Superdry founder banks £18m windfall from shares sale

Superdry founder Julian Dunkerton has banked an £18m windfall after selling 1m of shares in the business he founded in 1985 with a £2,000 loan.

The chunk of shares, which were sold at a price of £17.80 per share, represented a 1.23% stake in Superdry and Dunkerton remains the business' single biggest shareholder with a 25.4% stake.

Superdry was floated in 2010 when Dunkerton made £80m by selling shares but retaining a 30% stake. He last sold a large stake in the business when, in 2016, he sold shares worth £40m to fund a divorce.

Dunkerton handed the CEO reins of the business to former Co-op boss Euan Sutherland in 2014 and the business has enjoyed strong growth of late. Earlier this month it revealed that it had achieved a 20.4% increase in half-one revenues to £402m in the 28 weeks to 28 October 2017.

Last autumn Dunkerton and co-founder James Holder revealed a staff share incentive scheme where they pledged they would distribute among staff a fifth of any share price gain the business made above £18 (shares are currently trading at around £17.89).

Should the target be hit by 20 September 2020 the cash or share awards will be made to all full-time and part-time permanent staff, who have been with the business for at least 18 months. Each £5 achieved over the threshold would result in £30m being shared among staff.

Superdry was born from the Cult Clothing brand Dunkerton founded in 1985. In 2003 he partnered with James Holder, founder of Bench, and the pair launched Superdry having been inspired by Japanese lettering on a trip to the country.