Dunelm deputy chair raises £192m from share sale

Dunelm has announced that Will Adderley, deputy chairman at the home furnishings retailer, has sold 15 million shares in the company, totalling £192m.

Placed at 1,280 pence per share, the £192m sale represents 7.4% of the issued share capital of the firm.

Adderley now directly holds 17.8% of Dunelm’s shares, however he also controls a further 25.4% through companies and persons closely associated with him.

Despite the sale, Dunelm said that Adderley remains “fully committed” to the group in his deputy chairman role, as well as “remaining a very substantial shareholder in the company”.

Adderley’s share placement follows a flurry of recent activity for Dunelm, who revealed a “strong” performance in its financial results before announcing the appointment of Arja Taaveniku as a non-executive director to its board.

Despite the continued store closures as a result of the ongoing pandemic, the group’s total sales for the six months ended 26 December 2020 soared 23% to £719.4m.

Nick Wilkinson, CEO at Dunelm, said: “Sales were particularly strong in the first quarter, before we had to navigate the various restrictions which impacted the remainder of the period.” 

“These restrictions have become more severe in the second half of our financial year, with all but one of our stores currently closed, although we continue to serve customers through our digital channels, which have significantly advanced during the last year.”