Wren Kitchens has confirmed that its decision to withdraw from the US market will have no impact on its Barton-based UK operations. The company, which operates more than 120 showrooms across the UK and is owned by Hull-born entrepreneur Malcolm Healey, has filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in the United States, where it launched approximately six years ago.
Focus on UK Growth
The company states that the move, which has resulted in job losses and store closures in the US, will allow it to channel investment into its UK business, which continues to expand. Newly released accounts for the UK arm, Wren Kitchens Limited, reveal that turnover surpassed £1 billion in 2025, the second highest figure in the company's history, with operating profits exceeding £101 million.
The firm has highlighted opportunities to grow its network of 124 showrooms, including the addition of further small-format locations away from traditional retail parks. In recent years, the UK business, which employs more than 7,000 staff including over 2,300 at Barton, has also successfully ventured into the bedrooms market with a dedicated factory established for that purpose.
Challenging Year but Strong Performance
All of this was achieved despite what CEO Mark Pullan described as a somewhat challenging year, with economic uncertainty and a prolonged housing market slowdown leading some customers to postpone kitchen renovation projects. Wren cited its inability to secure favourable terms on retail properties to grow its store network as the primary reason for exiting the US market.
Mr Pullan said: "We reluctantly took the decision to appoint a Trustee who is managing our exit from the US market, in line with US regulations. We regret the impact of this decision on our US colleagues and our customers and thank both of them for their support."
"Our focus is on further growing our UK business where last year we recorded our second most successful year since the business began and hit the £1 billion turnover mark with strong profits despite what remains a subdued market. Encouragingly, this market growth has carried through into the first quarter. These results reflect the hard work and dedication of our teams across the business and our sustained re-investment in the business – over £500 million over the past 15 years."
Investment and Future Plans
"We are beginning to see the early benefits of the investment in our new factory, which is enhancing both capacity and efficiency, while continued investment across our UK operations is helping to improve resilience, support fuel cost stability and reduce our environmental impact."
"While we remain mindful of potential uncertainties arising from the geopolitical situation, we are confident in the strength of our business and with all our focus on the UK, we will be accelerating our new store rollout programme over the year, with the launch of 15 new showrooms as well as new product categories."
