Perfect partnership announced

 

The Radford Furniture Company (RFC), the majority owner of Nathan Furniture, has acquired James H Sutcliffe & Son Ltd.

 

Sutcliffe becomes a new division within the RFC Group together with Nathan Furniture, Nathan Modular and Nathan Soft. The newly formed group combines the strengths of Nathan's expertise in offshore sourcing and Sutcliffe' s expertise in UK manufacturing – a perfect partnership. The distinctly different product and brand offering of Nathan and Sutcliffe remain unchanged however Nathan will have access to a highly skilled UK manufacturing facility and Sutcliffe will have access to Nathan's materials sourcing network.

 

Nathan operations will be moved and will operate from the Sutcliffe Todmorden site in West Yorkshire, where the new group Head Office will be located.

 

The Nathan and Sutcliffe brands will be managed independently by the existing teams headed by respective Managing Directors Andrew Cochrane and Roger Smith. George Mitchell who has spent most of his working life with Sutcliffe becomes Life President of James H Sutcliffe & Son Ltd and he will continue to be involved in the business.  The new Group is expected to have a combined turnover in 2011 in excess of £10 million.

 

Nicholas Radford, Chairman of RFC :  “This is an opportunity to bring together two great brand names with very different strengths , that when combined, provide the retail trade with robust supplier s of quality cabinet and upholstery. It is the perfect partnership and makes great commercial sense as our industry faces one of most severe downturns in modern history. The move will enable both businesses to grow and to take advantage of the upturn when it arrives."

 

“It is a privilege and a responsibility to acquire this fine manufacturing business and we are delighted that George Mitchell has the confidence in us to carry on the traditions which have made Sutcliffe such a trusted brand.  I am looking forward to working closely with both of George's sons, Andrew and David, as well as MD Roger Smith.”

 

George Mitchell, Chairman of James H Sutcliffe & Son Ltd. added: “We have talked about this for a while but having turned 70 I think it is time I handed over the reins to someone younger. Nathan has shown that it has been able to succeed where others have failed; there are clear plans for the business which safeguard the 120 plus employees who have been so loyal to me and will go on to see Sutcliffe grow and prosper. I wish the new team every success.”

 

Nicholas Radford has a long and successful track record in the industry. He started out at his family business, Stag Furniture , where he sat on the main board until the company was sold to Spring Ram in 1992.  Nicholas then launched his own successful business which became the largest importer of American furniture to the UK, with brands such as Stanley and Action Lane. He acquired Nathan from Silentnight in 2004 and with a small team, successfully rejuvenated the brand.

 

Andrew Cochrane, Managing Director of Nathan Furniture, added : “We are expanding the business at 25% per year and it is now apparent that there is a need to rebalance the business to enable that growth to continue. With the recent volatility in currency markets and near three fold increases in freight rates , UK assembly or manufacture is increasingly appealing."

 

“Our business model already incorporates a good deal of UK assembly but this opportunity allows us to develop a mixed strategy of importing, assembly or manufacturing in the UK, whichever is more cost effective, and will make us less reliant on changing international economic factors. We are committed to developing both these brands independently."

 

Sutcliffe will continue to be run from Todmorden, which it is anticipated will make a contribution to making and or assembling some of the Nathan ranges, starting with the new Nathan 900 modular ranges and upholstery. 

 

Roger Smith from James H Sutcliffe & Son Ltd. added : “I am delighted that we are able to be part of this new group.  We have some exciting plans for Sutcliffe which would not have been achievable otherwise and we can continue to champion the high quality British cabinet design and manufacture synonymous with the Sutcliffe name.”

 

Nathan's other successful divisions are Nathan Modular, headed by former Wood Bros Managing Director Simon Gilbert, and Nathan Soft (upholstery), which launched its first range at the Interiors Show in January 2010.   Simon Gilbert commented: “When I join ed Nathan I had little idea how successful we would be - the launch of our first range, Nathan 900, which will be produced at Sutcliffe, is going well . Acquiring this 100 year old business is a once in a generation opportunity enabling both businesses to propel forward to a new level.”

 

ENDS

 

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