Future of 138-year-old ceramics maker secured

12 hours ago

Isabella BonehamWest Midlands

Duchess China has been producing Fine Bone China in Stoke-on-Trent since 1888

Duchess China Split image showing the historic Duchess China 1888 pottery building and its interior workshop. On the left, a red-brick industrial façade features a large black arched doorway with the words “DUCHESS CHINA 1888” painted above it. On the right, inside a pottery workshop, a person in a white coat works at a machine beneath large factory windows, with tables, shelves and pottery equipment visible in the background. — Duchess China has been producing Fine Bone China in Stoke-on-Trent since 1888

The Stoke-on-Trent ceramics maker Duchess China has secured a seven-figure investment that will protect jobs and ensure the future of the brand.

Open to Ideas, a company set up to back British businesses, has invested in the firm, which has been making Fine Bone China in the city since 1888.

The business is one of the last historic Fine Bone China manufacturers still producing in the UK, and every piece is made at its Longton factory with skilled hand craftsmanship.

"Duchess China is a fantastic business and heritage, and we want to invest in the people, skills and manufacturing capability here in Stoke," said Rob Ward, CEO of Open to Ideas.

"We set up our fund to invest in British businesses who employ skilled workers in the UK and it is our ambition to keep those jobs in the UK.

"We still believe that British means something around the globe, so there is lots of global potential to take Fine Bone China from Duchess to other markets in the world."

Open to Ideas is looking to expand both the UK and international business of the ceramics manufacturer

Duchess China Overhead view of a selection of ceramic tableware arranged on a wooden surface. A blue-and-white floral-patterned teapot with a gold-topped lid sits beside a matching cream jug, while decorative lidded pots in white and blue and a dark grey bowl are displayed around it. Part of a matching floral-patterned plate is visible at the edge of the image. — Open to Ideas is looking to expand both the UK and international business of the ceramics manufacturer

Ward told BBC Stoke the investment in the firm, which currently employs around 60 workers, was to "give the support to realise its potential" and "recognise how special it already is".

Open to Ideas has invested in the ceramics maker, while existing directors Jason Simms and Andy Tooth will continue to lead the firm.

Simms said it was an "incredibly exciting moment" for the brand and gave the "opportunity to build on everything we have achieved".

Ward said Duchess China "makes some of the best products in the world" and the investment was for the long-term.

"If these products are invested in and looked after, as they have been, and brought to the world in a way that is perhaps more accessible, then we believe the future is very bright," he added.

'We want to build for decades'

The UK ceramics industry faces difficult times due to surging energy costs and international competition.

Ceramic manufacturers Royal Stafford and Moorcroft both collapsed last year due to energy costs and cheaper foreign imports, with the latter later rescued.

Last year, the government announced a £120m package to support the UK ceramics sector to help manufacturers invest in new equipment, support energy efficiency and long-term sustainability.

Ward said the industry had been through "difficult times" due to increased energy costs and it would continue to do so, but he added manufacturers in Stoke "still make fantastic products".

"We make the best products in the world here and have done for hundreds of years, and people want that," he said.

"We are not here to make a return, we want to build for decades and beyond."

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