The minutes of the Board of Directors’ meetings indicate the precarious state of the company they had taken over. An early problem was the return of a £78,000 consignment of discoloured Ashberry kitchenware made by Peter Black Holdings for Marks and Spencer.

New ranges were introduced at this time: Duet and Rhapsody, but their new reactive glazes provided problems in achieving consistency and the lines were short-lived.

Finances were desperate and facing bankruptcy again, the management was fortunate that Anthony Cann, a majority shareholder, was prepared to try and save the company.