The deputy chairman at Dunelm sold £114m of shares to a discount, but he says that he is “fully committed” to Britain’s largest homewares retailer.
Sir Will Adderley, the son of Dunelm’s founder and former Conservative Party donor, and an investment vehicle he controls with his wife, sold 10 million shares or 4.9 percent of Dunelm’s share capital to institutional investors at £11.40 per share.
Adderley sold his first shares since February 2021 to diversify the portfolio that includes public and private equity as well as debt, commercial real estate and land.
The accounts for his Marlborough Property Co in January revealed that the value his portfolio of offices and shops fell by over £40 million in 2013 amid a downturn in the commercial real estate market.
The shares dropped by 6.3 percent, or 78p to close at £11.57, a discount of 7.7 percent to the closing price at Dunelm on Monday. The shares had increased by 15 percent over the last six months.
Dunelm stated that Adderley is still “fully committed” to Dunelm as he continues in his role of deputy chairman and as a substantial shareholder.
Adderley remains Dunelm’s largest shareholder, with a holding of 37.6 percent.
Bill and Jean Adderley founded the retailer in 1979. The Adderleys started with a Leicester market stall selling home textiles and curtains, near a stall that Gary Lineker’s family ran.
In 2006, the company was valued at £340 million. The company is the largest homewares retailer with a UK market cap of £2.33billion, 180 stores, 11,500 employees and sales of £1.7billion.
Adderley joined the Dunelm board of directors in 1992 after working for Dunelm throughout his career. In 1996 he became chief executive, taking over from his father the daily running of the company. He became deputy chairman in 2011, before returning to his role as chief executive. In January 2016, he resumed his role as deputy chairman.
In exchange for the sale of shares, which was handled jointly by Barclays Goldman Sachs, and UBS, he agreed to refrain from selling any more shares for 180 days.
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