Earthenware manufacturer, and from 1992 china manufacturer, at Crown Pottery and the Blyth Works, Longton, Stoke-on-Trent, England

Tams Group PLC (formerly John Tams & Son Ltd) floated in 1988 and in 1995 was fully listed on the London Stock Exchange. Gerald Tams (great-grandson of the John Tams, the original founder) and his wife Angela owned around 70% of the shares. 

• 1992 Tams acquired Royal Grafton China Ltd. 

• Gerald Tams (chairman and managing director) died in October 1999. 

• Trading was suspended in February 2000 and the company placed into receivership as it was unable to service its bank loans.  [See newspaper article on the receivership of Tams in Feb 2000]

• At the time of receivership the company was operating at five factories and employed around 750 people.

Tams Group Ltd was formed in April 2000.  It was a management buyout of part of the former John Tams Group PLC, which  went into receivership in February 2000.

• Tams Group Limited  bought the rights to Tams, Royal Grafton and Grafton Living.  

• Marketing these brands and still manufacturing in Longton, Stoke on Trent until 2006 they were the biggest ceramic employer in Longton.

• The company operated from the Crown Works on The Strand in Longton and also from the Blythe, Sutherland and Atlas works in Longton - and a warehouse at the former Monarch flatware site in Fenton.