Boost: Shares in Joules, down 93 per cent this year, rose 17.6 per cent
A Doncaster businessman has taken a stake of almost £1m in struggling middle-class fashion brand Joules – calling the stock ‘very cheap’.
Richard Teatum owns Stoneacre Motor Group, which sells 80,000 cars a year across 140 dealerships and employs 3,000 people.
His stake in the ‘yummy mummy’ brand reached 8.92 per cent this week, a holding worth around £900,000.
Teatum, 65, has been buying shares as it is ‘massively undervalued’.
He said: ‘I think it is very cheap. The value is fantastic and I’ll continue buying. The net asset value is obviously a lot higher than the market cap but I think long-term this will be a fantastic investment.’
In a sign he could buy more, Teatum added he is ‘always looking for a good company and a good value’.
The businessman also revealed that he had received a letter inviting him to meet the board only days after becoming the second-largest shareholder.
The vote of confidence in the brand will provide some respite after it failed to convince Next to invest £15m in the business last month.
Teatum called for the business to ‘concentrate on profitability’. Valued at £140m after shares floated in 2016, Joules now worth around £8.7m. Tom Joule is the top share- holder with a 21.78 per cent stake.
Shares in Joules, down 93 per cent this year, rose 17.6 per cent, or 1.35p, to 9p.
