Crime & Safety
Major UK furniture company closes with 297 jobs lost
Westbridge Furniture, based in Flintshire in North Wales, is a furniture designer and manufacturer that supplies retailers with sofas and other upholstery.
Its website adds: “We are proud supply partners to the biggest and best high street retailers including Marks & Spencer, John Lewis Partnership, Next home, key retail park groups and also over 200 of the best independent retailers.”
The company was incorporated in 2025, after the business and assets of Westbridge Furniture Designs Limited were acquired by The Belfield Group Limited.
Following the acquisition, Westbridge suffered “operational disruption”, which had a greater impact on the business than originally anticipated.
This, combined with the loss of a key customer and weak trading, placed significant pressure on cash flow.
Major UK furniture company closes down
Westbridge Furniture fell into administration last month, with Chris Pole and Will Wright from Interpath appointed joint administrators on March 23.
Interpath has now revealed that Westbridge Furniture has ceased trading (as of April 2) after receiving no “viable offers” for the business.
As a result, the majority of the company’s 297 remaining staff, at its base in Holywell, Flintshire, have been made redundant.
The administrators will continue to provide support to those impacted, including supporting them with claims to the Redundancy Payments Service.
A small number of staff have been retained to assist the joint administrators in their duties.
Managing director at Interpath and joint administrator of Westbridge Furniture Limited, Chris Pole, said: “The team at Westbridge has shown exceptional professionalism in maintaining production while we explored options.
“Regrettably, as no viable offers for the business were received, it was no longer possible to continue trading and we have had to take the difficult decision to close the business.
“We recognise this has been a challenging period for staff, and I’d like to express my sincere thanks for their commitment.”
Since the closure earlier this month, the joint administrators have agreed a sale of the exclusive intellectual property and design rights to the full Westbridge independent product catalogue to sofa and upholstery manufacturer, Whitemeadow.
The buyer intends to engage with stockists of Westbridge products to ensure continuity where possible.
Mr Pole added: “The agreement to sell the IP and design rights to Whitemeadow preserves Westbridge’s range for retailers.
“We wish the Whitemeadow team all the best as it embarks on a development programme to reintroduce those designs to the market.”
Other major UK companies that have closed stores or entered administration in 2026
It has been a rough start to 2026 for the UK high street, with a wide range of businesses entering administration or closing down.
Major high street retailers have been forced to close stores, including:
Several other retailers have fallen into administration, including:
Major fashion retailer LK Bennett also entered administration back in January and has now closed all its remaining stores.
Meanwhile, four UK travel companies have closed in 2026:
EcoJet Airlines, billed as “the world’s first Electric Airline”, also entered liquidation after just three years, resulting in the cancellation of all planned flights.
What has a nose, wings and runs off of hydrogen? Ecojet 😎 pic.twitter.com/y8QGiBdFe2
— ecotricity (@ecotricity) July 17, 2023
UK delivery company Yodel is set to be phased out over the coming months after being acquired by InPost.
It’s also been reported that Morrisons is looking to sell some of its in-store pharmacies as it continues to cut costs.
It’s not been all bad news for the UK high street, with several major brands announcing new store openings for 2026, including Aldi, M&S, and Superdrug.
Have you ever bought furniture from Westbridge? Let us know in the poll above or in the comments below.
St Blaise CofE Primary School in Milton Hill is closed today (Monday, April 27) as it has no water supply due to a burst water main.
Thames Water was called at around 8am and a tanker arrived on site at around 8.30am.
READ MORE: Woman, 48, found dead in park named at inquest opening
There are no children on the site and the school will alert parents if they can bring their children in after lunch.
Thames Water has been contacted for a comment.
Oxfordshire County Council‘s school closure website states St Blaise CofE is expected to reopen on Tuesday.
Council guidance on school closures states: “Schools have contact arrangements for when they need to close the school at short notice. Contacts may include bespoke parent mailing systems, text, social media, and the school website.”
