Ashley faces investor rebellion at AGM

[BrownBrogues]

Mike Ashley could face a shareholder revolt at Sports Direct’s annual general meeting next month after two proxy advisors recommended investors vote to oust him from the board.

Pensions and Investment Research Consultants (Pirc) and Glass Lewis have both urged shareholders to oppose the re-election of Ashley, the firm’s chief executive and founder, at a meeting on 11 September.

Read more: Mike Ashley’s Sports Direct buys Jack Wills

Pirc has also opposed the re-election of chairman David Daly and directors Richard Bottomley, Nicola Frampton and David Brayshaw. It has recommended shareholders support the election of employee representative Cally Price.


The recommendations follow a chain of controversies at the company including the resignation of its auditor Grant Thornton and a €674m Belgian tax bill that delayed the company’s latest annual results.

Ashley’s acquisition spree, which has seen Sports Direct snap up Game, Evans Cycles, Sofa.com and Jack Wills and make a failed attempt to buy Debenhams in the last year, was also highlighted by the shareholder advisory firms as a reason to block his election.

In a note to investors Pirc said “shareholders of the company are faced with a decline in profitability, loss of value for their shares, no dividend distribution and a further potential loss when the tax evasion case concludes”.

Glass Lewis said that as the chief executive, founder and figurehead of the company Ashley is “inextricably linked with the myriad controversies, past and ongoing” which have caused “serious reputational damage”.

Read more: Mike Ashley’s Sports Direct closes in on Jack Wills deal

The note added: “A recurrent theme underlying the various controversies is disregarded for the rights and concerns of independent shareholders, of which the delayed publication of results is a manifestation.”

Glass Lewis also pointed to Ashley’s 75 per cent attendance at board meetings as a reason to oppose his re-election.


Ashley owns 61 per cent of the company’s shares.

Sports Direct declined to comment.

 

[ChildOfGoth]

It’s no surprise to see `Ashley and revolting in the same story

 

[Brian11Laudrup]

Could these companies be contacted by bears to highlight the ongoing nonsense he has with us?

 

[I’ll Remember I’ll Try]

Hope the shareholders vote wisely and get the fat prick out the door

 

[alex wright]

Have we not heard the same thing at their last few AGM's?

 

[Hillheadbear]

Hope the shareholders vote wisely and get the fat prick out the door

He has 61% of the shares. He can outvote them.

 

[stonewall Jackson]

Even In the very remote chance that he is ousted the fat c unt still owns 61% of the company shares.

 

[I’ll Remember I’ll Try]

He has 61% of the shares. He can outvote them.

Wishful thinking on my part then.

 

[BrownBrogues]

Just one thing to add

MHA who are a mid size Auditor have held provisional talks to become SD new Auditor

“MHA chairman Rakesh Shaunak said: “We have had initial conversations not with Mike Ashley but his emissaries. We expect to take part in the tendering process, although we want to know the full reasons why Grant Thornton quit.”

Grant Thornton is expected to submit a letter to Companies House explaining why it stood down after 11 years as the company’s auditor.”

This will be telling, it was Grant Thornton who compiled the late RRL accounts that were a total mess and raised question marks over phantom shares and voting rights.

GT have to now come clean on why it quit as SD Auditor and with them also currently under investigaton by the watchdog over their botch handling of Pattiserie Valerie they are probably going to be brutally honest to try and save themselves

 

[Professor Yaffle]

If he has most shares cant he do what he wants ?

Would he be allowed to take part in a no confidence vote?

Fat bastard

 

[Kathmandu]

Could these companies be contacted by bears to highlight the ongoing nonsense he has with us?

Wouldn’t waste your time, these big faceless corporations wouldn’t give a toss about us

 

[Valley Bluenose]

He has 61% of the shares. He can outvote them.

The fairly obvious conclusion. Yes, there’s unrest but that’s as far as it will go.

 

[Liviger1984]

Hope they all make a big queue and start laying into him like the scene from airplane

 

[Haining84]

Excellent

 

[Tim Hunter]

Hell end every last one of them. They bought SD shares knowing theywere buying into a corporate shark of a company. Now're crying cause they'vebeen bitten.

 

[o7o]

Any bad press about the kunt is welcome.

He's up there with Craigy boy for getting taken out I say!

 

[supersonic]

says it all that since the bad news about his company has came out the share price has risen! although probably ties in with rumours he wants to take it private therefore people are holding on. can only hope that House of Fraser blows up in his face, as much as it would be a shame to see such a brand hit the wall.

