THE parent company of a pillow firm is back in the black and has unveiled a major new deal.

French, owners of Burnley Northern Textiles, made a pre-tax profit of £1.09million in the year to October 2 compared with a £2million loss in the same period last year.

And the firm announced that its East Lancashire site has won a five-year licensing contract with Slumberland to market branded soft furnishings and

associated products.

French's borrowings have been reduced to £3million from £4.1million and chairman Archie Norman said the group was well placed to capitalise on changes in the market.

"The group's objective is to build a family of brands in the household products sector," said Mr Norman.

"This will be achieved both through acquisition and organic development. We believe that the sector is going through a period of structural change which will provide opportunities to acquire, restructure and redirect underperforming businesses."

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