31 MARCH 2008

THE SLEEP DEPOT LIMITED (IN ADMINISTRATION)

On 31 March 2008, James Gleave and Anne O’Keefe, Partners at Kroll’s Corporate Advisory & Restructuring Group, were appointed as Joint Administrators to The Sleep Depot Limited.

The Sleep Depot Limited, based in Blackburn and employing 367 people, is a retail business which sells beds, mattresses and bedroom furniture both online and through concessions in Land of Leather and Paul Simon stores. During the past few months management have made strenuous efforts to arrange a financial restructuring of the Company. Unfortunately these efforts were not successful and as a result they were left with no option but to place the company into Administration.

Commenting on the Administration, James Gleave said: “The trading environment for all retailers is particularly tough at present and following a thorough evaluation of the Company, we have regrettably concluded that it is impossible for The Sleep Depot Limited to continue to trade..

“This decision will mean the immediate closure of 72 Land of Leather concessions, 31 Paul Simon concessions and nine independent stores. These closures will result in 367 redundancies, including head office and warehouse staff.

“We are in the process of speaking to employees and concessions to make them aware of the situation. We appreciate that this is a difficult time for everyone involved and I would like to take this opportunity to thank all employees, store concessions and customers for their support during the administration process.”

The Administration and subsequent closure of the Sleep Depot Limited will mean that no orders can be fulfilled. However since 2 March 2008 the company has operated a trust account into which all customer deposits have been paid. As a result all customers who ordered goods after the 2 March 2008 should be entitled to a full refund. The administrators will shortly be writing to all customers to explain the situation over their deposits however in the interim any concerned customers can contact the Kroll helpline on 0161 838 4539.