A furniture business which had branches in Staffordshire and Shrewsbury has been taken over by rival firm Cousins after falling into liquidation.
Alan Ward Furniture was founded in 1970 by Alan and Joan Hopkins, who opened a small carpet shop in Shrewsbury.
Over the past 50 years the couple opened further stores in Shropshire, Cheshire and in Newcastle-under-Lyme, selling everything from settees and beds to dining room tables and chairs.
But now Alan Ward has been acquired by Cousins in a deal which makes the firm the largest independent furniture retailer in the Midlands.
A company spokesman said: "After 50 years of trading, Alan Ward Furniture in Shrewsbury and Newcastle has closed.
"But the good news is that Cousins Furniture, the West Midlands based family-run furniture retailer has purchased the former site of their flagship Shrewsbury store and also the showroom in Newcastle."
Alan Ward Furniture had reportedly been struggling during the coronavirus pandemic and its Liverpool Road store, in Newcastle, remained closed even after lockdown restrictions were lifted.
Now a sale is taking place at the newly-rebranded Cousins Furniture showroom in Liverpool Road, selling off £3 million worth of stock. It will run until Bank Holiday Monday.
The spokesman added: "Cousins need to urgently clear millions of pounds worth of liquidated showroom and warehouse stock before they can begin an extensive programme of refurbishment and rebranding."
