Julian Dunkerton

British businessman From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Julian Dunkerton

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

Quick Facts Born, Education ...
Julian Dunkerton
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Dunkerton in June 2014
Born (1965-03-01) 1 March 1965 (age 60)
London, England
EducationIbstock Place School
Orleans Park School
Minster School
OccupationBusinessman
Known forCo-founder of Superdry
Spouses
  • Charlotte Abbot (divorced)
(m. 2018)
Children4
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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

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