Royal London attacks Sports Direct over corporate governance issues ahead of AGM September 4, 2016 Two major investment firms are set to join a revolt against Sports Direct’s corporate governance at a crunch AGM on Wednesday. Royal London and Hermes will vote against several board appointments. Royal London Asset Management, which owns a £2.75m stake in the retailer, also pushed Sports Direct to commission an independent external review into its working practices. The [...]
Asos vs Assos: Asos just paid out £20m to settle a trademark dispute September 2, 2016 In the battle of Asos vs Assos, there were only ever going to be two winners. Online retail giant Asos announced today it had settled a trademark dispute with Assos of Switzerland, a high-performance cycle wear manufacturer and German menswear retailer Anson's Herrenhaus. Asos said it will pay a total of £20.2m in cash to Assos and [...]
Sports Direct and Debenhams will be hardest hit by Brexit, according to Canadian bank RBC – here’s why August 30, 2016 Debenhams and Sports Direct are likely to be two of the retailers hardest hit by Brexit, according to Canadian bank RBC, due to currency pressures and rising costs for the industry. The analysts predicted that disposable income in 2017 would be flat – as compared to growth of around five per cent this year – [...]
ISS has reportedly joined the growing revolt against Sports Direct owner Mike Ashley August 26, 2016 Sports Direct owner Mike Ashley is facing a growing revolt and Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) is reportedly advising investors to oppose his re-election to the retailer's board. City A.M. revealed today that fellow shareholder advisory groups Glass Lewis and ShareSoc were backing a shake-up at Sports Direct, with the former calling on investors to vote [...]
Free music for EE customers… for six months at least August 26, 2016 Britain's largest mobile phone carrier has announced a tie-up with Apple Music that will see customers receive a free six month subscription. EE – now owned by telecoms giant BT – said that any new monthly customers or those renewing their contracts could benefit from the free service. “The deal is a coup for EE that [...]
Shareholder groups pile the pressure on Mike Ashley as new groups speak out against the retail tycoon August 26, 2016 Fresh voices are adding to calls for a shake up at Sports Direct, with investors demanding a review of corporate governance and some shareholders even urging the retailer's founder Mike Ashley to step down from the board. Ashley has faced a volley of criticism after admitting to the Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) select committee [...]
Football betting: History repeating with Spurs and Liverpool set to share spoils August 25, 2016 For both Tottenham and Liverpool fans, the wait for a league title is long overdue. It’s been 55 years since Spurs were champions, and the most recent of Liverpool’s 18 wins came in 1990. Neither have won since the formation of the Premier League. Both have come close in recent years – Liverpool narrowly missing out [...]
More good news for Mike Ashley – another shareholder group has said they plan to kick up a fuss at Sports Direct’s public AGM August 25, 2016 Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM) has joined calls from shareholder groups for a review of corporate governance at Sports Direct. The group said it would be voting against the re-election of non-executive directors at Sports Direct because the company "needs a stronger body of independent non-executive directors to ensure the business is run in the [...]
Sports Direct founder Mike Ashley is being scrutinised again after shareholders called for a board review August 25, 2016 Shareholder group Investor Forum today issued a statement to Sports Direct demanding an "independent and comprehensive review" of the board's governance practices. That again? Following rumours yesterday evening a statement was on its way, the group – which represents 12 per cent of share capital and 27 per cent of independent shareholders – took what it admitted was [...]
Sports Direct day: Mike Ashley is opening his company’s AGM to the public August 24, 2016 Sports Direct's founder Mike Ashley invited MPs to visit the company's Shirebrook warehouse while they were investigating working conditions at the site – and now he's inviting you too. Yes, that's right, Sports Direct is opening its annual general meeting (AGM) to the public so everyone can have a go at Ashley for paying his workers [...]