Jan 7, 2022

Retail Gazette By January 7, 2022 When it floated in January 2021, shares at Dr Martens were priced at 370p and quickly rose to more than 500p. // The share price of Dr Martens has slumped after one of its major investors lowered its stake by 6% // Shares in the shoemaker dropped as much as 13pc Shares in Dr Martens have plunged after a major investor offloaded a chunk of its stake at a discount price. Private equity firm Permira, which acquired Dr. Martens in 2014, offloaded 65 million shares at 395p each, reducing its shareholding from 42pc to 36pc and raising £257 million in the process. Permira had held a 75% stake in the business when it floated at the start of 2014. Today it reduced its stake from around 43% but retains a sizeable 36% shareholding, though analysts anticipate it will sell more shares. Shares in the shoemaker dropped as much as 13pc, marking the biggest ever fall for the retailer. The business has achieved a robust financial performance in the face of the pandemic with a 46% rise in pre-tax profit reported in December. However, along with many in the market, it has faced disruption from the global supply chain crisis, which left some of its wholesale partners short of stock in the second half of the year.