Shares in Cheltenham-based Superdry fell by over 50% yesterday (April 2).

They were down 51.04% to just 14.1p, following the news that founder Julian Dunkerton had abandoned his takeover bid, as reported by This is Money.

Dunkerton, Superdry's CEO, who owns a 26% stake in the business, had been considering buying the shares he didn't already own.

But he walked away from takeover talks last week, due to doubts that a takeover would be sufficient to finance the firm's turnaround and cost-saving plans.

Half year results reported in January for the 26 weeks to October 28 show sales were down 23.5% on the same period last year, from £287.2m to £219.8m.

Last month, Superdry confirmed it was in talks with existing lender, Hilco, over £10m to fund its ongoing turnaround plan and cost reduction programme and a further £10m to support seasonal working capital peaks.