'We hope it's not the end': Firm behind Prince George's baby shoes warns it may close

The firm behind baby shoes worn by Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis is at risk of shutting down, its owner has warned.

Paul Bolton said his Leicester factory producing Early Days and Baypod shoes is likely to close, with the company having been hit "from all angles" with a slump in customer demand and a sharp rise in business costs.

Despite its royal customers causing an explosion in sales, he said the 73-year-old business is on the brink of collapse.

Bolton, who runs the family business with his brother, has said they can no longer afford it and are hoping to find a buyer.

Announcing the decision on LinkedIn, Bolton said: "The decision to wind down the company comes in response to ongoing increases in overheads and the challenging state of both the UK and overseas economies over the past three years.

"We are exploring interest from various parties and welcome all enquiries."

Early Days was started more than 70 years ago by Bolton's father and uncle out of their parents' home. Bolton and his brother have tried to keep the firm in business, but he said he can no longer afford to pump in money to keep it afloat.

Speaking on BBC Radio 5's Wake Up To Money show, he recalled the company's "marvellous" trading period after Prince George was photographed wearing the shoes during a tour of Australasia.

Bolton was forced to suspend online sales for a few days due to stock selling out, describing it as "a remarkable time".

"The factory was on overtime, and it opened a lot of new accounts. People hadn't heard of us before, so they wanted to stock Early Days shoes."

The publicity translated into the company's usual annualturnover doubling, he said.

But, following its best year in 2022, Early Days saw a slowing down in orders from shoe shops, with former customers citing the increasingly tough conditions on the high street.

Bolton also said the firm was hit by rising energy and materials costs, as well as increases in the minimum wage and employer National Insurance Contributions. It is the latest firm to complain about the increasing tax burden and wage bill since Labour came to power in 2024.

"It's just been hitting us from all angles, so we've had prices going up, but demand going down because of the consumer spending [which is] down," Bolton said.

The firm was forced to hike the price of some of its shoes, he said. Their budget shoes currently start from £12.99, while the premium leather range - worn by the royal siblings - are priced at £32 a pair.

The company, which once employed over 100 people and produced more than 10,000 pairs of shoes a week, is down to just 10 employees.

Bolton and his brother have been propping the firm up with their own money, but he said they "just can't do it anymore".

He continued: "We hope it's not the end, but I'd say it's 80% likely it is.

"But we have got a lot of inquiries. Some are going to be, we hope, to perhaps invest, keep the company going over here.

"But we think some of the other inquiries, we think it's probably to move it overseas, which we've never wanted to do."

A government spokesperson said: "The Budget doubled down on our work to grow the economy and create good jobs, and we are delivering stability, cutting borrowing and getting inflation down."