Seventeen retail jobs have been saved after the rescue of an ailing fabric business.

Maidstone Fabric Warehouse in St Peter Street, Maidstone, was bought out of administration by Caldeira Retail and is continuing to trade as usual.

Caldeira confirmed that 17 jobs have been saved by the deal.

The Liverpool company also bought a further 13 similar stores across the UK, securing some 200 jobs nationwide.

The Canterbury store closed when the Fabric Warehouse went into administration in early May and is not part of the deal. The administrator blamed higher interest rates and a challenging retail environment for the company's problems.

Fabric Warehouse is the UK’s largest fabric and custom-made curtain retailer and has had a store in Maidstone for 11 years.

Caldeira is part of the UK’s largest cushion company, with factories in Merseyside and Hangzhou, China, and an office in New York.

Managing director Tony Caldeira, who has won awards for sales growth and entrepreneurial flair, says he has big plans for the Maidstone store.

"The Maidstone store is an important part of our plans," he said. "The store is very popular locally and has a loyal fan base. Fabric Warehouse will soon have its biggest-ever sale to clear excess stocks. After the sale has ended the store will be re-launched."

Mr Caldeira, who featured in a Channel 4 documentary "Brits Get Rich in China" last year, said no redundancies were planned he hoped more staff would be required in the near future.

Maidstone store manager Sarah Reed said: "I’m delighted for our customers and staff that Maidstone Fabric Warehouse has been saved.

"The staff have been through a worrying time but the future is looking much better now that we are under new ownership. The staff are doing a lot of hard work to get the store ready for the summer sale.

"I’m confident that our customers will see a great improvement, both in the store layout and in the level of customer service, next time they visit the store."

The Fabric Warehouse was part of the Homestyle Group until 2004 when it was taken over by The Furnishings Place, based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire. It has annual sales of around £25 million.