Boohoo investors seek £100m in damages after minimum wage row

A damning independent report by Alison Levitt QC for the fast fashion retailer found that claims of poor working practices in the firm’s supply chain – initially denied – were ‘substantially true’. Photograph: Dado Ruvić/Reuters

A group of investors in Boohoo are seeking more than £100m in compensation from the online fashion specialist after reports in 2020 alleging its suppliers in Leicester were mistreating workers caused its share price to plummet.

Shares in Boohoo dived more than 40% over several days, wiping more than £1.5bn off its valuation, after a 2020 Sunday Times report of labour rights violations at the group’s suppliers’ factories in Leicester suggested some workers were paid as little as £3.50 an hour, well below the legal minimum wage.