InvestIndustrial promises Oka investment if CVA gets green light

The owner of upmarket furniture and flooring chain Oka says it is willing to invest millions of pounds into the company, if creditors agree to a CVA which is likely to see almost a fifth of its workforce see their jobs.

InvestIndustrial, the Italian private equity group which bought into Oka in 2018, is the owner of Design Holding: the B&B Italia, Flos and Louis Poulsen parent.

Under the CVA, drawn up by restructuring adviser Teneo and first reported by SKY News, one of Oka’s 13 Uk stores would close along with a distribution centre and head office.

Almost 40 of Oka’s 250 UK staff are expected to see their jobs go.

Lady Astor founded the company in 1999 as a mail order operation before it moved into bricks and mortar retail. She is no longer a director of the chain but is thought to remain a shareholder. Prior to the pandemic the chain saw expansion but since has had a mixed record.

‘The CVA forms part of a wider restructuring of the Oka group, which is supported by the company’s shareholder who has agreed to provide further funding to the company totalling £4m if the CVA is approved,’ says Gavin Maher, Teneo partner.

The company has also placed three of its US stores into Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

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