 

[Drum]

Will not affect him one bit. Has zero respect for other humans nor anything of value to others. Has one of the most expensive UK divorces on record. Yet with so many enemies, seems to incur MI5 levels of privacy.

A complete basket case imho, will only be brought down by some sordid insight to his personal life.

 

[HillbillyRFC]

Hope he snuffs it through arse cancer before the AGM. Fat, cockney prick.

 

[Kaiserweiss]

Fat wank

 

[Fife flyer]

Even In the very remote chance that he is ousted the fat c unt still owns 61% of the company shares.

So he can’t be outvoted then?

 

[Arminius]

I wish they still did revolts like the old ones, with claymores, pistols or guillotines.

 

[Mexi]

Just one thing to add

MHA who are a mid size Auditor have held provisional talks to become SD new Auditor

“MHA chairman Rakesh Shaunak said: “We have had initial conversations not with Mike Ashley but his emissaries. We expect to take part in the tendering process, although we want to know the full reasons why Grant Thornton quit.”

Grant Thornton is expected to submit a letter to Companies House explaining why it stood down after 11 years as the company’s auditor.”

This will be telling, it was Grant Thornton who compiled the late RRL accounts that were a total mess and raised question marks over phantom shares and voting rights.

GT have to now come clean on why it quit as SD Auditor and with them also currently under investigaton by the watchdog over their botch handling of Pattiserie Valerie they are probably going to be brutally honest to try and save themselves

His emissaries?

Is this a UK based auditor?

 

[Fife flyer]

His emissaries?

Is this a UK based auditor?

Yes. MHA are an association of medium sized accounting firms

 

[stonewall Jackson]

So he can’t be outvoted then?

You would think he has enough votes to negate any potential coup but dont know enough about the company. If he owns that percentage he must be safe.

 

[HarryBosch]

Hopefully its a torches-pitchforks-burning at the stake kind of revolt.

 

[devilman]

This keeps popping up and yet the fat cancer always manages to stay in place. That said, what good would it even do to oust him. His piece of shit company will still carry on regardless and with some of the lowest ethics in the modern world.

No, someone would need to take this leach to task properly. The man's reputation and possibly life should be in tatters and yet here he is, still one of the richest people around with nothing to worry about other than losing a % here or there off of his business.

I wish him nothing but ruin and pain.

 

[tangledupinblue]

I knew Dave King would mount a pincer attack on the fatman eventually. He has too many South African friends within the Antwerp diamond district.

They have no idea how powerful our Dave is. No idea.

 

[GEODGC]

I wasn’t aware Ashley had got his grubby paws on Evans Cycles. I just bought a bike from there a couple of weeks ago, Gutted

 

[nybear]

I wasn’t aware Ashley had got his grubby paws on Evans Cycles. I just bought a bike from there a couple of weeks ago, Gutted

Just don’t buy the extras. I live close to one and went to the west end to get mine from dales. Went to halfords for tourer pannier and bags more in petrol and bit more than his on price

 

[GEODGC]

Just don’t buy the extras. I live close to one and went to the west end to get mine from dales. Went to halfords for tourer pannier and bags more in petrol and bit more than his on price

I won’t buy anything from them again. I had no idea Ashley had anything to do with them.

 

[nybear]

I won’t buy anything from them again. I had no idea Ashley had anything to do with them.

Another shop that will end up with crap

 

[Realger34]

Fat wank

This!

 

[Superrangers]

Have we not heard the same thing at their last few AGM's?

It does sound familiar.

 

[Muay Bouk]

I knew Dave King would mount a pincer attack on the fatman eventually. He has too many South African friends within the Antwerp diamond district.

They have no idea how powerful our Dave is. No idea.

I’m not seeing how Dave King knowing Antwerp diamond merchants bears any relevance to this story at all.

 

[Livibear]

Wouldn’t waste your time, these big faceless corporations wouldn’t give a toss about us

“shareholders of the company are faced with a decline in profitability, loss of value for their shares, no dividend distribution and a further potential loss when the tax evasion case concludes”.

They care about profit.

The fat, greedy b.as.tard is writing off £1million potential profit from us every season because of his personal vendetta.

They might care about that.

 

[coplandrearl36]

I’m not seeing how Dave King knowing Antwerp diamond merchants bears any relevance to this story at all.

He wears a diamond tie pin on occasion.

 

[isawthat]

Have we not heard the same thing at their last few AGM's?

He is another David Muray. He has complete control with his 61% of the shares, and simply disregards the minority shareholders, just like The Mint did.