Superdry shares halve as founder abandons takeover attempt

Superdry shares fell by more than half on Tuesday after founder Julian Dunkerton abandoned his takeover bid last week.

Dunkerton, which owns a 26 percent stake, left takeover talks after the market closed last Thursday amid doubts a bid could fund Superdry’s turnaround plans.

Superdry shares fell 51.04 percent to 14.10p in Tuesday morning trading.

The 59-year-old, who founded the company in 1985, approached the board in February about a possible offer for shares he did not yet own.

However, he ended his two-month search for the Cheltenham-based retailer after both he and the board concluded that an offer was unlikely to be sufficient to help the company achieve its turnaround and cost-cutting plans.

Superdry, known for the Japanese graphics on its T-shirts and hoodies, sounded the alarm about its finances in January when first-half results showed a sharp decline in sales as customers cut back on online spending.

Last month the company said it was in discussions with turnaround specialist Hilco about increasing its credit facilities by ‘approximately’ £10m.

It said this was for ‘necessary additional liquidity headroom to help facilitate the implementation of the ongoing turnaround plan and cost reduction programme’.

Superdry was also seeking an additional £10 million to ‘assist with seasonal peaks in working capital’ and an extension of the expiry date of its existing facilities with Hilco by six months to February next year.

The retailer, which employs around 3,350 people worldwide and operates 216 stores in addition to franchise stores, has endured difficult trading in recent years. As of 2020, the company has only been profitable for one year.

The group posted an adjusted pre-tax loss of £25.3 million for the six months to October 28, compared with a loss of £13.6 million last year.

Revenues fell 23.5 percent to £219.8 million over the period.