Fired Earth, the Oxfordshire-based luxury tile and interiors brand, entered administration on 31 October 2025, resulting in 133 redundancies and the closure of all 20 UK showrooms. Joint administrators Dane O’Hara and Alex Cadwallader from Leonard Curtis were appointed after the company’s shareholder declined to provide further funding without a viable turnaround plan. The brand itself survived: Topps Tiles’ parent company, Topps Group, bought the Fired Earth name, stock, website and intellectual property for £3 million in a deal completed by late January 2026. Below, we cover the full timeline, what the administration meant for customers and staff, and how Fired Earth operates today.
What Happened to Fired Earth
Fired Earth had been loss-making for several years before the administration. According to Leonard Curtis, the company posted a turnover of around £15 million in 2024 but recorded a loss of about £1.6 million, following a similar loss the year before.
For roughly three years before the collapse, the business had been kept going through working capital loans from its shareholder while efforts were made to return it to profitability. Administrator Dane O’Hara said the company’s investor was ultimately not prepared to provide further funding without a viable turnaround strategy, which forced the move into administration.
Leonard Curtis had been approached in late September 2025 to review the business and explore options, but concluded that restructuring it in its existing form wasn’t achievable, leading to the decision to seek a buyer instead.
Timeline of the Fired Earth Administration
31 October 2025: Dane O’Hara and Alex Cadwallader of Leonard Curtis were appointed joint administrators to Fired Earth Limited, based in Banbury, Oxfordshire.
Late October to November 2025: All 20 UK showrooms closed immediately, along with two overseas stores in Denmark and Norway, resulting in 133 redundancies. Only the head office and Banbury warehouse remained open, and only to fulfil orders already placed.
November 2025: Administrators began an accelerated mergers and acquisitions process to sell the company’s assets, receiving several asset-only offers, none of which preserved jobs or store locations at that stage.
10 December 2025: Leonard Curtis confirmed the completed sale of Fired Earth’s assets.
Late January 2026: Topps Group, parent company of Topps Tiles, confirmed it had acquired the Fired Earth brand, stock, website and intellectual property rights for £3 million, bringing the label into a group that also includes Parkside Architectural and Development, CTD Housebuilders, Tile Warehouse and ProTiler Tools.
Why Fired Earth Collapsed
The administrators pointed to sustained trading losses and a heavy retail footprint as the main drivers. Fired Earth operated 20 UK showrooms plus overseas stores, a costly structure at a time when consumer spending on higher-ticket home renovation products had softened.
This pattern isn’t unique to Fired Earth. Retail insolvency specialists have noted that rising supplier and logistics costs, combined with high property overheads, have been a recurring theme across UK homeware and interiors retail in the past few years. Fired Earth’s founder, Nicholas Kneale, started the business in 1983 selling Spanish terracotta floor tiles from his Oxfordshire farm, and the AGA group acquired the company in 2001 before it eventually hit the financial difficulties that led to 2025’s administration.
What Administration Actually Means
Administration is a formal UK insolvency process, governed mainly by the Insolvency Act 1986, used when a company can’t pay its debts as they fall due but there’s a reasonable prospect of rescuing all or part of the business. Once administrators are appointed, a legal moratorium takes effect, which stops creditors from taking further legal action against the company while the administrators assess its options.
For a business like Fired Earth, this typically means one of three outcomes: rescuing the company as a going concern, selling the business or its assets to achieve a better result for creditors than liquidation, or, if neither is possible, winding the company down. In Fired Earth’s case, the outcome was an asset sale: the brand, stock and intellectual property were bought by Topps Group, but the original company and its full workforce were not preserved.
What the Administration Meant for Customers
If you had an outstanding order with Fired Earth at the time of the administration, your order would have been affected by the immediate showroom closures, since only the head office and Banbury warehouse continued operating to fulfil existing orders.
For gift vouchers, deposits or prepayments made before 31 October 2025, the position depended on your specific circumstances and is a matter for the administrators rather than something that can be answered generally here. If you’re still chasing an unresolved order, deposit or refund from before the administration, the appropriate route is to contact Leonard Curtis as administrators of the original company, since claims against the pre-administration business are handled separately from the brand now operating under Topps Group.
For anything ordered from Fired Earth’s current website or showrooms since the Topps Group acquisition, standard consumer protections apply as normal, since you’re dealing with an active, trading company rather than one in administration.
What the Administration Meant for Staff
All 133 employees across Fired Earth’s UK operations were made redundant when the administrators were appointed, since the accelerated sale process did not preserve any jobs or physical locations at that stage. Employees affected by a company insolvency in the UK can usually claim certain unpaid wages, holiday pay, and redundancy pay through the government’s Insolvency Service, subject to statutory limits, though individual entitlement depends on personal circumstances and is worth checking directly with the Insolvency Service or ACAS.
Some former Fired Earth staff have since been involved in the brand’s relaunch under Topps Group, based on comments from product and brand manager Carly Allison, though this was a fresh recruitment process rather than a transfer of the original employment contracts.
Fired Earth Today: Life Under Topps Group
Since the acquisition, Fired Earth has continued as a standalone brand rather than being folded into Topps Tiles’ existing store network. The company has said Fired Earth will keep its own identity and won’t be stocked through Topps Tiles shops directly, instead operating through its own website and a network of stockist partners.
Current customer service for the relaunched brand runs through fecustomer@toppsgroup.com and 0345 646 2495, distinct from the contact details used by the original pre-administration company. If you’re placing a new order or need help with a recent one, this is the correct route rather than any archived contact information from before October 2025.
FAQS
When did Fired Earth go into administration?
Fired Earth entered administration on 31 October 2025, when Dane O’Hara and Alex Cadwallader of Leonard Curtis were appointed as joint administrators to the company.
Why did Fired Earth go into administration?
The company had been loss-making for several years, posting a £1.6 million loss in 2024 on turnover of around £15 million, according to Leonard Curtis. Its shareholder declined to provide further funding without a viable turnaround plan, which led directly to the administration.
Did Fired Earth close all its stores?
Yes, all 20 UK showrooms and two overseas stores in Denmark and Norway closed immediately when the administration was announced, with only the head office and Banbury warehouse remaining open briefly to fulfil existing orders.
Is Fired Earth still trading?
Yes, but under new ownership. Topps Group, parent company of Topps Tiles, acquired the Fired Earth brand, stock, website and intellectual property for £3 million in a deal completed in late January 2026, and the brand continues to trade as a standalone label.
What happened to Fired Earth employees?
All 133 employees were made redundant when the company entered administration, since the sale process did not preserve jobs or store locations. Affected staff may be entitled to statutory redundancy and unpaid wages support through the government’s Insolvency Service.
Can I still get a refund from before the administration?
Any unresolved orders, deposits or vouchers from before 31 October 2025 are a matter for Leonard Curtis as administrators of the original company, rather than the brand now operating under Topps Group. Contact the administrators directly for guidance on outstanding pre-administration claims.
Who owns Fired Earth now?
Fired Earth is now owned by Topps Group, the parent company of Topps Tiles, following a £3 million acquisition of the brand, stock, and intellectual property completed by late January 2026.
Will Fired Earth reopen its showrooms?
There’s no confirmation of a return to physical showrooms as of mid-2026. The brand is currently operating through its website and a network of stockist partners rather than its own retail loca
