Dreams chairman Steve Johnson has stepped down after less than a year at the struggling beds retailer.

Johnson, who was previously chief executive of Woolworths and Focus DIY, is understood to have exited, in part, due to a differing of views on strategy to other board members, according to The Furnishing Report.

Dreams is still locked in talks with the Royal Bank of Scotland, its main lender, to try to secure a refinancing to tackle its debt burden.

Dreams owner Exponent Private Equity and the lender have struggled to reach an agreement on the restructuring.

Exponent bought Dreams from founder Mike Clare in 2008 in a deal worth more than £200m.

The 270-store retailer has aggressively expanded in recent years but trading slowed as the downturn hit, with EBITDA falling to £11.2m from £25.1m in the year to December 24, 2010.

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