Why has Asos boss used £62m shares to take out a giant loan?

THE founder of online fashion chain Asos has used more than £60m of shares to secure a loan from Credit Suisse.

Nick Robertson, 50, who set up the company in 2000 and is a non-executive director, has put up 1m of his own shares.

They were worth more than £62m when trading closed last night. Robertson owns just over 5m Asos shares worth £312m.

The deal with Credit Suisse comes two years after he was ordered to hand over £70m to his first wife Janine in one of Britain’s biggest divorce settlements.

His ex-wife, with whom he has two children, had wanted £110m, half his fortune at the time. Robertson, the great-grandson of retailer Austin Reed, married Janine in 2004 but the couple separated in 2013.

She kept the £12m family home in London, while Robertson moved in with his former personal assistant, Charlotte Balin, 15 years his junior. They have since married.

Asos last night refused to say what the loan with Credit Suisse was for. Sources said it was nothing to do with his divorce.