City laps up Fever-Tree founder’s £73m stake

Investors have continued to knock back shares in Fever-Tree, buying a £73 million stake from the posh mixer maker’s co-founder.

Charles Rolls, who set up the business with Tim Warrillow in 2005, cashed in on the firm’s success.

He has sold 4.5 million shares, nearly twice as much as he had originally intended due to “significant institutional demand”, Fever-Tree said.

Despite some concerns Fever-Tree’s remarkable shares run could have peaked, the City continued to pile into the tonics specialist, which has been boosted by strong sales at pubs and supermarkets amid rising demand for gin.

The Chelsea company floated at 134p a share in November 2014. The shares fell 77.3p, or more than 4%, to 1670p.

Rolls, who has moved from executive deputy chairman to non-executive deputy chairman, has agreed not to dispose of any more shares in the next six months without written consent from Investec Bank.

The sale leaves him with an 11.2% stake.