41 jobs saved in Allied Carpets rescue

Nine stores have been saved after a carpet retailer which once boasted more than 200 shops and 1,000 staff went bust for the third time in three years.

The remnants of Allied Carpets and 41 jobs have been taken on by a company connected with rival retailer Floors-2-Go.

The deal with administrators at Duff & Phelps, which is currently working on the rescue of Rangers Football Club, follows the reported closure of 10 stores in the Allied estate last week.

The surviving stores, which also trade as General George and Weaver & Black, are at Elgin, Inverness, Kirkcaldy, Hedge End, Spalding, Yeovil, two in Aberdeen and another in Glasgow.

More than 850 jobs were axed in 2009 after administrators from BDO Stoy Hayward were forced to close 142 stores.

The business, which was set up in Birmingham in the 1950s before moving to Orpington, Kent, was rescued again in March 2011 when former director Dean Weston formed Allied Floors to buy around 20 stores.

Birmingham-based Floors-2-Go has nearly 40 stores, specialising in wood and laminate flooring and carpets.

PA