Former Wiggle chief executive Humphrey Cobbold is working on an offer for Sofa.com alongside buy-out group Close Brothers.

An auction process for the online furniture retailer is drawing to a close and private equity firm Graphite is also bidding for the business, according to The Daily Telegraph.

Sofa.com hired Altium to explore options for the business late last year and is in the process of bolstering its senior team.

It hired its first director of retail operations in the UK and Europe this month to develop the people and infrastructure to support the company’s growth.

Linda Ormrod, who previously worked for Oliver Bonas and Australian brand Mimco, was hired for the role.

Sofa.com also appointed Julian Neal as interim commercial director. He will be in charge of ecommerce, digital marketing and merchandising.

The online retailer’s sales rose 20% to £20.2m and EBITDA grew 48% to £5.3m in the year to the end of February.