ASHLEY’S YEAR GETS WORSE AS PROFITS SLUMP £300m

BILLIONAIRE Mike Ashley’s profits plunged as he reeled from the relegation of Newcastle United and a scandal at Sports Direct.

The tycoon’s business Mash Holdings, which controls his ownership of the football club and has a 60.86pc stake in the retailer, saw profits drop 47pc to £277.8m in the year to April 26.

In a report released yesterday, the business warned that Newcastle United had suffered from a season which was ‘hugely disappointing for all connected with the club’.

The company results include parts of the 2015-16 season in which Newcastle finished 18th and crashed out of the Premier League. They were promoted again last season.

Sales at the club dropped from £132.3m to £131.1m as the average crowd size at home matches dwindled below 50,000.

Ashley’s family still enjoyed match day hospitality worth £101,000, down from £124,000 a year earlier.

The bill for this was later settled, but the accounts do not say by who.

At Sports Direct, shares have plunged around a third since April 2016 due to a scandal over employment conditions likened to a ‘Victorian workhouse’ by MPs.

‘Sports Direct has achieved a disappointing financial result for the year due to a tough trading environment,’ Mash said.

The accounts also show that Ashley ( pictured with his wife, Linda) invested in an internet radio firm – believed to be loss-making Radar

Radio, owned by his son Ollie, 27. The company also cancelled a controversial deal with Barlin Delivery, owned by the tycoon’s 56-year-old brother John. City regulators are investigating auditor Grant Thornton’s previous failure to disclose the deal,...