Carpetright boss Wilf Walsh vows to stay to see out recovery plan

The boss of embattled Carpetright on Tuesday said he was staying put despite a turbulent year for the business and a dip into the red.

Chief executive Wilf Walsh, who is spearheading a turnaround at its carpet seller, says he will see the company voluntary arrangement (CVA) through.

“The plan is to have it complete,” he said of the deal with creditors and landlords to prevent the struggling business from going bust.

Carpetright is expected to close at least 81 of its 92 loss-making sites by the end of September and cut rents across 112 of its existing 308 stores.

The overhaul of the business, albeit costly, should help the retailer make profits again in 2020, Walsh said. The business posted a loss of £70.5 million for the year to April 28 from profits of £900,000 last year, while revenues fell 3% to £443.8 million.

Same-store sales at home were down 3.6%, with a 7.8% slump in the second half —a knock-on effect as some suppliers withdrew their stock after a string of profit warnings. “It’s starting to ease off,” Walsh added.

Carpetright recently tapped investors for £65 million to revamp its stores and beef up its website.