A 341-year-old regalia maker's rescue plan survived one round of cost inflation, not two

Toye, Kenning & Spencer had made regalia, insignia and ceremonial goods for the civil and military markets since 1685, running a metals operation in Birmingham and a textiles operation in Bedworth, and holding a Royal Warrant to King Charles III. By 2024 the firm employed 65 people, many with decades of service.

Struggling to balance post-pandemic recovery with continued investment, the company entered a Company Voluntary Arrangement in 2024 — a formal plan to repay creditors over time while trading on. It did not hold: administrators from Opus said subsequent inflationary pressure, higher shipping costs and rising energy bills made the CVA unsustainable well before its term was up.

Opus was appointed administrator on January 20, 2026, and immediately executed a pre-pack sale — arranged before the appointment was announced — to two sons of the Toye family, keeping the business and the majority of its jobs in family hands. The sale raised £250,000, of which £75,000 went straight to the solicitor handling completion; unsecured creditors, owed £576,397, were left with no prospect of recovery once secured and preferential claims were paid.