Portmeirion eyes new factory
Portmeirion, the china-maker best known for its Botanic Garden pattern, said yesterday it considering opening a second factory in the UK after soaring demand from South Korea helped boost production at its Stoke on Trent factory to near full capacity last year. Pre-tax profits increased by 6.3 per cent to a record £7m in 2013, on sales up five per cent to £58.3m. Sales in South Korea, its third largest market after the US and UK, jumped 21.8 per cent.