Tapi has bought Carpetright but many jobs and stores are still at risk

Tapi is expected to snap up the Carpetright name and intellectual property, two warehouses and 54 stores in a multimillion-pound deal. 

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 is 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. 

As Retail Week revealed last week, more than half of Carpetright’s stores are located within a few miles of a Tapi. 

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

It was reported earlier this month that Carpetright was facing insolvency and was set to appoint PwC as an administrator. 

Karir said the group was “desperately sad not to have been able to save more of the business and customer orders”.

He added: “Our goal, initially, was to try to save all of Carpetright. However, as we looked into the details of the situation, we quickly established that saving the entire business was unviable. The business has been materially loss-making for a number of years and it has significant debt held by the owner.”

Kevin Barrett, the 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.”

Tapi was founded in 2015 by Lord Harris of Peckham, who also founded Carpetright, but sold his shares in the store in 2014.

Lord Harris’ son Martin Harris was also a former director of Carpetright, before joining Tapi in 2015. Martin Harris is currently the owner of Tapi, and has been accused in the past of of pursuing a ”kamikaze strategy to try and take Carpetright down” with Tapi, and poaching staff.