Mike Ashley is unlikely to sell Newcastle even if they’re relegated – a sports business professor explains May 18, 2015 Relegation to the Championship could be a blessing in disguise for Newcastle United fans should their team lose and Hull City win this Sunday, former chairman Freddy Shepherd has said – because it could be what finally forces the deeply unpopular Mike Ashley to hand over the club to anyone who'll take it. Read more: Newcastle [...]
Mike Ashley wants Rangers to return £5m loan May 13, 2015 Mike Ashley wants his cash back. The Rangers shareholder has requested the club's board call an extraordinary meeting to pay back his £5m loan and explain why Rangers have been delisted from the Aim stock exchange. In a letter acquired by The Daily Record, Ashley has told the new Rangers board to hold a meeting [...]
Mike Ashley’s Sports Direct HQ raided by police investigating former Rangers owners May 6, 2015 Scottish police have raided Mike Ashley's Sports Direct headquarters as part of a two-year investigation into two takeovers of Rangers football club. Mike Ashley owns an 8.6 per stake in Rangers, whose previous owners Craig Whyte and Charles Green are the subject of the investigation that led police to Sports Direct's Derbyshire base. In a statement [...]
Sports Direct’s put options in Debenhams are starting to expire – but did Mike Ashley’s bet pay off? April 30, 2015 Sports Direct's put options are starting to expire. The question on everyone's lips is, did Mike Ashley's bet pay off? The retailer, which first took a punt on the struggling department store in 2014, has gradually increased its stake in Debenhams to 16.6 per cent back via a series of put options. A put gives [...]
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 [...]
Mike Ashley funds purchase of Chelsea development worth £900m April 19, 2015 Mike Ashley has financed a deal for a lucrative development in Chelsea that could be worth around £900m according to reports. The Newcastle United owner and Sports Direct founder is said to have provided the £200m paid by Citygrove and McLaren Properties for a development site from John Lewis. According to The Sunday Times, the money [...]
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 [...]
Rangers and Sports Direct boss Mike Ashley has too much power, says IoD March 30, 2015 A respected business group has branded the Sports Direct board "dysfunctional" and warned there aren't sufficient checks on the powers of founder and majority owner Mike Ashley. The criticism, from the Institute of Directors, comes after Sports Direct chairman Keith Hellawell endured a tough grilling by MPs on the Scottish Affairs Committee last week, during [...]
Rangers end Mike Ashley loan agreement but take £1.5m from Three Bears consortium March 23, 2015 Cash-strapped Rangers will receive a boost after Douglas Park, George Letham and George Taylor agreed to provide £1.5m loans to the football club. The loans from the group known as the "Three Bears consortium" are being made available until 31 December 2015 for working capital requirements and will be provided on an unsecured basis, meaning [...]
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 [...]