Tom York on Business: Aussie Mattress Maker Sleeping Duck Brings Tough New Bed to U.S. Market

Well, here’s some to sleep on.

Sleeping Duck, an Australian bed company that is moving its sales operations to San Diego, says it has now introduced its “best-selling innovation” — an indestructible bed steel frame.

The bed maker, founded by two aerospace engineers and featured on the TV series “Shark Tank” in 2017, says it has created a 22-minute film about the bed available at sleepingduck.com.

The video highlights the bed’s exceptional durability — including the survival of a crane drop from a height of 32 feet.

In its larger size format, the Indestruct Bed features 110 pounds of steel as well as a support beam.

Sleeping Duck is one of Australia’s biggest bed companies and has won several awards for its product designs and customer service, according to a news release.

The company is known for sending its compressed mattresses in a “box” back to its home market.

“The Indestruct Bed program started when we realized that people concerned about their back health often focused on mattress quality but rarely considered their bed base,” says co-founder Winston Wijeyeratne.

In their appearance on Shark Tank, the two, after valuing their business at $10 million, asked for $500,000 in exchange for a 5% stake in the business but got no deal.

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Publicly traded biotech EFFECTOR Therapeutics, which has offices in Solana Beach and the San Francisco Bay Area, issued a statement on June 24 stating that it has terminated its employees and is winding down operations.

According to the news announcement, the company said the decision was made at a special board of directors meeting.

EFFECTOR said it “plans to voluntarily request a delisting of its securities on the Nasdaq and “expects its securities to be delisted in the near term.”

The company also said it will spend $600,000 in one-time charges and cash expenditures tied to the workforce reduction, according to an SEC filing.

According to another SEC document, the company had 14 employees.

The biotech had raised more than $325 million for small-cell lung cancer research.

In April, EFFECTOR reported that its lead drug candidate had failed to show positive results, and the CEO said that as a result of that development, he did not see “an obvious forward.”

Trade publication Fierce Biotech first reported Effector’s shutdown.

The company went public through a Special Purpose Acquisition Company, or SPAC, in 2021.

A SPAC is a type of investment vehicle that is created through an initial public stock offering to raise money to acquire or merge with an existing company.

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National franchise sandwich maker Jimmy John’s opened outlets at two new locations here as part of its expansion plans in Southern California.

Local franchisee Tali Burton hosted grand opening ceremonies at the Carlsbad store on El Camino Real earlier this week and the Escondido store opened for business this week on Centre City Parkway.

Click here for more information about the sandwich shop.

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Coffee purveyor Ziggi’s Coffee opened a new shop on Valley Center Road in Valley Center on June 25. The store is located within San Pasqual Tribe property.

According to a release, the 642-square-foot shop, which will add 29 jobs, will feature a drive-thru design to accommodate customers on the go.

Ziggi’s Coffee opened its first location in Colorado in 2004.

“We are excited to open our first Ziggi’s Coffee location within the San Pasqual Tribe,” said Brandon Knudsen, Ziggi’s CEO. “We look forward to bringing our uniquely positive customer experience and diverse menu to the area, supporting the tribe’s economic development and serving the residents of Valley Center.”

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The local chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects said that Children’s Park in downtown San Diego has won its 2024 President’s Award for top landscaping design.

In its announcement, the society indicated that Schmidt Design Group was the design landscape architect and Spurlock Landscape Architects was the landscape architect of Record.

The 2.6-acre neighborhood park located downtown was repurposed for a wide variety of different new uses throughout the park.

For 2024, the society gave out 27 awards in various categories, including construction detailing, commercial, historic restoration and San Diego landmarks.

Among the many honorees of this year’s competition, San Diego-based firm GroundLevel Landscape Architecture won a 2024 Honor Award in the category of residential single-family for its landscaping design project in Leucadia.

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The cities of Carlsbad, Chula Vista and San Diego are included in the expansion of Wells Fargo’s national program to give closing cost credit to home buyers in 16 markets.

The credit provides up to $5,000 to low- and moderate-income families who purchase a home.

According to a news release, buyers can use the credit for non-recurring closing costs such as appraisal fees, processing fees, title-related fees, recording fees and city/county/state tax stamps.

Wells Fargo said 4,500 customers have used the closing cost credit in other markets as of April 24.

Under the bank’s Dream. Plan. Home program, borrowers with a household income of up to 80% of the local area median income may be eligible if they are purchasing a home that will be their primary residence.

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San Diego student loan provider Ascent says it has launched a new loan program for parents, grandparents and guardians.

Ascent says its new Parent Loan is designed for relatives and sponsors of students working towards undergraduate and graduate degrees.

“With the cost of tuition continuing to skyrocket, and generally outpacing most American families’ income and financial capacity, we are always exploring innovative options to make the college dream a reality,” said Ken Ruggiero, CEO of Ascent. “The Parent Loan is one more way in which we hope to realize a more equitable educational landscape.”

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Water treatment equipment provider EAI Water says it has moved its production facility to an 8,500-square-foot site in Vista.

The 38-year-old Los Angeles County-based company says it offers proprietary chemical, membrane, and disinfectant technologies deployed as part of its “Total Water” approach.

According to a news release, the Vista location will not only serve as a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility but also house the company’s process engineering team, R&D center, and warehouse.

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Atlanta commercial property lender Peachtree Group says it has provided a $40 million specialized loan to hospitality owner BLG San Diego for its AC Hotel San Diego in the Gaslamp Quarter.

According to a news release, the Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy or CPACE loan “will help the hotel with cash flow challenges caused by rising interest rates.”

Hotel owners face a tough environment as refinancing loans become harder due to tighter lending standards, according to a release.

“The Fed’s tightening process and rising fund rates drove up the cost of debt considerably,” said Brad Honigfeld, founder of Briad Group, which owns the hotel.

CPACE financing, which can be used to reimburse property owners for costs already incurred, is becoming a more important source of liquidity in this challenging market.

Peachtree Group which claims to be a leader in CPACE financing, says this lending approach will position the hotel for future financial viability.

According to JLL Research, $5.8 billion in U.S. hotel-securitized loans will be due for repayment, requiring full payment, refinancing, extension or sale by the end of the year, according to the release.

However, if these loans were refinanced at current interest rates, most would struggle to generate enough income to cover their debt costs.

CPACE financing has become a vital source of liquidity for a growing number of property owners.

“This option is growing in importance as owners face impending debt maturities and scarce refinancing opportunities,” the release noted.

“Our hotel was benefiting from its location and performing to its original underwriting, but the debt costs were straining cash flows,” Honigfeld said.

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Speaking of hotels, Omni San Diego Hotel, another hotel in the Gaslamp Quarter, says it has completed renovation to make its 20th anniversary.

The hotel is well known for its walkway onto Petco Park.

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Finally, this item of note…

Pasadena-based publicly-traded commercial REIT Alexandria Real Estate Equities said that “a top 20 pharmaceutical company” has increased its local footprint by more than 50% with the signing of a 10-year lease for 127,000 square feet in a 253,000 square foot R&D center on Barnes Canyon Road in Sorrento Mesa.

Alexandria says it is “focused on the essential life science industry and the highly complex infrastructure needed to support its mission-critical work.”

Tom York is a Carlsbad-based independent journalist who specializes in writing about business and the economy. If you have news tips you’d like to share, send them to tom.york@gmail.com.