Iconic kitchenware chain goes bust ‘with immediate effect’ after 200 YEARS & launches huge closing down sale

AN iconic kitchenware concatenation has gone bust with "immediate effect" - aft being successful concern for a staggering 200 years.

Royal Stafford - a British manufacturing staple since 1845 - is closing down, putting much than 70 jobs astatine risk.

The Stoke-based steadfast said fiscal issues had forced them to unopen down

A Royal Stafford spokesperson said: "It is with large sadness that the directors denote the closure of RST Limited, which trades arsenic Royal Stafford, with contiguous effect."

The institution has faced a melodramatic simplification successful orders successful caller months and coupled with the summation successful vigor prices this has near it incapable to spend to proceed to trade.

The institution has traded arsenic a shaper and retailer of tableware from its Burslem mill since 2007, erstwhile its existent owners bought the concern and assets of Royal Stafford Tableware Limited.

"The Royal Stafford marque was established successful 1845, and the institution was 1 of the fewer remaining accepted pottery manufacturers successful North Staffordshire.

The closure of the mill has resulted successful the redundancy of 83 employees, galore of whom person worked for the institution since 2007 and immoderate who worked for Royal Stafford Tableware anterior to that."

Over the years, the institution evolved, shifting from bony China production to high-fired earthenware.

It adjacent survived aggregate changes successful ownership and expansion.

Union person Colin Griffiths expressed heavy concern, calling the lawsuit "a wake-up call" for the authorities and its concern strategy.

He warned that without intervention, Britain's ceramics manufacture faces extinction.

"Stoke cannot powerfulness its kilns with upwind and batteries.

"Energy costs are pushing the assemblage implicit the edge, portion amerciable imports are driving down the orders.

"Our ceramic and pottery manufacture is captious for economical maturation and supports thousands of jobs crossed the UK.

"The clip for lukewarm words is over; present we indispensable spot action," helium said.

The council’s leader, Jane Ashworth, plans to interaction the owners of Royal Stafford to petition an urgent meeting, officials said.

"We cognize that nationalist factors including precocious vigor bills person made things much hard for section employers but we are committed to improving our economy," they said.

"This includes large plans for Burslem, involving the regeneration of the municipality arsenic portion of a multi-million lb city-wide bundle of nationalist realm improvements."

The closure has triggered concerns among section officials, with Burslem’s metropolis assembly offering enactment to affected workers.

The assembly has committed to providing job-search assistance and vocation guidance, portion besides pledging efforts to revitalise the section system done regeneration projects successful the town.

The company’s last days person been marked by a closing-down sale, offering its remaining banal to the public.