Royal Worcester brand saved in £3.2m sell-off to Portmeirion (From Worcester News)

Royal Worcester brand saved in £3.2m sell-off to Portmeirion

9:50am Saturday 25th April 2009 in

• Skip social links
• Print
• Email
• Comments(0)

THE name of Royal Worcester will live on after a buyer paid £3.2 million for the famous brand and production rights – but the future remains uncertain about its site in the city.

The purchaser, Portmeirion Group, has not bought the company’s assets which include the site in Severn Street, Worcester, casting doubt on the continuing future of the premises.

The joint administrator PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC), which took on the firm last year, announced the sale of global intellectual property rights of the company yesterday.

It said the deal had been concluded late on Thursday, April 23.

PWC confirmed that of the four remaining Royal Worcester shops, two will close at the end of the month, while Worcester and Stoke-on-Trent’s fate will be subject to review after that date.

Worcester MP Mike Foster said the priority must now be to support the workers remaining at Severn Street and sustain business on the site.

“The challenge is to do what they can to protect the workers,” he said. “If new owners could be found for the Worcester site we need to support new employment and see what can be done to develop the site.”

Your Worcester News previously reported how employees at the city site were told that Severn Street would be wound down at the end of April with staff kept on past that date only to sell any remaining stock.

The latest sale, which also includes the remaining inventory held by the firm’s United States subsidiary, means the brands of Royal Worcester and Spode will remain UK-owned.

Portmeirion Group, based in Stoke, markets and manufactures an extensive range including ceramics, glassware, textiles, trays and candles.

Dick Steele, group chairman, said the company was predicting the world famous brand would bring in an estimated £12 million in sales over the next 12 months.

He said: “Why could we do it but the previous management can’t?

“I cannot answer that, I’m not going to criticise past management.”

Royal Worcester was posting sales in excess of £40 million at its peak a few years ago, with Portmeirion recording sales of £30 million.

Mr Steele added there was capacity to re-start manufacture of Royal Worcester lines at Portmeirion’s Stoke site and did not rule out new lines in the future.

Matthew Hammond, joint administrator and PWC partner, said: “We are pleased to have been able to preserve the brands, and their ongoing presence in Stoke-on-Trent, which is of vital importance to the region.”

A PWC spokeswoman added the status of the Worcester retail site employing 23 in the shops and eight office staff would be subject to review after all remaining stock had been sold.