A new high-end fashion shop in Ilkley is set to break new ground for a successful German company.

Businessman Chris Batley has won the right to open an Oska shop in the town – the first outside London.

The popular brand currently has only one shop in the country, in the capital’s West End, but Mr Batley says he is ‘daring’ to open a second on The Grove, in Ilkley.

And he is convinced the brand, a favourite of actress Dame Judi Dench, will prove a success in the town and the north of England.

“It’s a German ladieswear company. They’ve got a lot of what they call partner shops, which are like franchises,” Mr Batley said.

“They’ve got a lot all over Germany. But in this country, although we’re the second biggest market in the world for them, they’ve only got one standalone shop, in the West End of London.

“They’ve got around 200 independent accounts in the UK, but no-one has dared just to go and open an Oska shop or had the vision.”

The clothes are aimed at women shopping at the high end of the market and Mr Batley, who also runs a ski business, has already secured premises in Harrogate for another shop and has plans to expand.

“The first one’s in Ilkley and we’ve also taken a unit in Montpellier in Harrogate.

“Ilkley is a lovely little place, and the idea is if it works here and Harrogate, we’re looking at other similar places like Beverley, possibly Northallerton, and maybe the Victoria Quarter in Leeds.”

The shop is due to open on Good Friday, April 22.

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