Julian Dunkerton
British businessman (born 1965)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Julian Marc Dunkerton (born 1 March 1965)[1] is a British businessman, and the co-founder of the fashion label Superdry & Co.
Julian Dunkerton | |
|---|---|
Dunkerton in June 2014 | |
| Born | 1 March 1965 London, England |
| Education | Ibstock Place School Orleans Park School Minster School |
| Occupation | Businessman |
| Known for | Co-founder of Superdry & Co |
| Spouses |
|
| Children | 4 |
Early life
Dunkerton's father Ivor and stepmother Susie founded and ran Dunkertons Organic Cider.[2][3] Dunkerton moved to Herefordshire from London at the age of 14.[4]
He was educated at Ibstock Place School, Roehampton, Orleans Park School, Twickenham, from 11 to 14, and then the Minster School, Herefordshire.[5]
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.[2]
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.[2]
In 2015, Dunkerton stepped down as chief executive of Superdry and was replaced by Euan Sutherland.[6] 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.[7] In 2019, Dunkerton won a bid to be reinstated to the SuperGroup plc board, and Sutherland resigned as CEO.[8]
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,[9] and in the Park ward in 1991[10] and 1992.[11]
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.[12][13] He believes that the success of the Superdry business could not have occurred if Britain had been outside the European Union at the time.[12]
In the 2019 general election, he supported the Liberal Democrats,[14] giving the party a £30,000 donation while also donating £100,000 to the Green Party of England and Wales and £35,000 to Plaid Cymru.[15][16]
Personal life
Dunkerton lives in Cheltenham.[17] In February 2016, he sold just under £50 million of shares to fund his divorce settlement with his wife, Charlotte Abbot.[18] They had two children, one stepdaughter and one daughter.[18][5]
In 2016, Dunkerton began dating fashion designer Jade Holland Cooper after they met in the bar at one of his hotels in Cheltenham.[19] They married in August 2018 in the Cotswolds where Craig David sang and Idris Elba deejayed.[17][20][19] They have two children, a daughter born in 2020 and a son born in 2022.[21]
He owns a private jet, which he describes as "a tool rather than an indulgence".[5]