Mike Ashley’s Frasers builds stakes in Burberry and Under Armour
Frasers Group, the retail empire founded by Mike Ashley, has taken a stake in athleisure giant Under Armour and built up its holding in fashion house Burberry.
The London-listed conglomerate, which owns Sports Direct and Flannels, has pushed up its position in the FTSE 100 fashion brand from 4.2 to 6.3 per cent of the company.
These shares are held through put options, meaning that Frasers does not yet own this stake but has the right to buy it at a fixed price.
Mike Ashley’s retail group has tightened its grip on the UK’s biggest luxury designer just days after it signalled plans to expand further into up-market clothing.
On Monday, the company unveiled Frasers Group Luxury – a new arm of the firm encompassing Flannels, department store chains Harvey Nichols and The Webster, as well as its investments in Burberry and bagmaker Mulberry.
Chief executive Michael Murray, Ashley’s son-in-law, said the group hopes to widen its presence in luxury fashion through “organic expansion, acquisitions, and strategic investments”.
The statement of intent was welcomed by Burberry chief executive Joshua Schulman, who praised Frasers’ “deep understanding of their customers” and its ability to offer up-market fashion to shoppers in regional cities like Leeds and Liverpool, where it has flagship Flannels stores.
Schulman, who joined Burberry in 2024, is beginning to make progress in his turnaround of the fashion house, which has pivoted towards “timeless British luxury” in its bid to appeal to more shoppers.
Frasers keeps one toe in sportswear
Despite Frasers Group’s up-market ambitions, Mike Ashley appears unlikely to abandon the sportswear market which kickstarted his career in retail.
Frasers, which was founded as Sports Direct in 1982, has bought an 8.8 per cent stake in Under Armour, the American sportswear brand.
Ashley’s firm has bought about 16.6m shares in the athleisure group, according to a US filing, worth about $80m.
Under Armour chief executive Kevin Plank welcomed Frasers’ shareholding, telling business newspaper Footwear News: “We value their support and remain focused on executing our strategy and creating long-term value for all shareholders.
“We look forward to building on our relationship with Frasers as both a shareholder and an important commercial partner.”
Plank is seeking to push the sportswear brand upmarket as it hunts for a turnaround. The group’s sales slipped by three per cent to $1.1bn (£830m) in the three months to June.
Frasers Group also holds shares in athletic giant Puma, and owns a number of sports brands including Slazenger, Everlast, Lonsdale and Karrimor.
Shares in Frasers rose by more than three per cent on Wednesday, to 846p. The stock has gained 26 per cent in the year to date.