Aurora seeks to exit investment in luxury label Bastyan

The retail group Aurora Fashions has appointed advisers to sell its stake in the luxury womenswear label Bastyan after just two years.

Aurora, which operates the Oasis, Coast and Warehouse chains, has hired the accountancy firm BDO to find new investors for Bastyan to drive its rapid wholesale expansion.

The brand was created by Tonia Bastyan, who co-founded the designer label Press & Bastyan in the 1990s. Derek Lovelock, the chairman of Aurora, said: "As the [Bastyan] brand is becoming more successful, demand from abroad is very much for the wholesale ranges. We accept that the time is now right to look for an owner better placed in the wholesale arena to support future growth."