If Arsenal have to sack Unai Emery, at least they are finally well placed to manage the change October 31, 2019 However bad the team’s current malaise may seem for Arsenal supporters – and how much the Unai Emery-orchestrated on-field disarray might escalate – there is one element of the club’s recent evolution that offers some succour. Where once the Gunners looked rudderless at the very top, a club drifting under the distracted eye of an [...]
Why the Rugby World Cup could force up player wages and bring legal challenges to the sport’s salary cap October 31, 2019 When Japan and South Korea hosted football’s World Cup in 2002, it precipitated a significant increase in Asian investment in the sport. Takeovers of high-profile European clubs followed, as did multi-million pound Asia-only sponsorship deals with star players. With the first Rugby World Cup to be held in Asia about to conclude, this milestone could [...]
Goals Soccer Centres bought by Soccerworld and private equity firm Inflexion after accounting fiasco October 31, 2019 Five-a-side football operator Goals Soccer Centres has been acquired today by rival Soccerworld and private equity firm Inflexion. Goals has been hit by an accounting scandal after its auditor BDO discovered it had mis-declared VAT amounting to at least £13.2m. The company delisted its shares from Aim in August after it declared it was unable [...]
All Grant Thornton’s scandals are denting partners’ profits October 31, 2019 Partner profit at embattled accountancy firm Grant Thornton UK dropped this year after the firm was embroiled in a series of scandals and its chief executive stepped down after an internal coup. In a year to forget for the UK’s sixth-largest accountancy firm, partner profits fell nearly six per cent to £323,000 from £343,000. The [...]
General election 2019: Jeremy Corbyn pledges to go after ‘greedy bankers’ as Labour launches campaign October 31, 2019 Jeremy Corbyn has pledged to go after “the greedy bankers” and “bad bosses” as he kicks off his election campaign in South London this morning. The Labour leader spoke before a packed hall of supporters at the Battersea Arts Centre, near Clapham. Read more: Labour’s renationalisation plans would cost £200bnRead more: EXCLUSIVE: Tories tap up [...]
Mike Ashley hits out at competition watchdog over JD Sports probe October 30, 2019 Retail tycoon Mike Ashley has slammed the UK’s competition watchdog for its investigation into the merger between JD Sports and Footasylum, saying it has overstated Sports Direct’s share of the market. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is investigating whether JD Sports’ £90m takeover of Footasylum could result in higher prices and reduced competition in [...]
Mike Ashley calls Goals Soccer Centres’ move to call in SFO ‘too little, too late’ October 29, 2019 Mike Ashley today blasted a reported move by embattled Goals Soccer Centres to enlist the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) to investigate suspected fraud. The Sports Direct owner called the alleged action “far too little, too late”. Read more: Goals Soccer Centres calls in fraud watchdog The billionaire added that it “is a deliberate case of [...]
Goals Soccer Centres calls in Serious Fraud Office October 28, 2019 Five-a-side football company Goals Soccer Centres has called in the Serious Fraud Office to investigate a case of potential accounting fraud. The firm has passed files of evidence to the authorities in the last ten days after Goals was forced to delist from the London Stock Exchange, Sky News reported. Read more: Sports Direct says [...]
Mike Ashley urges MPs to look into Debenhams collapse October 27, 2019 Mike Ashley has redoubled his efforts to have the collapse of Debenhams investigated and lambasted MPs for not being more interested in the failure of the high-street department store. Read more: Mike Ashley kicks off £4m takeover for Goals Soccer Centres In a letter to business select committee chair MP Rachel Reeves, seen by the [...]
Sports Direct ends two-month wait for new auditor, appointing RSM October 23, 2019 Sports Direct has appointed an auditor two months after Grant Thornton quit as billionaire Mike Ashley’s company’s accountant. Read more: Sports Direct launches ‘skulduggery’ screed against Goals Soccer Centres RSM will now take up the post. The auditor had most recently stepped in to look after Patisserie Valerie’s accounts after the bakery chain became embroiled [...]