Share sale nets Superdry chief £18 million

By

Barbara Santamaria

Published
Jan 30, 2018

Superdry founder Julian Dunkerton sold on Monday a small part of his stake in the company, pocketing nearly £18 million.

Dunkerton offloaded the shares, representing 1.23% of the company, after they rose to an all-time high of £20.76 in early January. The share price has increased by 16% over the past 12 months, and reached £18.03 on Monday.

Dunkerton remains the biggest shareholder, owning a 23.36% stake in the company he founded with James Holder in 1985. The multi-millionaire sold several million shares worth over £53 million in 2016 to fund his divorce settlement.

The clothing company has benefited from the weak pound since the Brexit vote, posting strong sales growth overseas in the last year. However, sales slowed in the six months to the end of October, and like-for-like growth was up by just 4.7% in the peak Christmas period compared to growth of 14.9% a year earlier.

Dunkerton told the Evening Standard the share sale had nothing to do with his confidence in the business. “There’s nothing there,” he said, when asked if the sale was a vote of no confidence. 

The brand has more than 600 stores across 23 countries, and is well known for its casualwear, which combines vintage Americana, Japanese imagery and British tailoring.