The owner of brands including Freedom Furniture and Best & Less has hired financial advisers specialising in helping distressed companies, but says it remains profitable despite problems at its parent company.

Steinhoff Asia Pacific said the appointment of Minter Ellison and Ferrier Hodgson to provide legal, financial and corporate advice was supported by its local lenders and was a "prudent step" while Steinhoff International Holdings worked through "significant uncertainty".

Steinhoff Asia Pacific owns brands including Fantastic Furniture, Freedom, Snooze and Harris Scarfe. Credit:Louie Douvis

"Steinhoff Asia Pacific and its business are not in distress and are trading normally," the company said in a statement on Thursday.

Steinhoff International's chief executive, Markus Jooste, stepped down earlier this month after the company said it had launched an investigation into accounting irregularities.