The Birmingham flooring firm has been acquired by a newly incorporated company headed by former Floors-2-Go directors David Vizor and Parjinder Sangha. It is the second time in three years that the firm has entered administration.
Following the appointment of administrators Senate Recovery, 53 Floors-2-Go stores have been closed, resulting in the loss of 192 jobs. However, Senate has secured a sale for the continued trading of 35 stores plus the jobs of 162 Floors-2-Go employees. The purchaser, Nixon & Hope was formed just this month by former Floors-2-Go directors Parjinder Sangha and David Vizor.

Senate director Jeremy Bowden said in a statement to Insider Media: "We have worked hard with the company, its directors, other parts of the Senate Group and an external funder to achieve this deal, despite hostile economic and trading conditions."

However, Mr Bowden did add that almost 200 jobs across the UK would go. There was no answer from the Floors-2-Go head office in Newtown, Birmingham today and Mr Bowden was unavailable for further comment.

The acquisition is believed to have been funded by the Hodges family, who founded Floors-2-Go in 1999. Brothers Robert and Richard Hodges also ploughed more than £3m into the ailing retailer when it went into administration in 2008, buying back 80 Floors-2-Go stores with the help of investment firm Hotbed.

Former B&Q chief executive and chairman Jim Hodkinson was appointed non-executive chairman of Floors-2-Go in January this year. However, he confirmed this morning that he resigned from his position on the Floors-2-Go board at the beginning of May. He also stepped down from the Tiles-2-Go board, owned by the same firm. Mr Hodkinson declined to comment further.

At the time of Mr Hodkinson's appointment, the Floors-2-Go board announced an ambitious expansion plan to open a further 60 stores. Insiders have suggested that Floors-2-Go looked to expand too quickly and simply ran out of money, resulting in its latest administration.

The Hodges founded Floors-2-Go in 1999, expanding from a single site to more than 100 retail outlets by 2004. The business was then bought by a small investment bank, floated on AIM, and bought by a private equity firm.