Firms show interest in Wedgwood

The firm will continue to trade as normal as a buyer is sought

Administrators say there have been 10 expressions of interest in iconic china and glass group Waterford Wedgwood.

It collapsed on Monday after poor trading hit the firm - laden with debts of �416m - and buyout talks failed.

Deloitte has been appointed as administrator to seek buyers for different parts of the company.

A spokesman for Deloitte said: "There have been 10 serious expressions of interest. And all the group companies are working as normally at present."

Receiver

Deloitte was unable to give a timescale for any potential buyouts, and said that it was "early days".

They also said that no members of staff had been laid off, and that they hoped to sell the business as a going concern.

Meetings are being held this week between administrators and interested parties.

Receivers have been called in to Waterford Wedgwood's Irish business.

Deloitte is administrator to the plc in the UK and a number of subsidiaries, including Royal Doulton.

Merger

In the UK, Waterford Wedgwood employs 1,900 people - of these, about 600 work in manufacturing at Barlaston, Stoke-on-Trent.

The Irish section has about 800 staff based in Waterford.

In total there are 5,800 employees outside the UK with the biggest manufacturing centre being in Indonesia, where there are 1,500 staff involved in production.

Wedgwood has been a well-known name in British pottery firm for 250 years, with many households in the UK owning one or more of their pieces.

In 1987 it merged with the similarly well-known Waterford Crystal to create Waterford Wedgwood, an Irish-based luxury brands group.

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