Last Friday before Christmas: could it be a nightmare for Wedgwood?

The last Friday before Christmas is often a special day - but for all the wrong reasons.

When I was growing up at primary school, the Friday was 'toy day', a chance for children to bring in their own toys to play with. And it ended a truly special week when you took part in the Christmas play, watched several films played on a projector in the school hall, and enjoyed a Christmas meal. As a reporter, I've now come to remember it as the day when another of North Staffordshire's manufacturing companies goes to the wall.

I can remember in 2000 that it was on Christmas Eve that the administrators were called in to Meir Park-based mug maker Staffordshire Tableware, 12 months later it was the same situation at Victoria Manufacturing in Leek. Indeed, I've seen so many companies run into trouble that I've lost track.

For manufacturing firms the winter can be especially difficult. After all, most manufacturers will be trying to satisfy orders at what is often a peak time. However, this rush to get product out of the door can be devastating to cash flow, particularly when costs - such as heating, fuel etc - are also at a premium. All it takes is a slight knock in sales on the back of an already tightening sales and the banks can be at the door demanding their cash back.

With the current economically-challenged times it is surprising that not more local firms have been gone into administration.

This year, the biggest casualty has been Spode, an historic pottery maker in Stoke, with the loss of around 100 jobs, although Wedgwood, arguably the biggest name in ceramics, could now be on the verge of collapse.

For weeks now the 249-year-old brand's parent Waterford Wedgwood has been talking to its bankers to further renegotiate its debt pile, now worth £377 milllion.

Given the fact that the business has been bankrolled through previous crises by the combined spending power of chairman Sir Anthony O'Reilly and his brother-in-law Peter Goulandris, many might expect the problem to go away.

The only problem is that there has been a distinct lack of commitment by the duo to the last fund-raising round which combined with certain 'matters of emphasis' that appeared in the group's last accounts could amount to evidence that the cash which has forestalled insolvency might no longer be there. Which is a worrying thought.

Spool forward to today. It was supposed to be D-Day for funding, with an announcement expected on whether the Irish luxury goods group had managed to agree a new round of terms for its funding. But there has been nothing which will be nerve-wracking for Wedgwood's loyal and long-suffering workforce.

It could be that no decision is made until Monday morning, to allow another 48 hours to squirrel out a deal over refinancing, but even then it is only short-term financing.

For too long, 10 years-plus, the group has undergone a protracted and painful transformation plan, a bid to turn the business from a production-led conglomerate to a customer-led luxury goods manufacturer.

It has been a common path trodden among pottery manufacturers, and a trail littered by companies which have run out of cash on the way to return profitability. There have been thousands of redundancies, thousands of lines cut back and production swept over to low-cost countries such as Indonesia.

Yet despite these changes, not enough people are excited enough by the brands to buy up their products in enough volumes to return Wedgwood or Waterford to profit.

But the lack of a real change in the business has left Wedgwood a zombie firm, kept alive with just enough funding to stave off the banks, but not enough to recharge the business.

Perhaps Sir Anthony O'Reilly has realised that he can no longer justify the considerable expenditure that he has made in the group? Who knows?

One thing is sure: if Wedgwood is to celebrate its 250th birthday next year then it will need the support of the banks to support plans to restructure the company. However, if it is to thrive for the next 250 years, then there needs to be a serious re-think and re-examination of the brands wrapped up in the group, and a fresh look at the way that they are revitalised as exclusive, luxury goods brands which once again capture the imagination of the buying public.