Humans don’t hibernate. But we do tend to sleep more in winter. This ought to be good news for the boss of Britain’s biggest bed brand as the dark nights draw in and Vitamin D levels dip.
Silentnight’s Tracey Bamber insists it’s not just seasonal factors that are driving a growing interest in getting a good night’s kip.
‘The sleep economy is a fast growing sector,’ she says, with customers increasingly interested in the quality of their 40 winks.
‘After nutrition and hydration, you might argue sleep is right up there with exercise because it’s something you essentially need.
‘It improves your immune function, it regulates your metabolism, enhances your cognitive functions, and also supports and enhances your emotional and mental well-being.’
Bamber cites the fact that people are changing their mattress more often. They used to be chucked out every eight to ten years.
Cosying up: Tracey Bamber has a sleep tracker to ensure she gets her 40 winks
‘Now they are now being replaced on average every 7.2 years,’ she says.
Most beds are bought out of need – such as moving house – but about 40 per cent of purchases relate to want. Bamber says: ‘People want to sleep better, they want to feel better.’
There is still ‘a correlation’ between housing market activity and performance, she admits, but ‘it’s not make-or-break’. She says: ‘We still have a really solid, reliable business even if the housing market is quite stagnant.’
Silentnight, whose beds are sold through retailers and online, leads the market with a 15 per cent share that is growing.
Results out soon will show profits above the £10 million posted in 2024 on slightly lower sales than the £143 million reported last time.
‘We’re really pleased with the performance,’ says Bamber.
Silentnight makes all its beds in a Tardis-like factory in Barnoldswick – a Pennine village that has flip-flopped between Lancashire and Yorkshire down the years. With more than 700 workers it is easily the biggest employer in the area.
Big corporate customers include hotel chain Premier Inn, whose adverts featuring comedian Lenny Henry promote the virtues of a good night’s sleep.
‘We invested heavily in supporting their renovation programme,’ says Bamber proudly.
She admits increased labour costs from the recent increase in employers National Insurance contributions are ‘a headwind’. But she is relaxed about the prospect of a property tax in the upcoming Budget forcing some homeowners to downsize or put off moving altogether.
‘This market is really stable. It grows every year,’ she maintains.
Bamber won’t comment on reports that HIG Europe, Silentnight’s private equity owners, are looking for an exit beyond saying it was ‘inevitable at some point’ given the owner’s business model.
In 2011 HIG Europe bought the business out of insolvency in a controversial deal that saw it transfer some of its pension liabilities to the industry lifeboat scheme. Under pressure from the pensions watchdog HIG Europe later agreed to pay £25 million back into the company’s scheme. Silentnight, which celebrates its 80th birthday next year, caters for all sorts of sleeper types.
‘Twisters and turners’ prefer mattresses with more gel in them to absorb the body’s restless movement while ‘sink-in snoozers’ are more suited to body-hugging memory foam beds that absorb pressure on joints and muscles.
There’s even a new ‘comfort breathe’ range which has its own ‘microclimate system’ within 2000 pocket springs for ‘hot’ sleepers who want to stay cool and dry.
Talking of bed springs, Bamber is quick to dispel the myth that more is better.
‘We don’t think about spring counts. We think about the kind of sleeper who needs a good night’s sleep,’ she says.
‘You might not know if you sleep better with an 800 or a 1,500 spring mattress but you’ll know if you twist and turn, or lie still or get hot in bed. This is what guides our thinking about how we innovate.’ So what type of sleeper is she? ‘I always lie on my left and don’t move,’ Bamber reveals.
What keeps her awake at night?
‘Not getting enough sleep!’ she exclaims. ‘I’m one of those people who is on the verge of obsession about getting a good night’s sleep.
‘I have a sleep tracker – I know they’re not great for everybody, but I track my sleep every night.
‘I aim to get my seven and a half hours of optimal sleep, which means I have to be in bed for over eight hours.’
Her wind-down routine includes reading with a Kindle. She says: ‘Sometimes I wake a few hours later and find I’ve still got it in my hand.’
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