Superdry co-founder tells rape trial he had consent

The co-founder of fashion chain Superdry has denied raping a woman after a night out, telling a court their encounter was consensual.

James Holder, aged 54, told the jury at Cirencester Courthouse on Wednesday he was on a "completely impromptu" night out in Cheltenham when he ended up in the back of the woman's taxi in May 2022.

He said he "did not think to ask" the woman whether it was OK to get in the back of her vehicle, and then told the jury it was "very evident" the woman wanted to have sex with him later on in her flat and he believed there was "completely full consent".

Holder, from Cheltenham, denies charges of rape and assault by penetration.

Warning: This story contains distressing details.

Holder told the court on Wednesday his company, JACKITCo, was on the brink of administration when he went to Gin and Juice in Cheltenham on 6 May 2022, and the company collapsed the following week.

He said he remembers the night drawing to a close at about 01:00 on 7 May 2022.

Holder previously told police in an interview he would rank his drunkenness as a "seven or seven point five" out of 10 on that night.

Holder originally got into a taxi on the Promenade with a friend but, when a woman he had been out with got into a taxi, he decided to get into the back of her vehicle, along with his friend.

"That would have been my decision, I just really didn't want to go home," he said.

"The energy was brilliant, I didn't want the party to stop; it was a snap decision."

Holder said he "didn't think to ask" the complainant whether it was okay to get in her taxi and go back to her flat, "but it was not about a lack of respect".

He had never been to her flat, he added, but said, once they arrived at the complainant's house, she invited them in as they were having "a brilliant laugh" outside.

After 15 minutes of talking with the woman and his friend, Holder needed to go to the toilet, he told the court.

After he used the bathroom, he saw the complainant's bed in the adjoining bedroom, lay down on the end of it "and fell straight asleep".

The defendant said he awoke and went to the living room where his friend was asleep on the sofa and the complainant was awake sitting in a chair.

"I asked her if everything was OK and she said absolutely fine, she was awake," Holder told the court.

"As she walked over to me – at that exact moment – we began kissing. I would say it was a maximum of five minutes.

"She inserted her tongue in my mouth it was very, very evident what she wanted to happen," he said.

"We walked to the bedroom, which was about a minute away, and walked into the bedroom and began kissing again."

Holder said that the pair then had sex, but after about 12 to 15 minutes when the alleged victim said she was sore he "stopped completely".