Sports Direct races ahead
Mike Ashley’s budget sports retailer Sports Direct gave an up beat pre-close trading update, saying it is still confident of achieving earnings before interest, tax and depreciation of at least £150m in the current financial year.
Ashley also said the board is comfortable the company could reduce its net debt to below £400m.
The company, which said in September that trading since July – the beginning of its financial year – has been ahead of the previous year. The retailer is thought to have reaped the benefits of suppliers’ wariness of rival retailer JJB Sports before it refinanced in the summer.
Separately, Sports Direct and JJB Sports are currently under investigation by the Office of Fair Trading and the Serious Fraud Office over a suspected sports retail cartel.