Once household furniture brand MFI is set to make a surprise comeback to the UK high street, nearly two decades after it collapsed into administration.
The brand, which is owned by Victorian Plumbing, is due to return to the UK homewares market in the first half of 2026, according to a report by The Evening Standard.
Victorian Plumbing said MFI’s range “fits” with its existing customer base and has plans to invest £3m in “people and property” as part of MFI’s relaunch into the market.
The MFI brand and domain name was bought by Victorian Plumbing when it acquired pureplay bathroom retailer Victoria Plum out of administration last year.
MFI Retail was founded in 1964 as Mullard Furniture Industries and had previously traded in surplus war goods.
The brand floated in 1971 as MFI Warehouses and merged with Asda in 1985.
MFI was the subject of what was then one of the UK’s largest management buyouts in history in 1987.
At its peak, the brand operated over 200 stores and delivered more than 50 million items a year across the UK.
The brand was laid low by the emergence of Swedish giant Ikea, which opened in the UK in 1987—combined with competition from the likes of B&Q and Argos.
MFI collapsed into administration in 2008 during the global financial crisis.
It was bought by Victoria Plum and relaunched as a pureplay online retailer on November 30, 2011 only for it to cease trading again in July 2015.
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