Sports Direct’s chair survives investor revolt

SPORTS Direct’s under-fire chairman Keith Hellawell survived a vote to oust him – despite mounting criticism of his time at the helm.

The former West Yorkshire Police chief constable and Government drugs tsar saw 53.24pc of shareholders vote in favour of his reappointment, while a significant tranche – 46.76pc – opposed the move.

It comes after Royal London Asset Management, Standard Life Aberdeen and Hermes Investment Management joined a trio of shareholder advisory firms – Institutional Shareholder Services, PIRC, and Glass Lewis – who came out against Hellawell’s reappointment ahead of the annual general meeting.

The result saved the firm’s owner Mike Ashley from embarrassment. Around 15 shareholders attended the retailer’s AGM, and there were protests outside by the Unite union over working practices.

The 52-year- old billionaire stayed away from the meeting yesterday saying he was busy.

Last year, Hellawell survived an attempt to oust him due to the backing of Ashley, who owns a controlling 55pc stake in the retail empire.

But Hellawell pledged to quit if a majority of independent shareholders opposed his reelection for a second year.

Directors faced questions from trade union shareholders about the use of zero-hours contracts. Sports Direct’s board included for the first time a workers’ representative, Alex Balacki, who said staff wanted casual agreements ahead of contracted hours as they were more flexible.

Hellawell, 75, said: ‘We pay above the minimum wage. We do pay sick pay, we do pay holiday pay. I get sick and tired of reports saying we do not do that. If we were so bad, one wonders why individual people would want to join us and why they would want to stay.’