A furniture manufacturer is expanding its range after snapping up the brand and intellectual property rights of another company.
Birlea Furniture, based at Castle Donington, has acquired the Willis & Gambier brand from Samson Holdings, following its exit from the UK marketplace.
Founded more than 20 years ago and based at its 200,000 sq ft facility, Birlea supplies a comprehensive range of furniture to some of the nation’s leading retailers.
The Willis & Gambier brand has been in the UK marketplace since 1990 and has since evolved into a premium brand with its bedroom, dining and living collections.
The acquisition of the Willis & Gambier brand is underpinned by the appointment of David Lane as trading director at Birlea Furniture.
Mr Lane was the commercial director at Willis & Gambier for more than a decade.
In a joint statement, Birlea’s owners and managing directors Jake and Joe Magill said: “It is exciting times at Birlea Furniture as the business goes from strength-to-strength in a difficult marketplace.
“At Birlea we have an ambitious, hard-working team and the acquisition of Willis & Gambier, together with the appointment of David, highlights Birlea’s ambitions and our determination to be a market leading supplier.”
Willis & Gambier already has stock in both the UK and Asia and further stock in production.
According to Birlea, new product design is already underway and the planning for these introductions will be “communicated soon”.
