Private equity firm The Stephens Group put the holding company for its Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams brand into bankruptcy Thursday, August 30, according to a report in Bloomberg Law.

The announcement came just days after the luxury furniture outlet announced it was shutting down.

The Stepens Group (SG-TMGC) filed for bankruptcy protection from creditors owed as much as $50 million, according to the report.

Court papers filed in Wilmington, Delaware, stated that Mitchell Gold was forced to cease operations after its lender withdrew support. According to a statement from the Stephens Group, the firm recently put $20 million into Mitchell Gold to try to restructure the company, but the furniture maker was unable to continue without help.

Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams ceased operations on Saturday, Aug. 26. More than 533 employees in North Carolina, and about 800 total nationwide in both retail and production capacities were laid off from Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams company.

The abrupt notice was not just a fast-moving action for workers, but seemingly for management as well.

Chris Moye, interim CEO, said as much in a message to the Woodworking Network.

“Given the speed this came upon us,” Moye told WWN, “closing was the best option in a set of bad options.” 

Moye was named interim CEO in April, approximately four months before the shutdown announcement.  He declined to comment on the closure and the company’s inability to secure additional funding to continue funding operations at the company. In a letter to employees regarding the closure, Moye said the company had "recently and unexpectedly learned that we are unable to secure critical financing to continue business operations ... In the wake of this unfortunate development, the Company will sadly need to wind down operations and terminate the employment of our employees beginning on August 26, 2023."

Moye told Woodworking Network that he was  "not able to provide more information yet, other than to say we are working on best options for our valued employees, vendors, and customers.”