The Belfield Group is a leading manufacturer of upholstery, mattresses and soft furnishings, supplying to the retail and leisure industries. Made up of five dinstinct divisions, the group is moving from strength to strength, and is set for continued growth following substantial investment and a recent acquisition.
With its head office in Ilkeston, Derbyshire, The Belfield Group – recently rebranded from Belfield Furnishings – was established in 2002 by Paul Millership. The group is formed of five separate brands, including upholstery names Westbridge Furniture and the newly-acquired Tetrad, mattress business Duflex, made-to-measure curtain and ready-made cushion brand Design Studio and leisure industry-focused cushion and curtain business Belfield Furnishings.
Approaching an impressive £200m turnover, the group employs around 2000 people. As the largest of The Belfield Group’s divisions, Westbridge Furniture accounts for £100m of this revenue and around 1200 employees based at its Flintshire site. The upholstery manufacturer was founded in 2005 and is one of the main employers in the Flintshire area.
Westbridge has three large sites in North Wales totalling over 500,000ft² of production, design and office space, and owns two cut and sew operations in Romania. Manufacturing in excess of 10,000 pieces of upholstery a week, Westbridge has a diverse range of over 1200 fabrics and leathers which are sourced throughout Europe and Asia. A member of SATRA, Westbridge also has a fully-accredited upholstery test facility.
Westbridge’s design director Steve Olds has been with the business since its inception, and works with a strong team of development technicians to find design inspiration at both UK and international events and ensure that the business’ products are being manufactured competitively. The solid management team also includes joint MDs Paul Islip and Nigel Holyfield, and sales director Nichola Bell.
The Belfield Group acquired Tetrad earlier this year in order to develop upon the success already achieved by Westbridge, and the two brands will work together to find synergies and aid in each other’s growth. Established 45 years ago, Tetrad specialises in the manufacture of quality sofas, chairs and stools, and has an annual turnover of around £17m.
Having wanted to add another innovative upholstery brand to the portfolio for some time, Tetrad fit the group’s requirements in the fact that it sits at the top end of what The Belfield Group represents. Now, the group’s aim is to leverage its design resources and operational facilities in order to take Tetrad to the next level. In addition, the group is looking to exploit Tetrad’s well-established export channels for its other divisions, Westbridge in particular.
Moving to The Belfield Group’s mattress offering, Castle Donington-based Duflex is a supplier of vacuum-packed mattresses, with a turnover of around £40m. Formed in 2005 originally as a foam manufacturing business, the mattress-in-a-box company now produces foam mattresses for Ikea, major brands Eve and Emma and the i-Sleep branded mattress for Argos.
Duflex is extremely well-invested with state-of-the-art equipment for converting foam and efficient manufacture of rolled mattresses, and sources its covers from Turkey and Pakistan, where they are cut and sewn before being shipped to the UK. Like all other areas of the group, the business is backed by a strong management team, including MD Paul Glynn and production director Tina Tombs.
The last two divisions of the group, Design Studio and Belfield Furnishings, centre around the same product area but supply to different markets. Whilst Belfield Furnishings deals with the leisure industry – occupying 60% of this market and creating a yearly revenue of around £23m – Design Studio’s UK made-to-measure curtains and off-shore-sourced ready-made cushions are supplied to major retailer M&S as well as independent retailers.
Design Studio has an annual turnover of around £12m, and maintains quality control of its products through its own Chinese sourcing office. MD Gareth Coxhall joined the business 12 months ago and works alongside an impressive design and development team, with excellent systems and investments in place.
The Belfield Group’s recent rebranding incorporates the strapline ‘Design, delivered’, signifying the business’ well-designed commercial products at all areas of the market, teamed with an excellent on-time delivery record.
The group prides itself on its positive employee culture, with workers being rewarded, vitally, for quality as well as output. This strategy has served the group well, allowing it to retain a number of long-serving employees. In addition, management visibility is a crucial aspect to the group’s modus operandi.
Looking ahead, the group’s aim is to continue to develop organically, whilst looking for potential new upholstery acquisitions which fit in with the business’ growth strategy. In addition, the group will consider the potential of exhibiting at European events should the export opportunities develop. With the group on a seemingly-unstoppable upwards trajectory, it is clear to see that The Belfield Group’s future is looking bright.
