Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley to raise £117m from Sports Direct share sale January 20, 2015 Goldman Sachs is selling up to 15.4m ordinary shares in sports retailer Sports Direct on behalf of founder and deputy executive Mike Ashley. In a statement the investment bank said it would immediately start selling the shares by way of an accelerated bookbuild to institutional investors. At today’s closing price of 751p per [...]
Rangers considers two shareholder offers and could use Ibrox stadium as security January 19, 2015 The board of Rangers football club is considering two offers from existing shareholders to help rescue the Scottish club from financial difficulties. The club has also admitted that its stadium, Ibrox, could potentially be used as security on any financing, despite previously insisting it would not be used on a loan. “At the current time [...]
Mike Ashley and Rangers board draw fan protests over £10m Ibrox loan offer January 17, 2015 The board of Rangers football club and shareholder Mike Ashley have drawn the ire of football fans over a potential £10m loan to the struggling Scottish club. Hundreds of Rangers fans gathered at the Ibrox Stadium last night to protest against the offer made my the Sports Direct and Newcastle United owner who wants the [...]
Mike Ashley’s USC bought out of administration by… Mike Ashley’s Republic January 16, 2015 Mike Ashley's fast fashion retailer USC has been bought out of administration by… Mike Ashley's fast fashion retailer Republic. A notice of intention to put USC, which was bought out by Sports Direct in 2011, into administration was filed last week, with the threat that the company's 90 stores would shut, putting hundreds of [...]
HMV beats Amazon and reclaims top spot as Britain’s biggest retailer of physical music January 16, 2015 HMV is making a comeback on the high street, reclaiming the top spot as the UK's biggest seller of physical music, with vinyl sales soaring to their highest in over 20 years. Total sales climbed to £365.7m in the year to December, up from £311.2m from the same period the previous year. Like-for-like CD sales [...]
Mike Ashley offers Rangers £10m loan in return for securities on Ibrox January 15, 2015 Mike Ashley appears to have offered flailing Rangers a life-line, but in order to accept the Scottish club's board will have to renege on promises previously made to fans. The Newcastle United owner is ready to provide a £10m loan to the club, but in return will want securities on its Ibrox stadium and [...]
‘Basketball has all the attributes to be Britain’s true second sport’ January 14, 2015 The NBA’s Ben Morel tells Frank Dalleres about their plans to expand in London IF YOU are lucky enough to be among the 20,000 or so witnessing the NBA’s dazzling roadshow tonight at the O2 then you are probably either a celebrity or quick out of the blocks. Tickets for the match between the Milwaukee [...]
Bid to restrict online ticket touts defeated in parliament after government wins vote January 13, 2015 A bid to introduce stricter regulations for online ticket touts whose websites re-sell event tickets failed yesterday, after the government won a vote to overturn it by 289 votes to 204. Last week leading figures in sports, music and theatre wrote an open letter calling for the inclusion of a clause in the consumer rights [...]
Debenhams share price plummets despite online sales uplift January 13, 2015 The figures Shares in troubled department store Debenhams fell nearly eight per cent in mid-morning trading, despite figures published this morning suggesting it had a record Christmas. The retailer said like-for-like sales in the four weeks to 10 January rose 4.9 per cent. Particularly successful were online sales, which went up by 29 per cent. Demand [...]
Music and sports titans call for action against online ticket touts January 11, 2015 Leading figures in sports, music and theatre are calling for the better regulation of websites re-selling event tickets, claiming they simultaneously rip off fans while hurting artists and sports professionals. In an open letter to the government they called for changes to the Consumer Rights Bill, currently making its way through Parliament, which would better [...]