The shareholder spring is back – but there may be worse to come for CEOs July 16, 2014 This is a rotten year to be a chief executive. The impact of new regulations introduced by the Department for Business has been to rekindle 2012’s “shareholder spring”, with a host of firms feeling the heat as up to 40 per cent of their shareholders opposed policies that could bind pay awards for three years. [...]
Mike Ashley waives Sports Direct bonus July 16, 2014 Sports Direct founder Mike Ashley will not take up his bonus despite the controversial scheme gaining approval from shareholders. The retailer announced Ashley will not take up the share-based bonus in 2015 ahead of its financial results, due out tomorrow, and would not approach shareholders about any bonus until 2019. The collective £200m bonus, approved [...]
London Report: FTSE 100 lifted by Sports Direct and Shire talks July 14, 2014 BRITAIN’S top equity index rose for a second straight day in thin trade yesterday, helped by rises in bid-target drugs firm Shire and retailer Sports Direct. Shares in Shire hit a record high of 5,045 pence – before paring back gains into the close – after its board said it was ready to recommend a [...]
Ashley’s Sports Direct plans on Australia launch July 14, 2014 Sports Direct is set to make its first foray into Australia through a tie-up with MySale after buying a stake in the flash sales site last month. The sports retail giant, controlled by billionaire tycoon Mike Ashley, plans to open three stores in Australia and one in New Zealand through a joint venture with MySale. [...]
London Report: Unemployment figures set to show recovery July 14, 2014 UNEMPLOYMENT figures this week are expected to show that the number of people out of work has dropped again, as the UK recovery takes hold. Jobs data is likely to show an unemployment rate of 6.5 per cent in the three months to May, down from 6.9 per cent in the quarter to February. Despite [...]
Brand Index: Ashley’s Sports Direct has found the sweet spot among shoppers July 8, 2014 IN RECENT days, shareholders of Sports Direct have finally approved the retailer’s bonus scheme, after years of turning down the firm’s plans to reward founder and deputy chairman Mike Ashley. This award that could potentially see Ashley and up to 3,000 employees share £200m in equity, as long as profits double by 2019. Ashley himself [...]
London Report: FTSE nears record 7,000 level after USA jobs surprise July 3, 2014 LONDON’s top share index yesterday edged ever-closer to breaking its 1999 record – and the 7,000 point mark – after fresh batch of strong US jobs data and supportive rhetoric from the European Central Bank. The blue-chip FTSE 100 closed 48.84 points higher, or 0.7 per cent, at 6,865.21, taking its gain since the start [...]
Ashley finally set for Sports Direct bonus July 2, 2014 SPORTS Direct triumphed yesterday in pushing through a multimillion-pound bonus share scheme for founder Mike Ashley despite vehement opposition from several shareholder groups. The retail giant’s third attempt at rewarding Ashley, who did not vote, was backed by 60.4 per cent of investors – overcoming opponents to the scheme such as Scottish fund manager Standard [...]
Bottom Line: How to lose friends and alienate people July 2, 2014 MIKE Ashley looked thoroughly bored at yesterday’s Sports Direct meeting, seemingly fed up with all the commotion surrounding its latest attempt to pay him a hefty bonus. One might have thought he’d be used to it. An extremely divisive figure, often ridiculed and reviled in the football world, the bolshie and controversial way by which [...]
Simon Fraser is fighting for hearts and minds at the Investor Forum July 2, 2014 Does someone at the new body set up to promote investor long-termism have a bizarre sense of humour? That was one interpretation of yesterday’s confirmation that Simon Fraser, former global chief investment officer of Fidelity, would be its first chairman. After all, Fraser was until recently a board member at the bete [...]