THE troubled Silentnight group today revealed a shock £7.1 million loss for the first half of the year.

The announcement comes just weeks after a bitter boardroom battle to take control of the Salterforth-based business.

The company admitted its £7.1 pre-tax losses for the six months to August 3 in a statement to the Stock Exchange and blamed them on its furniture division. In the same period last year, the company made a profit of £5.4 million.

The company's UK beds division - which employs 900 at Barnoldswick - made a profit of £7.4 million, £400,000 up on the same period last year.