Furniture chain collapses and put up for sale, security group in administration

Sydney-based furniture retailer Timberland Furnitures has been put up for sale after falling into the hands of receivers.

The company, which has 10 stores in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, was placed under the control of Neil Cussen and Vaughn Strawbridge from accounting firm Deloitte after falling into receivership on September 6.

A sales campaign for the business was launched this morning. The advertisement describes the company as selling “quality Australian and imported timber furniture items” and says it has established supply agreement for sourcing overseas furniture and accessories.

The ad also reveals the company has two franchised stores in Sydney and Canberra.

Timberland was established in 1998, with the opening of a store in the Sydney suburb of Castle Hill. A cached version of its website says the company had planned to hit 20 stores by 2008, however the actual growth rate appears to have been slower than this.

The receivers were not available for comment today, but calls to Timberland stores this morning revealed the outlets are still trading.

Indeed, one store manager contacted by SmartCompany this morning did not even know the business was in receivership and up for sale.

A report from the Illawarra Mercury indicates the chain may have been experiencing problems as early October last year, when its Warrawong store was suddenly closed.

A spokesperson said at the time the store had closed pending negotiation of a lease issue and Timberland Furniture was “not folding”.

In other insolvency news, administrators from Sydney firm Lawler Partners are investigating the collapse of private security firm Reliance Security Group, which was placed into the hands of administrators in July.

The business, which also had a cleaning arm, employed about 200 people, who are owed $2.4 million in entitlements.

According to the latest report to creditors, the company collapse with debts of more than $5.3 million despite having revenue of more than $10 million in 2009-10, no bank debt and no secured creditors.

The administrators are chasing more than $3 million in loans made to outside parties.