Tapi losses rise but turnover hike pulls rug from under rival Carpetright

The carpet-seller set up by the son of rival Carpetright’s founder has almost doubled its sales despite widening losses, piling pressure on its embattled competitor.

Tapi, founded by Martin Harris, saw losses rise to £9.1 million for the year to December 30, from £8.5 million. But revenues grew from £30 million to £57 million, Companies House accounts say.

Harris set up Tapi in 2015 after leaving Carpetright, where he had worked for 23 years and just weeks before his father, Lord Harris, stepped down as chairman.

Ever since, Tapi has been encroaching on Carpetright’s turf. It was trading from 97 stores at the end of last year and it plans to have a total of 111 stores by the end of this year. But “its store rollout is now coming to an end”, it added.

Tapi said that it “fully expected” the losses and it was confident that it will be profitable “once the business is established”.

Carpetright inked a rescue plan earlier this year, under which it is closing 81 of its stores. It has also tapped investors for an extra £65 million as it tries to turn itself around.