Superdry co-founder James Holder denies rape charges in Cheltenham case

Gloucester Crown Court, sitting in Cirencester, heard allegations that James Holder raped a woman after a night out drinking in Cheltenham in the early hours of 7 May 2022. The 54-year-old, who is from Cheltenham, denies rape and also denies a separate charge of assault by penetration.

Prosecutor James Haskell told the court there was no dispute that Holder engaged in sexual activity with the woman. The issue at the centre of the case is consent: Holder’s account is that the activity was consensual and that he reasonably believed it was consensual.

The court heard that the woman had arranged a taxi home after the night out at a bar in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. Prosecutors say Holder and another man got into the taxi without her prior agreement. The woman later found Holder asleep on top of her bed, fully clothed and snoring, before, the prosecution says, he woke and asked her into the bedroom.

The allegations place one of the founders of Superdry before the court in a case that turns on contested evidence rather than the public profile of the defendant. Superdry began in Cheltenham in 1985 as Cult Clothing, and the Superdry brand was launched in 2003 by Julian Dunkerton and James Holder. The business was floated on the London Stock Exchange in 2010 and went on to become an international fashion label.

Holder resigned from Superdry in 2016 but retained a stake in the company. He later launched new premium brands through JACKITCo Ltd.

The company he helped build has faced significant pressure in recent years. In its FY24 annual report, Superdry said weaker-than-expected performance had forced restructuring, an equity raise and delisting plans, warning that without those steps the group would likely have needed administration or a similar insolvency process.

For the court, however, the focus remains on the events of that night in Cheltenham, the competing accounts of what happened next, and the question of whether the sexual activity prosecutors say took place was consensual or criminal.