Boohoo sunk as owner’s brother sells £14m shares

Online fashion retailer Boohoo dipped after the brother of one of its founders sold around £14.8m worth of shares.

Jalal Kamani, 57, brother of Mahmud Kamani, 53, sold 7.7m shares at around 191.2p each, according to filings.

The businessman is a member of the Kamani retail dynasty, which has spawned some of Britain’s fastest-growing fashion websites such as Boohoo and Pretty little Thing. He served as Boohoo’s trading director until October 2015, when he resigned.

According to Boohoo’s annual report, Jalal Kamani had held a 6.8pc stake, accounting for around 76.5m shares.

Yesterday Boohoo announced that his stake had fallen to 5.98pc, representing 68.8m shares.

While it is not clear whether Kamani sold down his stake in stages or all at once, the shortfall of 7.7m represents up to around £14.8m worth of shares, according to Thursday’s closing price of 191.2p. The sale comes after Boohoo co-founder Carol Kane, 51, sold £10m worth of shares in September and Mahmud Kamani and his siblings Rabia Kamani and nurez Kamani sold £80.5m worth of shares in June.

On Thursday, Boohoo reported a 100pc increase in sales to £228m in the four months to the end of December and said it expects sales growth of 90pc for the fullyear. But yesterday its shares fell 4.6pc, or 8.75p, to 182.7p following news of the sell-off.

The FTSE 100 ended the week on yet another record high, finishing up 0.2pc, or 15.7 points higher, at 7778.64, while the FTSE 250 finished up 0.6pc, or 121.4 points, at 20859.35 points.

Signs that Bovis Homes had recovered from last year’s faulty homes scandal sent shares higher.

The housebuilder jumped 1.4pc, or 16p, to 1165p after posting a bullish trading update and pencilling in a hefty rise in profit this year. it said that strong customer demand, attractive mortgage rates and initiatives such as the Help To Buy scheme have helped drive sales.

Bovis completed 3,645 homes in 2017 – a slowdown from 3,977 in 2016. it said the average selling price for its new-build homes increased by 7pc to £272,000 from £254,900 a year before, while the average selling price for its private homes increased to £334,000.

Bovis added that it had seen a ‘significant’ improvement in customer satisfaction.

last year Bovis was rocked by a profit warning and a barrage of complaints from customers over shoddy workmanship.

it was forced to set aside £10.5m to deal with the scandal, which saw the abrupt departure of former boss David Ritchie after 18 years at the company – including eight as chief executive. He was replaced by Greg Fitzgerald, 54, the former chief executive of Galliford Try, who was brought out of retirement in April to lead the builder to a turnaround.

Since his appointment, shares in Bovis have surged more than 25pc. Bovis’s revival comes after rivals were hit by concerns over the British housing market. Shares in Persimmon and Taylor

Wimpey slumped after the pair issued trading updates earlier this week, amid anxiety over falling house prices, weak wage growth and the impact of Brexit on the economy. Persimmon finished up 0.2pc, or 4p, at 2647p while Taylor Wimpey jumped 0.7pc, or 1.35p, to 197.85p. Also up was packaging company

Mondi, which jumped 1.1pc, or 21.5p, to 1923.5p after investec gave it a ‘buy’ rating.

But Sirius Minerals fell 2.5pc, or 0.6p, to 23.3p after it said its D-Walling – a key step in the building of its £2.1bn potash mine in Whitby, north Yorkshire – was two months behind schedule.