Before the results were revealed for the crunch vote at which Julian Dunkerton won back control of Superdry it was by no means obvious that the retailing entrepreneur was going to be victorious.
Those few leading shareholders that broke cover in advance, including Standard Life Aberdeen, had thrown their weight behind the boardroom team at the fashion retailer that Mr Dunkerton, 54, its co-founder, had been trying to evict.
Yet, after a six-month slog, victorious he was, parachuting into the boardroom only to find that everyone had resigned and he would have to take over as chief executive.
That was April. Since then Mr Dunkerton has rebuilt the board, helped by Peter Williams, 65, his chairman, extended his tenure and recruited a corporate broker —
