- Deputy chair Sir Will Adderley sold shares via holding company WA Capital
Dunelm shares fell on Tuesday after the homeware brand’s biggest investors sold off a chunk of its holding in the company.
Sir Will Adderley, who also serves as Dunelm’s deputy chair, sold 10 million shares in the business at a value of 1,140 each via his holding company WA Capital, a stock market filing shows.
It means WA Capital, which is also controlled by Adderley’s wife Lady Nadine, now controls a 37.6 per cent stake in Dunelm on behalf of the family.
Sell-off: Dunelm founding family trims controlling stake in the homeware group
Dunelm shares fell by almost 8 per cent at the open before recovering to trade roughly 6.4 per cent down at 1,156p by midmorning.
The group’s shares have still added more than 10 per cent over the last 12 months and almost 40 per cent over the last five.
Dunelm began life in 1979 as a curtain-selling market stall in Leicester, run by Sir Will’s parents Bill and Jean Adderley.
Will joined the family business in 1992 and has enjoyed two stints as chief executive, having guided Dunelm through its 2006 IPO.
Dunelm is now the most powerful player in UK homeware market, with an aspiration to control 10 per cent market share. Rivals John Lewis and Ikea hold a market share of about 4 per cent each.
One of its key strengths is ‘wide price architecture’. You can buy a streamlined Scandinavian leather sofa for £2,600 or a ‘faux-leather’ smaller version for £469.
This has helped it combat discounters and attract a clientele from ‘all age, income and geographic cohorts’, boss Nick Wilkinson said earlier this month.
Analysts at UBS maintain a buy rating for Dunelm shares with a target price of 1,410p.
They say: ‘We expect [Dunelm] to benefit from a structurally competitive offer, driving profitable share gain in a recovering UK Homewares market.
‘Dunelm has already demonstrated a consistent track record of share gains, [pre-tax profit] growth, and shareholder returns even in the most challenging environments for the sector.’
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