Dr Martens PLC (LSE:DOCS) is on a surer footing today with shares rising after reports an activist fund manager has been building a stake in the iconic bootmaker.
Sky News reported that Sparta Capital has quietly accumulated stock the FTSE 250-listed outfit and has been engaging with its board in an attempt to improve its financial and operating performance.
Sparta, which was launched in 2021 by Franck Tuil, a longstanding executive at the prominent investor Elliott Management, is now understood to be a top ten shareholder in the footwear brand.
Dr Martens has seen its valuation slump amid supply chain bottlenecks and a slowdown in US sales, leaving shares 40% lower in the last 12 months.
However, it is a brighter picture today and shares are 5.1% to the good at 153.60p.