The luxury interiors group has two UK factories: Anstey Wallpaper Company in Loughborough and textiles wing Standfast & Barracks in Lancaster.
Sanderson said a key focus for its board was to return the factories to profitability amid a challenging consumer and industry environment, which saw sales to group brands fall by 15% to £13.6m in the year to 31 January, with external third-party sales down 5% at £18.1m.
A review by group operations director Tim Preston, appointed last November, has resulted in a 15% reduction in the manufacturing workforce, and annualised cost savings of £1.5m from FY2026.
The associated exceptional charge was £700,000.
Chairman Dianne Thompson said the move to a digital-print-first approach had been enabled by recent advances in digital printing technology. The Standfast & Barracks site has invested heavily in Durst technology. It is a Durst Centre of Excellence, and invested £1m in new digital kit during the year.
“Traditional printing techniques remain a core part of our offering but will be used only when craft skills add value to a product or when requested by third-party customers,” she explained.
Thompson also spoke about overseas growth plans, and the likely impact of US tariffs. She said: “North America remains a key growth opportunity, and the group does not currently expect a material direct impact from tariffs imposed on imports into the USA.
“The evolving tariff regime is, however, a potential threat to US and global consumer confidence and we will continue to monitor closely.”
Overall group sales were down 7.6% to £100.4m, while adjusted underlying profit before tax was down just under 64% at £4.4m.
Brands product revenue made up the lion’s share of sales, at £71.3m.
Currently, its Morris & Co. brand is the only brand where sales in North America exceed those in the UK.
The pre-tax loss was £13.9m (2024 profit: £10.4m), mainly due to one-off costs including a £16.3m non-cash impairment charge related to goodwill associated with the 2016 purchase of Clarke & Clarke.
Sanderson Group’s Arthur Sanderson and William Morris archive has been independently valued at £10m.
