ST. HELENS, Merseyside, UK--Ena Shaw Ltd., which bills itself as the UK’s “premier manufacturer of readymade and made to measure curtains and blinds” purchased the Montgomery brand from administrators in September and has added it to its stable of readymade curtain ranges.

“The stocks and intellectual property of Montgomery Furnishing Limited were acquired on 21st August 2014 by Curtain Concessions Limited (“CCL”), a wholly owned subsidiary of Ena Shaw Limited,” said Richard Potter, Managing Director of Ena Shaw and third generation owner. 

Ena Shaw is one of the largest UK manufacturers of custom made soft furnishings, trading via their Richard Barrie, Curtain Express, Tru Living and Q Design brands.  

“CCL was set up specifically to run curtain concessions and will continue to run independently from Ena Shaw from a new office and readymade warehouse in Mold, North Wales,” he added. A number of Montgomery staff have joined the new operation including Barry Goodman-King as Sales Director.  All manufacturing will transfer to Ena Shaw. A number of the Montgomery manufacturing team have also joined Ena Shaw including Sarah Shaw, the Montgomery Manufacturing Manager.”

Shaw said: “We are delighted to have acquired the Montgomery brand. Their concession driven business compliments our own trade customer base. It is important that the two companies maintain their own identity and specialist skills. We have committed to a major re-stocking program to repair the damage done by many weeks of uncertainty whilst the company was in administration. I hope Montgomery customers and distributors will continue to support the brand as we re-establish the service and quality for which it was widely known.”

Ena Shaw also operates in the contract market as Ena Shaw Contract, which undertakes projects in the hospitality, care and social housing sector.

Most notably, curtains for all 14,000 windows of the London 2012 Athlete’s Village were measured, manufactured and fitted by the Edna Shaw Contract team.  

“Ena Shaw also operates a furnishing store in St Helens, Merseyside, which has traded since 1932,” Potter added.  “The store has seen significant investment in the last 18 months and has seen positive increases in sales as a result.

Stephen Clancy and David Whitehouse of Duff and Phelps were appointed joint administrators of Montgomery Furnishings Ltd. on 1 July 2014, a company founded last year to buy the assets and business of Montgomery Tomlinson Ltd., a well known converter and manufacturer previously owned by Grahame Tomlinson which fell on hard times. Ena Shaw was the successful bidder in purchasing the intellectual assets of the Montgomery brand from the administrators.

Ena Shaw is now in the middle of creating a new website for the Montgomery brand under the ownership of ‘Curtain Concessions Ltd.’ This name was part of the intellectual assets of Montgomery brand.

Richard Potter, the third generation family owner and MD of Ena Shaw has not issued any details of the purchase of Montgomery but the news about the acquisition is well known in the UK marketplace. At press time, Potter offered no further comments about the purchase to Fabrics & Furnishings International.  

Since 1999, Enashaw Ltd. has also sold customized curtains and blinds through a site called Curtain Express.co.uk. This site gives seven-day delivery service for curtains to the retailer and consumer. Ena Shaw services the retailer with soft furnishings and fabrics.

Prior to that, the manufacturing branch started in 1982 initially supplying velvet curtains via mail order followed by an expansion to supply made to measure curtains to retailers under the Richard Barrie brand.

In 1996, the company moved to an 85,000 square foot factory and warehouse in St. Helens where it stocks fabric cuts and pieces.  It offers customized curtains and blinds in seven days. This was followed by the acquisition of Q Designs, TRU Textiles and Whiteheads brands. Together with Contract Solutions and now Montgomery, Ena Shaw offers product under seven different brands. The company also owns Enashaw Home, a retail outlet in St, Helens, Merseyside that sells furniture brands like Stressless, Sits, Leather Editions, Parker Knoll and G-Plan upholstery, some of the biggest UK furniture brands/manufacturers. It also offers floor coverings and soft home  products.

Ena Shaw founded her company in 1932 with steady growth for its six brands since then, the corporate website says. Shaw started her own workroom in what was Lancashire where she made curtains and loose covers for retail sales. That area is now called St. Helens, Merseyside.  Her two sons carried on the business and with Richard Potter, the third generation continues the business with management outside the Potter family.  

The company employs over 180 people and received a major vote of confidence by winning a UK Government contract to provide the Olympic Village with curtains for 16,000 rooms in 2012.