Home Bargains eyes rescue deal for Denby pottery brand

Home Bargains is reportedly looking to buy historic pottery brand Denby two months after it collapsed into administration. 

A potential deal could include the acquisition of the Denby brand, which, if successful, would hand control of one of Britain’s most recognisable ceramics brands to a retailer known for selling cut-price versions of homeware items.

Insolvency practitioners FRP Advisory have continued to trade Denby during the administration process, although manufacturing operations stopped in April, sparking dozens of redundancies.

More than 130 jobs have been lost since Denby entered administration in March.

A process run by the insolvency firm is said to have drawn interest from a number of other homewares chains in recent weeks, according to Sky News. 

The 217-year-old firm launched a Save Denby campaign to save it from collapse  

It remains unclear how close a deal with Home Bargains is to being secured. 

Home Bargains is owned by Tom Morris, a Labour donor and businessman from Liverpool. 

Morris, who owns Home Bargains’ holding company TJ Morris, has become one of Britain’s wealthiest retailers as a result of the rapid expansion of the chain, which now operates hundreds of stores nationwide and has plans to grow further. 

What happened to Denby?

Denby, a Derbyshire-founded ceramics and stoneware chain, was plunged into administration at the end of March.  

Established in 1809, the business specialises in ceramics using clay, a material that was discovered by the company’s founder. 

Denby previously had 24 outlets dotted around Britain, including a 16,700 sq ft pottery village flagship in Derby that had a homeware store, bistro and farm shop.

In March, Denby said it had appointed administrators after struggling with rising costs in recent years. 

It had previously warned that lower demand, ‘escalating’ employment costs and ‘soaring’ energy costs had ‘squeezed the business financially’. 

A #SaveDenby campaign ensued, encouraging consumers to buy more products and lobby the government to provide support. 

More than 40,000 people signed a petition for the pottery firm to be included in the government’s British Industry Supercharger financial support scheme. This provides relief from electricity costs for firms in sectors like steel and chemicals.

International subsidiaries of Denby in Korea, the US and China are not in administration and will continue to operate as normal. 

This is Money contacted Home Bargains for comment. FRP Advisory said it would not provide a comment.