THE family behind the Lancashire-based Silentnight beds furniture group has broken its silence over its bid to take full control of the business.

And as they made a new offer to buy the shares they do not already own, it has emerged they have been planning to take the company back into private hands for 18 months.

They made their first bid for outright control in August last year in a move that prompted a boardroom battle that saw the departure of chief executive, Bill Simpson, and chairman, Keith Ackroyd.

Silentnight was founded in 1946 in Skipton by the late Tom Clarke. He moved to Barnoldswick in 1948 and became a multi-millionaire when the company floated on the London Stock Exchange in 1973, with the family retaining 50.5 per cent of shares.

Williams de Bro, the financial advisers to the Clarke family, has spoken on their behalf. Director Joanne Lake said Silentnight's profits had declined over the last five years due to increasing losses in its branded furniture division.

"The Clarke family, in common with other shareholders, saw their investment deteriorating in terms of value and performance. They have been passive shareholders for a long time.

"Then, 18 months ago, they came to us for help. We introduced them to a new management team in Nino Allenza and Michelle Scott and guided them through using their controlling interest to bring about the change in senior management.

"The new management team are now implementing a major turnaround plan that involves considerable risk, and both the family and the directors believe that this can be done more effectively outside the public markets.

"Returning Silentnight to private ownership will provide the flexibility needed to make changes required in the business to bring one of the UK's household names back to a position of strength."

The Clarke family already has a controlling interest in the company through a series of family trusts. Together with chief executive Allenza and director Scott, they set up a new company Soundersleep to buy the 49.5 per cent of the share capital it does not already own.

Soundersleep has raised its offer to 155p per share -- up 15p from its earlier bid in July -- and said it was now less than one per cent away from its target acceptance level.

The new offer came on the same day that Silentnight announced continuing losses in its interim results statement for the six months to August. The group reported pre-tax losses of £6.5m on turnover of £120.3m, compared to corresponding figures of £7.1m and £123.4m for the previous year.

The company is the largest UK manufacturer of beds and assembled cabinet furniture, with brands including Silentnight, Sealy and Rest Assured beds, Nathan, Ducal and Stag furniture, and Parker Knoll upholstery.

Based in Salterforth, its operations include bed factories at Barnoldswick, which employs more than 800 people, Batley, Wombwell and Skipton and furniture businesses at Chipping Norton, Enfield and Sunderland.