Engagement
Metis Partners was appointed by Duff & Phelps to support the marketing and sale of the IP assets relating to MFI.
Company
MFI was a UK furniture retailer, founded in 1964 and was one of the UK’s largest suppliers of kitchens and bedroom furniture operating from over 100 stores retail parks in out-of-town locations. The Company had formed various strategic partnerships with the likes of Asda and was generating revenues of over £500m at peak. The Company began to experience financial uncertainty and was placed into Administration, and later ceased trading after the Administrators failed to find a buyer.
IP Assets Sold
- Goodwill rights the MFI corporate brand and reputation
- Registered trade mark portfolio with UK protection of the MFI brand name
- Transferable organisational knowledge, including MFI marketing materials
- Branded domain name portfolio
Highlight of this IP Sale
We were instructed to sell the brand and related IP assets following the unsuccessful search for a buyer of the business by the Administrators. We recognized the potential for these IP assets to be relaunched in an eCommerce environment and therefore demonstrated how this could be structured and achieved in our marketing. This high-profile assignment generated substantial interest and the MFI brand was purchased by Victoria Plum, who relaunched MFI as an online-only retailer.
“Metis Partners’ experience, structured sale process and professional approach ensured that intangible asset value was significantly enhanced, ensuring that full market value was achieved.”
Philip Duffy, Joint Administrator of MFI and Managing Director at Duff and Phelps
