
Royal Stafford Pottery Goes Bust
Royal Stafford based in the Royal Overhouse Manufactory, one of the oldest pottery factories in Burslem has collapsed into liquidation. The Stoke-on-Trent pottery business employed some 70 people.The Royal Stafford brand was established in 1845 and the firm described itself as one of the handful of potteries with all production taking place in England."This must be a wake-up call for decision makers," said Colin Griffiths, GMB senior organiser. "The loss of Royal Stafford is a huge blow to workers and the entire community here in Stoke."Our city cannot power its kilns with wind and batteries; wishful thinking means spiralling energy costs are now pushing the sector over the edge."Meanwhile the illegal importing of foreign forgeries is out of control and driving down orders even further."Our ceramic and pottery industry is vital for economic growth and supports thousands of jobs across the UK."The time for warm words is over, now we must see action." Why has Royal Stafford gone into liquidation rather than administration? The most probable reason is simply that there was unlikely to be any buyer for the business. For a company to go into administration the insolvency practitioners have to show that the return to creditors would be better in administration than in liquidation ie "a better result". Administration can be expensive so there has to be a reasonable prospect of this.
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