Burberry’s stock up on Belgium’s richest man’s renowned investment

Burberry shares spiked on Monday afternoon after billionaire Albert Frère lifted his stake in the high-end fashion retailer to 4 percent from 3 percent.

The shares moved to second on the top 10 risers for the day, up almost 2 percent. They had initially jumped 6 percent on news of the Belgian tycoon's purchase. Frère is thought to be Belgium’s richest man thanks to its steel emporium and diversified portfolio of unrelated investments such as Burberry’s.

This is the second time that Frère manages to boost the high-end British label’s stock; when he revealed a 3 percent stake in the group in February, shares went up almost 6 percent, recalls the ‘Financial Times’. The company’s shares advanced 2 percent on Monday following news of his increased stake, turning Burberry into the second-biggest gainer on the FTSE 100 Tuesday.

In contrast, shares in Burberry suffered their sharpest one-day fall in six months back to April, when the quintessentially British luxury fashion company reported a slowdown in global sales growth.