SILENTNIGHT could be taken back into private hands after it was revealed this week that the Clarke family, its major shareholder, is considering a cash bid.

The late Tom Clarke founded Clarke's Mattresses Ltd in 1946 with his wife, Joan, the company later moving from Skipton to Barnoldswick and renamed Silentnight Ltd in 1951.

In 1973 it became a public company, with shares quoted on the London Stock Exchange, but the Clarke family retained a majority interest, setting up a family company, "Famco Holdings".

It has a 50.5 per cent stake in Silentnight Holdings, which now comprises several leading bed and assembled furniture businesses.

Now it seems the Clarke family is attempting to buy back the remaining shares to take the company private once more.

It made an indicative offer a fortnight ago, when shares were trading at 165p, having dropped from 260p in April. That fall followed two warnings from the company that pre-tax profits for the first half of the financial year were expected to be lower than last year, due to difficult trading conditions.

The general stock market turmoil and Silentnight's short-term challenges in turning around newly acquired furniture companies to make them profitable again have also combined to depress the share price to near historic lows.

It has led to speculation that the Clarke family is attempting to take advantage of the current low price to buy the company back.

However, when Famco was told by the Takeover Panel - a financial regulatory body - to reveal its ongoing discussions to the market, the share price rose to around 205p, putting the company's value at just under £96 million.

Famco's advisers, Williams de Broe, countered accusations of opportunism by the Clarkes by saying the family wanted to protect its existing investment.

Tom Clarke's sons, John and Peter, occupy two of the seven seats on the Silentnight Holdings board of directors. However, as executives of Famco, they will take no part in any discussions at Silentnight.

From humble beginnings repairing worn out mattresses in a Skipton sitting room, Silentnight has grown into a global company and the UK's biggest bed manufacturer.

At its core remains the founding business, Silentnight Beds, based at Moss Shed, in Barnoldswick.

With around 700 workers, it is West Craven's biggest single employer. More than 25,000 bed sets - mattress and divan - are made at the factory every month and during its 50-year history the company has produced more than 20 million divans and mattresses.

But Silentnight Beds is only part of the much bigger Silentnight Holdings Plc, which has its head offices and industry-leading showroom at Salterforth.

The Silentnight Group encompasses four other household name bed companies - Sealy UK, the Pocket Spring Bed Company, Rest Assured and P&L Beds, combining the West Yorkshire firms of Perfecta and Layezee.

Several furniture companies are also part of the group. Brand names include Homeworthy, Silentnight Cabinets, Meredew, Westmister Pine and recent acquisitions Ducal and Parker Knoll.

Silentnight's founder, Tom Clarke, died in 1996, and had often regretted his decision to float the company on the stock exchange in 1973, describing it to friends as the worst day's work he had ever done.