Ray Kelvin, the founder and chief executive of fashion retailer Ted Baker, has raised nearly £5m by cashing in one of his share bonuses.
Kelvin exercised 202,382 nil paid options representing 0.46% of the business, and these were placed with investors at £23 each to raise £4.65m. In the market Ted Baker’s shares have dropped 57p to £23.08 on the news.
The move still leaves Kelvin with a stake of 35.38%, as well as another 62,527 nil paid options under a long term incentive plan.
Kelvin is believed to have placed the shares awarded to him rather than keeping them and increasing his stake, to help improve liquidity in the shares.
Last week the company reported a strong Christmas, with sales up 22.8% in the eight weeks to January 3.
Kelvin, who famously dislikes showing his face in public, turned the company from a shirt shop in Glasgow founded more than 25 years ago into a global business worth nearly £800m.
