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. [...]
Use of zero hours contracts rises to record levels February 25, 2015 The finance sector once again had the lowest rate of workers on zero hour contracts in 2014, new figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) have revealed. However, the total number of UK workers on zero hour contracts, which guarantee no set hours rose by 110,000 to 697,000. Just 31,000 of [...]
Allan Leighton confirmed as Co-op chairman February 19, 2015 ALLAN Leighton has no qualms about taking the toughest jobs in business. The self-style pluralist has experienced several, including Leeds United (where he organised a rescue takeover) and Asda (which he turned around after near-bankruptcy) to name a couple. The boardroom veteran added another to his list yesterday after the Co-operative Group confirmed the appointment [...]
Sports Direct on track for £360m profits despite winter slowdown February 19, 2015 SPORTS Direct said yesterday it remained “very” confident of achieving at least £360m of full-year underlying earnings after the poor skiing season at its Austrian business hit third quarter sales. The sportswear retailer, controlled by Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley, said sales for the 13 weeks to 25 January were up 2.6 per cent to [...]
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 [...]
Playing by the book February 18, 2015 Annabel Denham talks to CrowdBnk founder and chief executive Ayan Mitra about plugging the SME funding gap and the importance of regulation in a new industry CROWDFUNDING appears to be experiencing an interminable growth spurt. According to Nesta, the UK alternative finance market grew by 91 per cent between 2012 and 2013, and crowdfunding represented [...]
Second hotel cancels crucial Rangers’ meeting after “threats from persons unknown” February 18, 2015 A second hotel has pulled out of the Rangers' extraordinary general meeting, this time with the club citing "threats from persons unknown". The meeting, which will seek shareholder approval over a requisition order made by former directors Dave King and Paul Murray, had been scheduled to take place at the Grange Hotel at Tower Hill [...]
Sports Direct shares drop with M&A chief’s sudden exit February 17, 2015 SPORTS Direct’s share price fell more than four per cent in morning trading yesterday after it emerged that its mergers and acquisitions boss Jeff Blue was leaving the retailer. Blue, a former Merril Lynch banker, was hired two years ago to spearhead takeover deals for Mike Ashley’s high street giant. He was also standing in [...]
Sports Direct shares drop as M&A boss departs February 17, 2015 Sports Direct's share price was down more than four per cent this morning after it emerged that its mergers and acquisitions boss Jeff Blue is leaving the company. Blue, a former Merril Lynch banker, was hired two years ago to spearhead takeover deals for Mike Ashley's high street behemoth. He was also standing in [...]