More than 1,800 jobs set to go at Oasis and Warehouse

MORE than 1,800 workers are set to lose their jobs at Oasis and Warehouse and two other brands, after administrators said they were unable to find a buyer for the business.

Deloitte said all stores – which include Oasis and Warehouse branches in Cardiff city centre – will close indefinitely and online sales will be stopped.

The failure to save any part of Oasis Warehouse Limited, the company behind the two brands, along with The Idle Man and Bastyan Fashions, will result in the loss of 1,803 jobs.

Deloitte said it had sold the intellectual property and the company’s stock to restructuring expert Hilco Capital, but Hilco had decided not to buy the rest of the business.

Administrator Rob Harding said: “Covid-19 has presented extraordinary challenges which have devastated the retail industry. It is with great sadness that we have to announce a sale of the business has not been possible and that we are announcing so many redundancies today.”

He added: “This is a very difficult time for the group’s employees and other key stakeholders and we will do everything we can to support them through this.

“We would like to thank all the employees and other key stakeholders in the group for their continued support.”

The 1,800 staff had already been placed on furlough as all shops were closed.

They add to the 200 jobs that had already been lost at the chains two weeks ago when the administrators were appointed.

Around 40 workers have been kept on at the company’s head office, but they are expected to be made redundant later.

The jobs are spread across 92 branches and 437 concessions at department stores.

The companies had already stopped selling online last Wednesday as the cost of sending clothes to customers had risen.

In the wake of this, it became obvious that the company would not be able to sell any part of the business as a going concern, the administrators said.

Instead, they focused on getting as much money as they could by selling some of the group’s assets.

The retailer had been owned by failed Icelandic bank Kaupthing. Administrators for the bank had tried to get rid of Oasis Warehouse three years ago, but the sale was later abandoned.

Managers had been desperately trying to find a buyer for weeks before the administrators were called in, initially raising hopes that someone might step in to save the business.

But, with Covid-19 causing major headaches for an already pressured high street, no buyer could be found.