(Adds Jupiter)
By Carolyn Cohn
LONDON, July 10 (Reuters) - Investor Standard Life Aberdeen
said on Friday it had sold its shares in fashion
retailer Boohoo, describing the company's response to
allegations of worker abuse at supplier factories as
"inadequate".
SLA, previously one of Boohoo's biggest investors, has sold
most of its stock, a spokesman for the asset manager said,
confirming an earlier report in the Financial Times.
However, Jupiter Asset Management, Boohoo's
second-biggest investor with 10% of its stock, said it had added
to its position this week.
Boohoo shares have lost around a third of their value this
week after The Sunday Times reported that workers in a factory
in Leicester, central England, who were making clothes destined
for Boohoo, were paid as little as 3.50 pounds ($4.39) an hour.
The firm said it would commission an independent review of
its supply chain in Britain
Lesley Duncan, deputy head of UK equities at SLA unit
Aberdeen Standard Investments, said the firm had invested in
Boohoo since its listing, but said there had been insufficient
progress to improve working conditions.
The response was "inadequate in scope, timeliness and
gravity", Duncan said, adding: "We strive to use our influence
as significant investors to achieve progress.
"In instances where our standards have not been met,
divestment is both appropriate as responsible stewards of our
clients' capital and aligned to our goal of investing for better
outcomes."
Jupiter said however, that "following conversations with
(Boohoo) management about its strategy, the fund manager decided
to top up the position based on share price weakness".
It planned to "continue to engage with the business
regarding the ongoing investigation", the asset manager said in
a statement.
(Reporting by Carolyn Cohn; editing by Sujata Rao and Louise
Heavens)