James Holder, a cofounder of the clothing firm Superdry, has been found guilty of raping a woman after a night out in the Gloucestershire town of Cheltenham.
The court heard Holder, 54, had been due to get a taxi back to his mansion in the Cotswolds with a male friend. Instead, the pair got into the victim’s taxi and went to her flat, where Holder raped her.
James Haskell, prosecuting, said the woman asked Holder to stop but he did not, even when she began crying. He said she was more vulnerable because she was intoxicated.
The court heard there was no dispute that sexual activity had taken place between the businessman and the woman, but Holder insisted it was consensual while the woman said she had been raped.
A jury at Gloucester crown court, sitting in Cirencester, acquitted Holder of assault by penetration but found him guilty of rape.
Holder, of Cheltenham, was remanded into custody ahead of sentencing after the recorder David Chidgey dismissed his application for bail.
In a police interview, Holder said he was “old-school and chivalrous”. Haskell asked the defendant in court: “Did you behave in a chivalrous manner towards her that night?” Holder replied: “I did, yes. I looked after her throughout the whole evening.”
The barrister asked: “Are you somebody who is used to doing precisely what they want to?” Holder replied: “No, I am not, actually.”
Questioned over why he left the flat a short time after the rape, Holder replied: “I had been out for much longer than I anticipated and I needed to go home. I let myself out. She was asleep on the bed.”
Michelle Heeley KC, defending, asked the victim in court: “This was a drunken sexual encounter that you regret?” She replied: “Incorrect.”
Holder had denied charges of rape and assault by penetration in May 2022.
A student of graphic design, Holder founded the skateboarding and BMX fashion label Bench. In 2003, he cofounded Superdry with the clothing entrepreneur Julian Dunkerton as a market stall in Cheltenham.
In 2004, the pair opened the brand’s first physical store in Covent Garden, London. It now has stores all over the world, including more than 60 in the UK.
• Information and support for anyone affected by rape or sexual abuse issues is available from the following organisations. In the UK, Rape Crisis offers support on 0808 500 2222 in England and Wales, 0808 801 0302 in Scotland, or 0800 0246 991 in Northern Ireland. In the US, Rainn offers support on 800-656-4673. In Australia, support is available at 1800Respect (1800 737 732). Other international helplines can be found at ibiblio.org/rcip/internl.html
