Waterford Wedgwood Declares Bankruptcy

Waterford Wedgwood PLC (Dublin, Ireland), the maker of classic china and crystal, has filed for bankruptcy protection after attempts to restructure the struggling business or find a buyer failed.

Four administrators from business advisory firm Deloitte & Touche (New York) were appointed to run the company's businesses in Britain and Northern Ireland, while a Deloitte partner in the Irish Republic was appointed as receiver of the parent company.

The U.K. joint administrators said they intended to continue to run the business as they seek a buyer. Chairman Anthony O’Reilly, the Irish publishing magnate, and his brother-in-law, board member Peter Goulandris, who own more than half of all Waterford Wedgwood shares, handed in their resignations.

“Waterford, Wedgwood and Royal Doulton are quintessentially classic brands that represent a high quality product which is steeped in history,” the administrators said in a statement. “The administration team will be working closely with management, customers and suppliers during this time to ensure operations continue whilst a sale of the business is sought.”

Wedgwood has been an iconic name in British pottery for 250 years, after its founder Josiah Wedgwood opened the first factory in Stoke-on-Trent, in central England, in 1759. It began making bone china in the 19th century.

Waterford Crystal traces its lineage to a factory opened in Waterford, in southeast Ireland, in 1783. That business failed in the 1850s but the brand was revived by Czech immigrant Miroslav Havel in 1947.

Under O'Reilly's watch, Waterford acquired Wedgwood in 1986 to form the present company. It acquired fellow Stoke-on-Trent ceramics maker Royal Doulton in 2005.
The Deloitte administrators said the company has “benefited from significant shareholder support” in recent years as the management team tried to restructure the business. O'Reilly and Goulandris have pumped more than £400 million of their own money into the business since 2002. “However, as trading conditions deteriorated, it became apparent that a restructuring of the businesses could not be achieved in an acceptable timescale,” they said in a statement.

Waterford Wedgwood ceo David Sculley said he was “disappointed” about the bankruptcy filing, but remained confident a buyer could be found.

The company makes the ball that drops each New Year’s Eve in Times Square and its crystal chandeliers decorate Windsor Castle.