Headlam Group’s Loss is a Significant Event for Our Sector, Says CFA

By Richard Catt, CEO of CFA

The flooring sector has received the sad news that Contract Flooring Association (CFA) member Headlam Group, one of the UK’s longest-established flooring distributors, will not continue as a whole business. Following their appointment in September, the administrators have announced the sale of certain parts of the business to Likewise Group, including the Crucial Trading and Concept Flooring brands, and the Thatcham distribution centre, as well as confirmed their intention to cancel the company’s stock exchange listing.

Headlam has been part of the fabric of our industry for many years, and until the end it continued to supply a great many businesses across both the domestic and commercial markets. Its loss is a significant event for the sector.

Most importantly, this is a very difficult time for Headlam’s employees, many of whom have given years of service to the business and to flooring more widely. On behalf of the CFA, we send our best wishes to everyone now seeking new roles, and we hope that their skills and experience will remain within our industry.

It is likely that the sector will feel the effects of this in the months ahead, and that the distribution landscape will take on a different shape as a result. We will be keeping in touch with our Council and members to understand how things develop.

If this situation is placing your business under particular pressure, for whatever reason, please do get in touch with us. We cannot promise to have every answer, but we will listen and do what we can to support you. For general supplier and distributor information, the CFA online directory is also available at www.cfa.org.uk/CFA-Flooring-Directory-find-Contractors-Consultants-Flooring-Manufacturers-and-Distributors/.

cfa.org.uk