Julian Dunkerton

Julian Dunkerton
Dunkerton in June 2014
Born (1965-03-01) 1 March 1965 (age 59)
London, England
EducationIbstock Place School
Orleans Park School
Minster School
OccupationBusinessman
Known forCo-founder of Superdry
Spouses
  • Charlotte Abbot (divorced)
​
(m. 2018)​
Children4

Julian Marc Dunkerton (born March 1965) is a British businessman, and the co-founder of the fashion label Superdry.

Early life

Dunkerton's father Ivor and stepmother Susie founded and ran Dunkertons Organic Cider.[1][2] Dunkerton moved to Herefordshire from London at the age of 14.[3]

He was educated at Ibstock Place School, London, Orleans Park School, Twickenham, from 11 to 14, and then the Minster School, Herefordshire.[4]

Career

At the age of 19, Dunkerton, along with his business partner Ian Hibbs, founded the fashion retail chain Cult Clothing Co with a £2,000 loan.[1]

In 2014, Dunkerton took control of his family's cider company. In 2016, Dunkertons Organic Cider was moved from Herefordshire to a new cidery at Dowdeswell Park, near Cheltenham in Gloucestershire.[1]

In 2015, Dunkerton stepped down as chief executive of Superdry and was replaced by Euan Sutherland.[5] Dunkerton left Superdry in April 2018 to concentrate on his other business interests.[citation needed] He owns The Lucky Onion group, which operates a small group of hotels, restaurants and pubs in the Cotswolds.[6] In 2019, Dunkerton won a bid to be reinstated to the SuperGroup plc board, and Sutherland resigned as CEO.[7]

Political activism

In the early 1990s, Dunkerton stood three times as a Labour Party candidate in the Cheltenham Borough Council elections. He stood in the St. Peter's ward in 1990,[8] and in the Park ward in 1991[9] and 1992.[10]

In August 2018, Dunkerton donated £1 million to People's Vote, a campaign group calling for a public vote on the final Brexit deal between the UK and the European Union.[11][12] He believes that the success of the Superdry business could not have occurred if Britain had been outside the European Union at the time.[11]

In the 2019 general election, he voted for the Liberal Democrats.[13]

Personal life

Dunkerton lives in Cheltenham.[14] In February 2016, he sold just under £50 million of shares to fund his divorce settlement with his wife, Charlotte Abbot.[15] They had two children, one stepdaughter and one daughter.[15][4]

In 2016, Dunkerton began dating fashion designer Jade Holland Cooper after they met in the bar at one of his hotels in Cheltenham.[16] They married in August 2018 in the Cotswolds where Craig David sang and Idris Elba deejayed.[14][17][16] They have two children, a daughter born in 2020 and a son born in 2022.[18]

He owns a private jet, which he describes as "a tool rather than an indulgence".[4]

References

  1. ^ a b c Parford, Lucy. "CEO Interview: Julian Dunkerton, Superdry and the Lucky Onion Group". Cotswold Life. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
  2. ^ "Julian Marc DUNKERTON – Personal Appointments (free information from Companies House)". Companies House, Government of the United Kingdom. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
  3. ^ "Julian Dunkerton: All you need to know about the Superdry co-founder who has just married designer Jade Holland Cooper". Gloucestershire Live.
  4. ^ a b c Hester Lacey (22 September 2017). "Q&A with cider maker and Superdry founder Julian Dunkerton". Financial Times. Retrieved 19 August 2018.
  5. ^ "Superdry founder replaced as CEO role by ex-Co-op boss". BBC.
  6. ^ "The Lucky Onion | Hotels, Restaurants, Pubs | Cotswolds, England". The Lucky Onion. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
  7. ^ Wood, Zoe; Butler, Sarah (2 April 2019). "Superdry: Julian Dunkerton wins battle to rejoin firm – and entire board resigns". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
  8. ^ "Borough election results – 1990 results". Cheltenham Borough Council. Retrieved 20 December 2018.
  9. ^ "Borough election results – 1991 results". Cheltenham Borough Council. Retrieved 20 December 2018.
  10. ^ "Borough election results – 1992 results". Cheltenham Borough Council. Retrieved 20 December 2018.
  11. ^ a b Staff writer (19 August 2018). "Brexit vote campaign gets £1m from Superdry co-founder". BBC News. Retrieved 19 August 2018.
  12. ^ Savage, Michael (18 August 2018). "Julian Dunkerton: the man who gave £1m to the People's Vote campaign". The Observer. Front page. Retrieved 19 August 2018.
  13. ^ "Dozens of business leaders back Lib Dems as party tries to outflank Tories". inews.co.uk. 29 November 2019.
  14. ^ a b Savage, Michael (18 August 2018). "Julian Dunkerton: the man who gave £1m to the People's Vote campaign". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 August 2018.
  15. ^ a b "Superdry guy Julian Dunkerton weds designer Jade Holland Cooper". The Times.
  16. ^ a b Gowans-Eglinton, Charlie. "Inside Jade Holland Cooper and Julian Dunkerton's Cotswolds estate". ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  17. ^ "Fashion entrepreneur Jade Holland Cooper on her Scottish influences". The Scotsman. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  18. ^ Krayem-Wood, Sam. "In pictures: Jade Holland Cooper and Julian Dunkerton celebrate birth of baby girl". Stroud News & Journal. Retrieved 13 January 2021.