and its colleagues.”

Full list of saved stores

Aberdeen

Ashton-under-Lyne

Belfast

Bath

Canterbury

Edmonton, London

Eastbourne

Exeter

Gillingham

Irvine

Kettering

Old Kent Road, London

Oldbury, Birmingham

Portsmouth

Salisbury

Slough

Solihull

Sutton, London

Torquay