Luxury retailer OKA to open in Knutsford Conservative Club
KNUTSFORD Conservative Club – the home of Chancellor George Osborne’s Tatton constituency office – is to be become the latest outlet opened by luxury furniture company OKA, which was co-founded by Prime Minister David Cameron’s Viscountess mother-in-law, Annabel Astor.
A deal has been struck with owner of the building Monckton Properties, part of Tatton Estate Management, for the conversion of the building into OKA’s 12th store, which will open in the new year.
It follows the closure the club as a once-popular drinking location in 2012, but it is a separate from Osborne’s office, which will continue to be based in the imposing building.
The deal was announced at a drinks reception hosted by TEM managing director Henry Brooks.
£21m turnover business (January 2015) OKA was founded by the mother of Mr Cameron’s wife Samantha, Annabel Astor in 1999 with Sue Jones and Lucinda Waterhouse.
Today, OKA is known for its lifestyle ‘lookbook’ which feature three different interior designed homes every spring, summer and autumn, and the brand has been described by interiors journalists as “elegantly bohemian”.
OKA has two flagships showrooms in the UK that house the entire collection, and the Knutsford launch will be its first in the North West.
In the Cotswolds, the Broadway shop is a 14-roomed Georgian house which opened in 2008 and the Chelsea flagship shop on Fulham Road opened in 2010 with three floors, which became its biggest showroom.
Reported pre-tax profits in January 2015 were £1.6m.
“We are very happy to have reached agreement with OKA that they will occupy this wonderful building,” said Brooks. “The OKA brand will be a perfect addition for Knutsford, offering a range of quintessentially
British luxury furniture and accessories.
“2015 has been a phenomenal year for TEM. In addition to securing new tenants for the Town Hall (with an investment of more than £2mi) and the Conservative Club, we were also appointed to manage additional assets with a value of above £10m.
“We have an exciting pipeline for 2016 and we are also delighted to announce our new Utilities division which marks a new chapter for our growing business.”
