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 [...]
Dave King claims a victory in Rangers war with Sports Direct owner Mike Ashley March 3, 2015 South African businessman Dave King yesterday claimed he had recorded a “landslide victory” in his bid to wrest control of Rangers’ boardroom. Rangers has been the subject of an ongoing tug-of-war between former club director King and Sports Direct owner Mike Ashley. King – who owns 14.5 per cent of Rangers’ shares – has called [...]
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. [...]
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 [...]
Gordon Ramsay buys Rangers stock to join Mike Ashley fight February 16, 2015 Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay yesterday became the latest big name to join the Rangers First group of fan shareholders, as the association looks to thwart Sports Direct owner Mike Ashley’s attempts to gain control of the club. Former Rangers trainee Ramsay took to Twitter on Sunday to announce he had joined the movement. He [...]
Hotel cancels Rangers’ shareholder meeting over Mike Ashley’s involvement following concerns about “significant disruption” February 10, 2015 The hotel that was to host the upcoming general meeting for Rangers shareholders has pulled out over fears it would result in “significant disruption” to other guests and neighbours. The meeting is expected to be something of a showdown between the club's shareholders and Mike Ashley, who recently lent Rangers more than £10m to [...]
Mike Ashley’s Sports Direct faces legal challenge over claims sacked USC staff were given 15 minute warning February 9, 2015 Former USC staff who were made redundant when the fast fashion business was put into administration are taking legal action, claiming they received just 15 minutes' consultation over the job losses. The chain, which is owned by Mike Ashley's Sports Direct, was put into administration last month and bought out just a few days later [...]
Rangers board plays down Mike Ashley’s influence as it announces date to vote on Dave King takeover February 6, 2015 Rangers have called a general meeting for 4 March to vote on shareholder Dave King’s requisition to remove the board. The current Rangers board of four directors including chairman David Somers and chief executive Derek Llambias would be removed if shareholders agree to the resolution put forward by King’s requisition. Former director [...]