Supergroup loses its magic powers for Nimmo

Standard Life Investments' (SLI) Harry Nimmo has backed clothing chain Supergroup since its heavily-subscribed floation in March last year.

But after piling into the retailer at its IPO, Nimmo has decided to take 'very significant profits' from his Supergroup holdings.

Over the past 18 months, the retailer's shares have risen 87.7%, feeling all the benefits of the brand's surge in popularity among trendy UK teens.  At its peak, the clothing chain, maker of the urban Superdry range stocked in Cult and Selfridges, hit a high of £17.73, reached on 11 February 2011, after the company issued a blockbuster set of interims.

But in recent months sentiment around Supergroup has started to dull, with some of its best-known investors saying the company had hit a crossroad; unsure whether to roll out a mass expansion plan in the hope of capturing growth in the emerging markets, or to hold tight until domestic consumers feel freer to spend and fulfil market speculation about the opening of a flagship store on London's Regent Street.

Nimmo, who at the company's IPO and in the months that followed snapped up around 150,930 shares for his £133.86 million SLI UK Smaller Companies trust and built up a position in his Oeic of the same name, has sold down his holding, according to documents seen by Wealth Manager which were dated 8 August. 

According to the documents, Nimmo, who via his trust has returned 64.24% over three years versus the FTSE SmallCap's 6.92%, decided to take profits at around 8 July and brought his holding to nil.  Shares closed on the day priced at £8.87, meaning Nimmo that may have netted in the region of £1.3 million on the single trade alone.

The documents also show that Nimmo has also exited the Supergroup position in his SLI UK Smaller Companies fund, the open-ended equivalent of his trust.

SLI said it could not comment on the timing of sales, past of future purchases of the stock. However the Edinburgh-based group said Nimmo is now underweight Supergroup and his holding is greater than zero.

The £1.3 billion fund, recently soft closed to new investors, held 1,142, 332 shares in May this year, but looks to have sold these between June and July.

In his latest update to investors, Nimmo said that over the 12 months to the end of June he had decided to take 'very significant profits' from the Supergroup position, along with retailer Mulberry, the maker of luxury handbags often sported by the likes of model Kate Moss and television personality Alexa Chung, which has soared 578% over the period under review.