Carpetright: full list of stores to stay open after being rescued from administration by Tapi

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Tapi has swooped in to buy rival Carpetright in a multimillion-pound deal but has selected just 54 stores to take over from the retailer.

Tapi said the move was in a bid to avoid interference from the competitions regulator, as well as offloading stores that were unviable.

Tapi managing director Jeevan Karir said that initially it had wanted to save all of Carpetright but it “quickly established saving the entire business was unviable” and it was “mindful of how the Competition and Markets Authority may view a larger deal”.

He said the deal would save around 300 jobs but it was not believed to include more than 200 shops across the country or the company’s head office in Purfleet, Essex, risking around 1,000 jobs.

Last week, Retail Week reported that more than half of Carpetright’s estate was within a few miles of a Tapi with many within a few yards of each other on the same retail park.

It was found that of Carpetright’s 270-strong store estate, 152 Tapi stores are located within six miles of the rival business. Of Carpetright’s 20 London stores, 13 are within three miles of a Tapi. Tapi has 170 stores in total.

Kevin Barrett, chief executive of Nestware Holdings, the Meditor-controlled group that owns Carpetright, said: “We have tried everything to turn Carpetright around and I’m truly sorry that we were unable to save more jobs. The deal will not affect Carpetright in Europe or other brands within Nestware Holdings including Keswick and Trade Choice.

“The Floor Room will continue to trade and serve customers via concessions at John Lewis and we will be working hard to secure job opportunities across these businesses to support Carpetright staff wherever we can.”