Sports Direct shareholders revolt over Ashley’s £70m bonus scheme April 2, 2014 SPORTS Direct shareholders have rejected plans to introduce a bonus scheme that would have awarded founder Mike Ashley a £70m windfall, after revolting over a similar scheme two years ago. The retail giant said yesterday that it has cancelled a general meeting that was due to take place tomorrow after the board realised there was [...]
Goldman left holding Sports Direct stock after Ashley’s sale April 9, 2014 GOLDMAN Sachs has failed to sell all the 24m shares in Mike Ashley’s Sports Direct it took onto its books on Monday afternoon. Market sources believe that Goldman Sachs might have a large portion of the £204m block unsold after a torrid time on Tuesday when Sports Direct shares fell sharply from 883.5p to 811p. [...]
London Report: FTSE slumps to a two-week low as Sports Direct falls April 8, 2014 THE UK’S blue chip share index hit a two-week low yesterday, with Sports Direct leading losses after a share sale by founder Mike Ashley and technicals pointing to a bearish market outlook in the near term. Sports Direct, Britain’s biggest sporting goods retailer, slumped 9.2 per cent after Ashley sold 25m shares, while financial stocks [...]
Sports Direct’s chairman in line for £67m bonus March 11, 2014 SPORTS Direct announced plans yesterday to introduce a bonus scheme that could award Mike Ashley a windfall of £67m, nearly two years after shareholders rejected previous plans to reward the retailer’s founder. The sporting goods retailer has called for a shareholder meeting on 4 April to vote on whether to award Ashley 8m shares, which [...]
Bottom Line: Retail can’t promise to learn from mistakes April 15, 2014 YESTERDAY was a glorious, sunny day in London – clear blue skies with a hint of the crisp spring weather that typifies a British April. Lunching City workers donned light coats and sunglasses, keen to soak up the rays. But forecasters are already warning that Easter weekend could be a washout – retailers who’ve stocked [...]
Why is Mike Ashley in trouble over zero hour contracts? July 29, 2013 Trade union Unite has called for an urgent meeting with Sports Direct owner Mike Ashley over the treatment of Sports Direct staff after it was found that all of it’s part-time employees – accounting for 90 per cent of its workforce – are employed on zero hour contracts. A zero hour contract requires employees to [...]
Newcastle announce £9.9m profits February 25, 2014 FOOTBALL: Newcastle announced post-tax profits yesterday of £9.9m for the year ending June 2013, up from £1.4m the previous year. The club said player trading, including the sale of Demba Ba to Chelsea, and a sharp rise in commercial revenue were the main factors responsible. Newcastle’s debt, a £129m interest-free loan from owner Mike Ashley, [...]
Investors cheer recovery plans for Debenhams April 15, 2014 DEBENHAMS’ shares climbed four per cent yesterday as investors welcomed plans to refocus its promotional strategy after a disastrous first half in which profits fell by almost a quarter. The department store group laid out plans yesterday to cut back on promotional activity, extend delivery times for online orders and partner with new brands to [...]
Bottom Line: Ashley deserves every penny of his reward March 11, 2014 ATOP HIS impressive beer gut, Mike Ashley’s face has the healthy glow of a man who enjoys a carrot. Yesterday, Sports Direct dangled a huge one in front of its chairman in the form of a £67m share bonus – subject, of course, to the company’s profitability over the next two years. On past performance, [...]
Sports Direct buys up stake in Debenhams January 13, 2014 An unusual decision from Sports Direct this morning, but markets seem to like it. The retailer announced this morning that it's bought a 4.6 per cent stake in Debenhams. Shares in the latter have climbed over five per cent on the news: In a statement this morning, Sports Direct said that the move is to [...]