Workers hit by 'heart-breaking' Denby redundancies

"People who have been there for 30, 40 years, their skills are in pottery and there isn't anything else around here for them to do like that."

Experienced potter, Fran Cutmore, is one of about 80 workers who have been made redundant from renowned pottery firm Denby, the BBC understands.

The 217-year-old Derbyshire-based company appointed administrators on Tuesday after it said it had struggled with rising costs in recent years.

Administrators said they were "focused on progressing the sale process as quickly as possible".

"We all care about each other and then 80 of us have been let go... nobody can believe it really," said Cutmore.

"I know people have worked their entire lives at Denby Pottery - what do they do with themselves now?

"They've just got to go and find another job somewhere else, doing something that they don't love."

MP Linsey Farnsworth told the BBC she understood 80 redundancies had been made but administrators have not confirmed the exact figure.

Cutmore, from Belper, said she loved teaching pottery classes at the firm but working there had felt "unstable" for a number of years.

The firm previously said reduced demand, "escalating" employment costs and "soaring" energy costs had "squeezed the business financially".

Cutmore said she had attended staff meetings where CEO Sebastian Lazell said rising energy costs had left the company operating at a loss.

Lazell previously told the BBC he was "trying to move heaven and earth" to save the business, but added he had to be realistic that there may not "be a happy ending".

Cutmore said she was told she was being made redundant by administrators on Wednesday.

"It is upsetting obviously, I loved my job. It's just sad, isn't it. We're very much a family at Denby pottery," she said.

Daizy Stevens said she had a "dream job" working alongside Cutmore at Denby, after she joined the company as an apprentice in 2021.

"You grow up being told you're not going to get a stable job as an artist. [Working at Denby] was one of those things that I couldn't believe, I was so lucky to get," she said.

The 23-year-old, from Ilkeston, said she could "genuinely have worked there forever" but was informed of her redundancy on Tuesday.

"It was literally heart-breaking. I felt like my world had shattered," she said.

Stevens added: "Having to then deal with all these redundancy claims and protection services is like rubbing salt in the wound, as I'm sure anyone who's been made redundant knows."

Despite the redundancies, both workers said they were hopeful of continuing to use their pottery skills in future employment.

"I'm hoping to start my own pottery business, so I'm going to do exactly what I was doing at Denby, in my own studio, somewhere near Belper hopefully," said Cutmore.

Tony Wright, joint administrator of the Denby Group and partner at FRP, said: "Denby is one of Britain's most beloved and enduring pottery brands, with a heritage spanning more than two centuries and a loyal following across the UK and internationally.

"Its products are found in homes from Derbyshire to South Korea, and the Burleigh brand, produced by Burgess and Leigh, is equally cherished across the global hospitality and luxury sectors.

"While it is disappointing that the Group has been unable to secure the investment needed to continue as a going concern, the strength and recognition of these brands is undeniable.

"We are focused on progressing the sale process as quickly as possible, and we would encourage any interested parties to come forward without delay."

Administrators have said Denby in the UK will continue to service orders placed online and through its stores and to supply its customers as normal.

Denby's "international subsidiaries in Korea, the USA and China are not currently in administration and will continue to operate normally for now," they added.

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