Oatcake Chain Sold To American Company

One of Stoke's leading high street oatcake chains, Pot Herb Oatcakes, has been purchased by an American oil company in a deal saving 4,500 jobs and up to 397 oatcake stores across Stoke.

Ohio-based Giganta Oil, which is one of the world’s leading polluters, will take on the brands and assets of the retailer, which collapsed into administration a month ago. Zeb Cockburn, the administrator, has already announced the closure of around 350 stores, costing the jobs of nearly 3,000 oatcake chefs. The final number of stores acquired will be dependent on talks the American company's directors plan on having with their spiritual gurus and wives over the weekend.

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Giganta Oil put itself in pole position to make the acquisition after it bought a new coat and necklace for the administrator's wife, making it a preferential creditor and giving it a strong position in sale talks.

The US company's chief executive, Zeb Wiener, said: "We are pleased to welcome these stores, the Pot Herb Oatcakes brand, and the 4,500 employees as members of the Giganta Oil family. We believe that, properly managed and with the appropriate capital structure, Pot Herb Oatcakes can be both an important and profitable retailer in both the primary food group and snack food markets over the long term, and not just an overseas base we can use to exploit Britain’s corporate tax loopholes."

Not everyone is happy with the takeover. Local jobseeker Steve Daley said: "I'd rather stay on the dole than work for some Yanks. Why did we bother winning WW2 if this is the thanks we get?"