A historic Birmingham jewellery manufacturer founded in 1886 has been rescued from collapse after administrators secured a sale, safeguarding all 40 jobs.
W H Darby Ltd, based in the city’s Jewellery Quarter, was established by Alfred Horatio Darby and originally produced medals, badges, die-sinks and metal blocks for jewellery and coin production.
The High Court appointed administrators from Moorfields Advisory to oversee the company’s affairs, allowing trading to continue while control passed from the directors to the restructuring specialists.
The firm manufactures products for fraternal organisations including the Masons, Oddfellows, Probus and Rotary, as well as chains of office, insignia, badges of office, brooch bars, stick pins, cufflinks and tie slides.
Moorfields Advisory said the company had been operating successfully, but had faced mounting supply costs and a slowdown in confirmed orders during 2025, despite maintaining what it described as a strong pipeline of potential work.
Reduced turnover placed pressure on cashflow, prompting directors to secure unsecured funding in an attempt to stabilise the business.
Historic Birmingham jewellery maker founded in 1886 secures buyer after entering administration
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When those measures failed to resolve the difficulties, the company sought formal restructuring advice and a buyer search was launched.
Joint administrators subsequently completed a sale of the company and its assets, preserving employment for the entire workforce of 40 staff.
An administrator said: “We explored a number of options in an effort to avoid insolvency. However, with the company unable to source additional funding in its current form, this sale enabled the best result for all stakeholders and ensured all continuity of employment for the workforce and a continuation of customers orders which were in progress.”
The rescue marks the latest chapter in a company that has undergone several transformations over more than a century of trading.
W H Darby is based in Britain’s second city | W H Darby
Following the Second World War, W H Darby expanded into sports trophies, driving significant growth through the 1950s, 60s and 70s.
In later decades, increased competition from Chinese manufacturers led the business to refocus on medals and enamel badges.
In 1991, the company secured a contract to replace insignia stolen from the Kuwaiti royal family during the First Gulf War.
Steve and Linda Hobbis acquired the firm in March 2005, shifting its emphasis towards bespoke jewellery, medals, insignia and state gifts, and they remain listed as proprietors on the company’s website.
The successful sale follows the recent collapse of Andra Jewels Ltd, another Birmingham-based jewellery business which entered administration on February 12 after trading since 1959 amid declining turnover, debts to HM Revenue and Customs and volatility in precious metal prices.
Figures from the Insolvency Service show company administrations rose by 41 per cent between December and January to 151 cases.
The total also represented a 14 per cent increase compared with the same month a year earlier, highlighting continued pressures facing UK businesses across multiple sectors.
