Newcastle fans boycott Tottenham Hotspur game in protest over Mike Ashley ownership April 20, 2015 A group of Newcastle fans boycotted yesterday’s home match against Tottenham Hotspur in protest against current owner Mike Ashley, calling on him to leave. The plans were announced last week as strong negative sentiment towards the club’s ownership was compounded when it was revealed that United had more then £34.1m in cash reserves. Fans are [...]
Sports Direct to pay staff above minimum wage from 2016 December 31, 2015 Sports Direct has said it will pay its staff above the minimum wage from 1 January 2016, as the retailer looks to shrug off criticisms of its working conditions. The minimum threshold will apply for both directly employed casual staff and its UK employees. It estimates that this and associated costs will cost the business [...]
Sports Direct clarifies property boss Michael Murray’s role after reports surface of close family ties and no experience January 4, 2016 Sports Direct has been forced to issue a clarification around the role of Michael Murray at the company, after reports surfaced that he was a relatively inexperienced boyfriend of one of Mike Ashley's daughters. The 26-year-old has been hired to head up Sports Direct's property empire – no small task given that the retailer has 470 [...]
Mike Ashley’s Mash Holdings doubles profits after “gift” transfer of Sports Direct shares to Mash Beta April 14, 2015 Mike Ashley doubled his profits last year through his holding company through which he holds his stakes in Newcastle United and Sports Direct. Mash Holdings' profit before tax soared 111 per cent to £542.7m for the year to April 30 2014, up from £256.4m in 2012/2013. It included the profit raised from Ashley's move [...]
Mike Ashley’s USC bought out of administration by… Mike Ashley’s Republic January 16, 2015 Mike Ashley's fast fashion retailer USC has been bought out of administration by… Mike Ashley's fast fashion retailer Republic. A notice of intention to put USC, which was bought out by Sports Direct in 2011, into administration was filed last week, with the threat that the company's 90 stores would shut, putting hundreds of [...]
Mike Ashley sidesteps MP grilling over USC redundancies March 4, 2015 Mike Ashley is sidestepping a meeting with Scottish MPs who want to grill him over the handling of USC's administration and his retail empire's use of zero-hour contracts. The Scottish Affairs Committee has called Ashley and other executives to appear before them as part of an investigation into how the high street chain collapsed, and [...]
Mike Ashley hit with £7,500 fine for dual interest March 3, 2015 Mike Ashley was facing a less-than-hefty-fine of £7,500 from the Scottish Football Association for holding a dual interest in Glasgow Rangers. Ashley, who is reportedly worth £3.3bn, was found guilty of influencing management at Rangers after the appointments of chief Derek Llambias and finance director Barry Leach, both of whom are long-term acquaintances of Ashley. [...]
MySale shares jump as flash sales website backed by Sir Philip Green swings back into profit January 19, 2016 MySale, the Australian flash sales website 25 per cent owned by Sir Philip Green's wife Tina, has swung back into profit in the first half after blaming marketing and expansion costs for posting heavy losses last year. The UK-listed online fashion retailer, which operates in the UK, New Zealand, and Asia, as well as Australia, [...]
Mike Ashley’s Sports Direct on target but sales growth slows February 19, 2015 The figures Shares in Sports Direct rose two per cent in early trading as it announced sales and gross profits had risen across the Christmas period – up 2.6 per cent to £771m and 7.6 per cent to £346.9m respectively. However, that was a slowdown compared to the same period last year, when sales grew 11 [...]
Sports Direct’s share price slumps 15 per cent on profit warning January 8, 2016 Sports Direct has issued a profit warning, claiming warm weather deterred shoppers over the key Christmas period, prompting its share price to tumble. The Mike Ashley-owned retailer, which has been fending off criticism around its various working practices, issued a statement this morning saying it had "seen a deterioration of trading conditions on the high street and [...]