Thomas Ashby has questioned the practicality of narrowing the carriageway as part of Oxfordshire County Council’s scheme, which is now over budget.
In a Facebook post, Councillor Ashby said: “At the end of the day, this scheme is now over budget by millions.
“I do have grave concerns about how narrow they are making the carriageway, and how practical that is going to be for buses, but we will have to wait and see.”
The final plans will be shared at a public event at Witney’s Corn Exchange on April 29, from 2pm to 7pm.
Work is set to begin in May and is expected to finish in October.
Information is available at letstalk.oxfordshire.gov.uk/witney-high-street.
The hit ITV gameshow returned for a 36th series on Sunday (April 26), with Jeremy Clarkson once again taking on the role as host.
The former Top Gear and The Grand Tour presenter has described the new series as “exceptionally exciting”, and after the first episode, we can see why.
Quiz enthusiast becomes seventh winner on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?
Only six other UK contestants have ever won the £1 million prize on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?
Retired IT analyst Roman Dubowski became the seventh, winning the £1 million jackpot on Sunday night’s episode.
Mr Dubowski, a quiz enthusiast who lives just outside Stockport, said the victory felt “unreal” and revealed he celebrated the life-changing win with “a cup of tea.”
Mr Dubowski said: “It felt unreal. It didn’t feel like the real world, almost, this isn’t where I expected to be.
“It didn’t sink in until later. I did sort of go home quietly, to be honest, I didn’t get drunk – I had to have a cup of tea.
“I think it was just sitting in a quiet room and letting it all sink in, and thinking about what happened in the previous 24 hours.”
After the show, the first person he told was his sister, who was “absolutely thrilled.”
Planning to buy a new house, Mr Dubowski also hopes to travel with his winnings, naming New Zealand and South America among possible destinations.
He said he will share some of the money with his niece and nephew.
Would you have answered the £1 million question correctly?
The crucial £1 million question was: “Used since 1876, which trademarked logo is described in the James Joyce novel Ulysses and depicted in works by Manet and Picasso?”
The options were Bass Ale, The Famous Grouse, Coca-Cola, and Stella Artois.
Mr Dubowski chose to use his 50/50 lifeline before choosing Bass Ale.
He said he felt confident immediately: “When it came up… I thought, I think I know this straight away.”
He recalled seeing the Manet painting A Bar at the Folies-Bergère at The Courtauld Gallery in London, and “distinctly” remembered the red triangle, the symbol of Bass beer.
Despite confidently winning the £1 million, earlier questions nearly saw Mr Dubowski leave empty-handed.
One question asked what is mixed with vinegar, mustard, and oil to make a basic mayonnaise: plain flour, salted butter, egg yolk, or double cream.
Cooking is one of Mr Dubowski’s weak points, so he was forced to use the ‘ask the audience’ lifeline, with 93 per cent correctly choosing egg yolk.
Mr Dubowski “always” wanted to appear on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?
A long-time fan of the show, Mr Dubowski said he had “always” wanted to appear on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?
He first applied during Chris Tarrant’s time as host but received no reply.
Another application after lockdown was also unsuccessful.
He said: “Then in October last year, I suddenly saw an advertisement, or something online saying they’re recruiting for new competitors again.
“I thought oh, might as well try again, got nothing to lose, and just from that sort of casual opening, it ended up with the top prize.
“So I’m just happy I did it really.”
For other quizzers considering applying, Mr Dubowski recommended the book A To Z of Everything by Trevor Montague.
Previous winners on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?
Before Mr Dubowski, only six other UK contestants have won the £1 million prize on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?:
- Donald Fear (2020)
- Judith Keppel (2000)
- David Edwards (2001)
- Robert Brydges (2001)
- Pat Gibson (2004)
- Ingram Wilcox (2006)
Would you have got Sunday’s £1 million question right on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? Let us know in the poll above or in the comments below.
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