// DFS sells The Sofa Workshop to furniture rival Timothy Outlon for £300,000
// DFS had first acquired The Sofa Workshop in 2013
// Under Timothy Oulton’s ownership, The Sofa Workshop will be part of the Halo family, which also includes Outlaw and Noble Souls
The Sofa Workshop has undergone a change of hands, with DFS offloading the furniture fascia to rival Timothy Outlon in a £300,000 deal.
The Sofa Workshop had been part of the DFS company – which also includes Sofology – since 2013, where it has traded from 20 standalone stores, an online store, and shop-in-shops in some DFS stores.
Its new owner Timothy Oulton is part of Halo Furnishings, a UK and Asia-based luxury furniture and lifestyle design group which also owns Noble Souls and Outlaw.
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Timothy Outlon founder Tim Oulton intends to rebrand the newly-acquired business to Sofa Workshop by Timothy Oulton, as well as invest in enhancing the overall customer experience.
DFS has divested of The Sofa Workshop in order to focus on its other core businesses, such as investments in technology and multichannel across its DFS and Sofology fascias.
“This transaction represents a great opportunity for Sofa Workshop and I’d like to thank all our colleagues for their hard work and commitment since the business was acquired by the Group seven years ago and wish them every success in the future,” DFS chief executive Tim Stacey said.
Oulton said The Sofa Workshop’s renown as being a hand-made furniture business will continue under his onwership, citing that the “culture of craftsmanship” has “always been key” for his Timothy Oulton business.
“Sofa Workshop has long been a respected brand in the UK market,” Outlon said.
“I am very excited to bring to it a wider range of our globally best-selling sofa designs, along with lighting and cabinet collections.
“We manage our entire creative process in-house, from perfecting leather hand-finishes in our own tannery, to hand dyeing natural fabrics, to product design, production, and customer service, and we look forward to bringing our creative passion and energy to Sofa Workshop.
“The network of stores around London and across the UK will allow us to create easy access to a beautifully handcrafted collection of over 100 sofa models, tailor-made in unique finishes and offered in a vast array of configurations. And each store will also carry a small taste of the Timothy Oulton collection.”
He added: “Our furniture is made to order, one by one, by hand, using simple tools and time-honoured techniques. That culture of craftsmanship has always been key for Timothy Oulton, and will remain at the heart of the philosophy at Sofa Workshop by Timothy Oulton.”
In its most recent financial update, Sofa Workshop recorded a pre-tax loss of £2.9 million in the 48-week period ending June 30 last year.
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