Julian Dunkerton’s bid to return to Superdry has won the backing of City investors Investec and Schroders ahead of next week’s crunch EGM.
Schroders and Investec have more than a 10% stake between them, representing a significant show of support in Dunkerton’s battle to return to the beleaguered fashion retailer that he co-founded.
Their respective support adds momentum to Dunkerton’s bid to reinstate himself to the retailer’s board alongside Boohoo chair Peter Williams as an independent non-executive director.
Dunkerton told Retail Week that Investec and Schroders’ backing, coupled with the 29% stake he and fellow co-founder James Holder have and the support of other unnamed institutional shareholders, meant he was bullish his bid to rejoin Superdry’s board would succeed.
“I cannot name [the other institutional shareholders] because I’d get in trouble for saying the wrong ones, but there is a lot of institutional support,” he said.
“I am confident we will win.”
The support from Investec and Schroder comes after months of escalating tensions between Superdry and its co-founder and former product and brand director.
Since Dunkerton stepped down from the retailer last March, Superdry has issued two profit warnings.
Dunkerton blames the weak performance on a misguided business strategy, while Superdry attributes it to product designed under Dunkerton missing the mark with shoppers.
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