SUPERDRY FOUNDER TRIES TO FASHION A COMEBACK

SUPERDRY’S founder has demanded shareholders are given a vote on his plan to return to the ailing fashion chain’s board.

Julian Dunkerton, 53, and cofounder James Holder, 47, said they had been left with no choice but to call a special meeting of investors.

They argue that Dunkerton – pictured with his wife, fashion designer Jade Holland Cooper – and Peter Williams, chairman of online retailer Boohoo, should be put on the board after talks with executives failed to progress. Dunkerton left Superdry last year over its strategy, while Holder resigned in 2016. The stock has fallen 70pc in the last year, leading to it being excluded from the FTSE 250 index in the next reshuffle.

Dunkerton said shareholders ‘are continuing to suffer as a direct result of the current misguided strategy’.

A Superdry spokesman said Dunkerton’s views on the group’s strategy were ‘at odds with the unanimous views of the management team and the board and therefore his return to the business would be counter-productive and highly disruptive’.