8,700 jobs saved as Mosaic Fashions goes into administration

Mar 3 2009 by Henryk Zientek, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

FEARS for the jobs of 8,700 shopworkers have been eased – just moments after a leading retail group went into administration.

Mosaic Fashions, which owed £400m to the Icelandic bank Kaupthing, was put into administration yesterday.

But key brands Oasis, Warehouse, Coast and Karen Millen – as well as evening wear label Anoushka G – were sold straight away to a new firm majority-owned by Kaupthing and existing management.

Mosaic’s administrators Deloitte will keep trading the group’s two remaining businesses – clothing chain Principles and The Shoe Studio – and are in talks over a sale of those businesses.

Principles has a store at New Street in Huddersfield while Oasis has an outlet in Kingsgate.