A furniture manufacturer that had been trading for 150 years is one of five UK businesses to have entered administration in recent weeks, as the wave of corporate collapses that has swept the country in 2026 continues.
The Wiltshire-based company, which produces mattresses and beds for leading retailers, investigated various options to rescue the business but ultimately had no alternative but to appoint administrators. Seventy-one employees have been made redundant, though some staff remain to assist with continuing operations, and the firm is still trading for the time being.
“Five UK businesses have entered administration, including a 150-year-old furniture maker and a homebuilder.”
The furniture maker’s collapse follows difficult trading circumstances over recent years, reflecting a trend that has seen thousands of businesses confront administration throughout 2026.
A stag and hen party organiser has also entered administration. The firm, which launched in 1999, specialised in arranging group holidays for celebrations. It has now stopped trading and cannot take new bookings. Groupia representatives confirmed that trips scheduled to depart on or before August 31 would be fulfilled, and that refunds would be issued for any arrangements from September 1 onwards.
In the construction sector, a homebuilding company that had been operating for more than three decades has gone into administration. Previously trading as Langworthy Construction before changing its name, the firm carried out work throughout Devon, Cornwall and Somerset. Since 2008, it constructed over 2,000 properties across the South West, focusing on traditional rural homes with thatched roofs, modern flats and new-build houses, and even renovated Grade II listed properties.
Separately, the Ardmore construction group has entered administration following a significant High Court judgment in April. Established in 1974, the group encompasses Ardmore Hotels & Commercial, Ardmore Major Projects, Ardmore Fitout, Landmark Facades and Ardmore Regeneration. The company had approximately 77 employees and attributed its problems to a partly finished timber-frame scheme that ended up being far more expensive to complete than expected.
The fifth company to fall into administration is a UK-based food distribution firm, which has collapsed after only three years of trading. Headquartered in Tonbridge, Kent, the business prided itself on its facilities designed specifically for temperature-sensitive goods, according to its website. It also stated its commitment to providing specialist storage and logistics services, but the details of its downfall remain unclear.
The spate of administrations across manufacturing, hospitality, construction and distribution underscores the continuing pressure on UK businesses in 2026, with no sign of the trend abating.