Stock Spotlight: No fears of Burberry abandoning UK despite chair's pessimistic comments

Battled PM over VAT changes

Burberry chair Gerry Murphy's disparaging comments about the UK have not worried investors that the British fashion house has fallen out of love with its home market.

Last month, Murphy, who has been chair of the £10bn luxury brand since 2018, called out Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's decision to remove VAT refunds when he served as chancellor, claiming it had "made the UK the least attractive shopping destination". From the audience at an event organised by the government for business leaders in London, he said the move had been "a spectacular own goal", and appealed to the PM to backtrack on the policies. The UK accounts for around 7% of Burberry's total revenue, according to data from Morningstar Direct, with Europe comprising around 20% of its re...