OASIS/WAREHOUSE

Background

Established in the UK in 1991 and 1976 respectively, womenswear brands Oasis and Warehouse latterly formed part of the Aurora Fashions group. Aurora itself was ultimately owned by the estate of collapsed Icelandic investor, Kaupthing Bank, which had failed during the 2008 financial crisis.

The businesses had been through a number of restructurings and, while Kaupthing had historically been supportive in providing additional funding, the onset of the pandemic in March 2020 led to the appointment of Administrators to dispose of the businesses and assets.

Hilco Capital's role

• In-house team of restructuring professionals undertook accelerated due diligence of the businesses and agreed a transaction within the space of a week for the intellectual property and stock across all channels
• Deployed a team of retail specialists to work with the Administrators and landlords to collect and collate stocks from over 100 stores into one central location
• Negotiated with suppliers, including the logistics provider, to release liens over the warehouse stock
• Secured ongoing concession and wholesale agreements to sell through leading online and multichannel retailers
• Gathered and secured all intellectual property relating to the brands

Results

• Provided the Administrators with a quick and simple solution in respect of the disposals
• Agreed deals with all existing concession hosts, including staffing where appropriate, to maximise the value generated from the stock disposal programme
• Completed the onward sale of the intellectual property to Boohoo Group, providing the purchaser with a simple handover package
• Executed a significant stock disposal program covering over 500 concessions and generating over £25m sales
• Hilco’s involvement ensured that stock was sold only through high quality channels, preserving brand equity by avoiding merchandise reaching the grey market