Designers Guild, the luxury home decor company founded by Tricia Guild in 1970, is closing after 56 years. Administrators from Interpath were appointed yesterday and 93 members of staff have been made redundant.
A small number of employees have been retained to assist with the wind down of the business, which had been struggling for several years.
The company sells luxury furnishing fabrics, wall coverings and bed and bathroom collections. Its flagship store was on King’s Road in London, and it produced a series of collections inspired by the interiors of royal residences including Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle.
One of its vintage overdyed rugs in slate grey could cost about £2,500, while its Milan sofa range retails for up to £6,250.
In a statement yesterday, Guild, the English interior and textiles designer known for her use of colour and pattern, said it was with “great sadness” that she and her brother, Simon Jeffreys, the chief executive, had decided to shut the business down.
“Designers Guild Ltd has been so much more than a business to me. It is my passion and my life’s work,” she said. “The brand was built over decades with an unswerving belief in the power of creative design and a constant striving to achieve only the very best.”
Guild said the last few years had brought a “succession of challenges” and that “despite the best efforts of our team and others over numerous months, we have not been able to find a way forward”. She described the outcome as a “source of huge regret and sorrow for us”.
She added: “While we are closing the business, we hope the many positive and happy memories will be the ones that stay with us: the gorgeous fabrics, wonderful interiors, photoshoots in the most inspiring places around the world, daring and successful product launches, the opening of showrooms in Paris, Munich and Stockholm, the gradual growth and development of the King’s Road store.”
The company had been dealing with financial headwinds for a number of years, including Brexit-related red tape and cost pressures. Much of its customer base is in Europe.
In April 2025, Designers Guild sold its brand and design archive to the homeware retailer Dunelm. Under that arrangement, Dunelm licensed the brand and archive back to Designers Guild, which continued to trade independently under the creative direction of its founder.
Interpath had been running a sales process for several months leading up to this month, with at least one potential bidder, according to Sky News.
Rick Harrison, managing director at Interpath and joint administrator, said: “As a matter of priority, we will be supporting those members of staff who have been impacted by insolvency, while we also explore options for the company’s remaining assets, including leftover stock.”
Interpath has also handled other retail administrations this year. It was appointed to Russell & Bromley, whose brand was bought out of administration by Next in January, and is administrator to Claire’s, where administration costs are estimated at £7.2m following the jewellery chain’s second collapse.
