COMMENT: Why businesses should back the Save Wedgwood Appeal

TODAY we are asking the region’s businesses to throw their support behind the campaign to save the unique and important Wedgwood Collection of art, pottery and writing in Staffordshire, from being dismantled and sold at auction.

TheBusinessDesk.com is proud to support the Save Wedgwood Appeal because we believe the initiative represents a great deal more than preserving a collection of nicely crafted artefacts.

It represents the preservation of the region’s proud industrial heritage for this and future generations.

The historic collection featuring artefacts dating back 250 years went into administration in 2009 after owner Waterford Wedgwood Potteries went into liquidation, prompting the transfer of the company’s £134m pension debt to Wedgwood Museum Trust.

This is in turn placed the future of the collection in doubt.

However, following years of negotiation and warding off the threat of auction so far, Bob Young, partner at business recovery specialist Begbies Traynor, has secured the sale of the collection to national art charity the Art Fund – on the condition that a £2.75m funding gap will be plugged.

The Art Fund has launched the Save Wedgwood Appeal in an attempt to ensure the collection’s future, having already raised £13m towards the purchase of the 80,000 pieces valued at £15.75m.

But the charity only has until November 30 to raise the money in a deal struck with the museum’s creditors.

If the appeal is successful, it means that the works will remain together under one roof, in Barlaston near Stoke-on-Trent.

Ownership of the collection would be transferred from the Art Fund to the V&A Museum once the final £2.75m required is raised.

Donations to the appeal can be made here. 

It is unthinkable that such a collection should be broken up and sold off at auction, some of it almost certainly into private collections where it can only be enjoyed by the purchaser and invited guests.

Wedgwood is one of the great names in Midlands manufacturing and if we can’t raise the funds to ensure this collection remains where it belongs – in the same way money was raised to keep the Staffordshire Hoard based locally – then we can no longer claim with credibility that we are the best protectors of our heritage.

But I’m convinced that won’t happen.

Our job at TheBusinessDesk.com is to help the campaign to maintain momentum, so if your business is making a donation to the Save Wedgwood Appeal let us know and we’ll list you in our next Save Wedgwood story as a benefactor.

Or if you decide to put on an event to raise money for the appeal, send the details to me – at andy.coyne@thebusinessdesk.com – and I’ll do my best to publicise it on our site.

And we’ll keep you updated on how the appeal is going. 

Despite Wedgwood being synonymous with North Staffordshire, we’re convinced this is an appeal businesses all over the West Midlands will want to support.

Let’s take this matter into our own hands and make sure there is an overwhelming business response to this extremely worthy cause.