DFS has swooped on a number of collapsed rival Multiyork’s stores and acquired the rights to its brand name and product designs.

The furniture business has snapped up eight store leases, six of which will be converted into Sofa Workshop sites. The remaining two will trade as DFS shops.

DFS said that all members of Multiyork staff in the affected stores have been offered roles as part of the acquisition.

As part of the £1.2m deal, DFS has also acquired all intellectual property rights of Multiyork, including the Multiyork brand, product designs, domain names and marketing databases.

It comes just over a month after Multiyork tumbled into administration and appointed Duff & Phelps to handle the process.

Administrators will continue to trade Multiyork until February 18, under a licence from DFS, at which point trading under the Multiyork brand will cease.

The business, owned by furnishings tycoon Charles Wade of Wade Furniture Group, employs 547 people across 50 shops and its manufacturing site in Thetford, Norfolk.

Multiyork’s stablemate Feather & Black also slipped into administration in November, but 104 jobs were saved when bedding and mattress giant Hilding Anders bought 17 of the retailer’s 20 stores last week.

Sofa Workshop boss Gill Stewart said: “We are delighted to take this opportunity to expand our store network, offering customers a local presence where they can experience Sofa Workshop’s exclusive range of modern, luxury, handmade furniture.

“We very much look forward to welcoming the sales colleagues from Multiyork as part of our network of experienced store teams.”

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