Fourteen properties encompassing 5 million square feet of manufacturing and warehousing space formerly owned and operated by United Furniture will be sold at auction this month with final bids being accepting until 5 p.m. (central) on July 14.

Bidders will be notified by July 21 if they are qualified to attend the auction, and the sale is scheduled for July 25, Property closings are expected in late August after a sale hearing.

United, also known as Lane Furniture, ceased operations in November and has filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

B. Riley Real Estate will conduct the auction for the properties, four of which are located in North Carolina totaling almost 1.5 million square feet. 

Bids will be considered on individual properties or the entire portfolio. The minimum bid for the 14-site portfolio, encompassing 5 million total square feet, is $65 million.

United Furniture Industries entered a stalking horse purchase agreement with Phoenix Acquisition LLC regarding the sale of all its properties, including the Lane Furniture real estate portfolio. B. Riley Real Estate, LLC, is acting as real estate advisor to UFI and will conduct the auction. 

In November 2022, approximately 2,700 United Furniture Industries employees learned they were unemployed after receiving a midnight email that they were not to report to work the next morning and the move was likely permanent.

Employees received two emails from the company. The first one was sent at 11:49 p.m. Monday that told employees not to report to work on Tuesday, Nov. 22, and the second email at 12:42 a.m. informed them that the shutdown was likely permanent.