Statement re Government support for UK ceramics

Portmeirion Group PLC

21 May 2026

 

21 May 2026

Portmeirion Group PLC 

("Portmeirion", the "Group" or "Company")

STATEMENT RE GOVERNMENT SUPPORT FOR UK CERAMICS SECTOR

The Board of Portmeirion Group PLC, the global homewares brand group, welcomes the announcement from UK Chancellor today that the UK Government will provide a £120 million fund ⁠to support the ⁠UK ceramics ‌industry.

Portmeirion's heritage brands Spode, Portmeirion and Royal Worcester are widely respected globally. Alongside being an employer of a highly skilled workforce of over 660, with 433 colleagues based in the heart of the UK ceramic industry in Stoke-on-Trent, the Group exports over £35m of UK-manufactured product to over 60 countries worldwide.

Recent years have seen the UK ceramics industry grapple with crippling energy costs along with wider cost pressures. The Group's UK energy costs in FY25 totalled c£2.8m, with costs being forward hedged until April 2027.

The Group has long called for meaningful Government support, including a fairer deal on energy costs and inclusion in the Government's British Industry Supercharger scheme in order to ensure that in this current challenging macro and political trading environment, UK Ceramics can continue to compete competitively on a global stage.

Commenting, Michael Scheepers, CEO of Portmeirion Group said:

"It is encouraging to see His Majesty's Government listen and take action today to support UK ceramics with the announcement of a £120m fund that recognises the important role that our sector contributes to British industry. We look forward to finding out further details of how the scheme will function and working with industry partners to make best use of the funds. This action underpins our confidence to continue our investments as we look to elevate our heritage brands to a wider global consumer and drive our export business.

Portmeirion is a champion of UK ceramics and our stable of brands are steeped in the rich heritage of British craftmanship and design. We are already a major sector employer and exporter of UK ceramics and the international opportunity for our brands is at the heart of our growth plans as we execute our 'Elevating Portmeirion' strategy.

In 2025, we committed to UK manufacturing and the City of Stoke-on-Trent with the launch of our 'Made in Stoke-on-Trent' strategy which will significantly increase UK production of our branded tableware products over the next two years. To date this has seen us produce 280,000 more branded pieces of tableware in Stoke in the last financial year alone, an increase of 7%.  

Alongside others in the industry we will continue to lobby hard for further support for UK ceramics exports, including the vital Ceramics (UK Country of Origin) Marketing Bill (aka "The Backstamp Bill") which aims to promote consumer transparency and ultimately protect British craftmanship and UK jobs."

ENDS

ENQUIRIES:

Portmeirion Group PLC:
Peter Tracey, Non-Executive Chairman		Via Houston (see below)
Michael Scheepers, Group CEO
Jonathan Hill, Group Finance Director
Houston:
Kate Hoare	[phone]	[e-mail]
Charlie Barker	[phone]
Shore Capital: (Nominated Adviser and Joint Broker):	[phone]
Patrick Castle	Corporate Advisory
Lucy Bowden Malachy McEntyre Isobel Jones	Corporate Broking

NOTES TO EDITOR:

Portmeirion Group PLC is a global homewares brand group based in Stoke-on-Trent, England.  The Group owns six unrivalled heritage and contemporary brands; Spode, Portmeirion, Royal Worcester, Pimpernel, Wax Lyrical and Nambé. The Group serves markets across the world, with global demand driven by diversified international markets including the key geographies of the US, UK and South Korea.

 

END