The owner of Moben kitchens, bathroom chain Dolphin and Sharps bedrooms, has said it is to go into administration, putting 1,300 jobs at risk.
HomeForm Group, which runs 160 showrooms across the UK, said it will appoint an administrator within 10 days but in the meantime it hopes to sell the Moben and Dolphin brands in a bid to save its Sharps and Kitchen Direct businesses.
If the Old Trafford-based company collapses it would also affect some 1,500 self-employed fitters and designers.
HomeForm is the largest business in the UK selling pre-made kitchens, bedrooms and bathrooms. It sends designers into customers' homes and builds units from its factory in Wolverhampton.
The company is owned by American private equity group Sun Capital, which bought the group in April 2007 - just before the economic downturn began to bite.
The home improvement market has been badly hit by the downturn as falling house prices leave consumers less likely to invest money in modernising their homes and household disposable income is eroded by inflation.
A report by business body CBI highlighted the slump in the homewares market when it said a balance of 85% had reported a decline in sales in June.
Earlier this year Focus DIY fell into administration, blaming the decline in the home improvement market.
