Superdry's Euan Sutherland to receive £730,000 payoff

By

Barbara Santamaria

Published
Apr 5, 2019

Euan Sutherland was amongst several Superdry board members to have resigned on Tuesday following a boardroom coup led by Julian Dunkerton.

His resignation as chief executive, effective immediately, put a sudden end to his five-year tenure at the troubled fashion retailer. But he is not leaving empty-handed, as he is expected to receive a £730,000 payoff, according to The Guardian.

The former Superdrug and B&Q executive is entitled to a year’s pay, and if he receives a full payment, he will have received more than £10m in salary in less than five years at the helm.

This is not the first time one of his contracts has ended earlier than expected. In 2014, Sutherland walked out of the Co-operative Group, where he was serving as chief executive director, with a £1m payoff.

This week’s developments follow months of intensive campaigning by Superdry co-founder Julian Dunkerton, who claimed the company was headed in the wrong direction and criticised Sutherland’s ‘mistaken strategy’.

Chairman Peter Bamford, chief financial officer Ed Barker, and board member Penny Hughes also resigned from the board on Tuesday, and Dennis Millard, Minnow Powell, Sarah Wood and John Smith have given three months' notice under their contracts and will stand down as directors on 1 July.

Meanwhile, Julian Dunkerton has taken over the reigns of Superdry as interim chief executive officer and former Selfridges chief executive Peter Williams has been appointed to the board.

Superdry shares have fallen 18% since Tuesday’s vote, and were trading at 449p on Friday morning — below the £5 level Superdry floated at in 2010.