Ashley in audacious bid to seize control of Debenhams
Tycoon calls for boardroom clearout . . . and demands top job for himself
MIKE Ashley last night launched an audacious bid to take control of Debenhams.
The Sports Direct tycoon called for the removal of all the members of the Debenhams board bar finance director Rachel Osborne.
And he demanded an executive role so he can take charge and ‘focus on the Debenhams business including building a strong board and management team’.
The 54- year- old, who owns 29.7pc of Debenhams, even said he would stand down as chief executive of Sports Direct to concentrate on reviving the department store.
Ashley, pictured, set up Sports Direct in 1982 and still holds a 61.5pc stake. He also owns Newcastle United FC.
The attempted coup came days after Debenhams issued its fourth profit warning since January 2018. Analysts expect it to make losses of £30m this year.
They also questioned why Ashley doesn’t launch a takeover bid for the company, which is valued at just £38m. It was worth £1.7bn when it listed on the stock market in 2006.
Laith Khalaf of trading firm Hargreaves Lansdown said: ‘This is classic Mike Ashley in that it’s totally out of the blue and unpredictable. Sports Direct is a much bigger company than Debenhams – I don’t really understand why Ashley wants to go from running a company in the FTSE 100, to something much smaller.’
Neil Wilson, chief market analyst at trading platform Markets, said: ‘Ashley keeps on surprising us. I think he should just bid for it now and be done.’
Ashley has already overseen one boardroom coup that resulted in Sir Ian Cheshire’s removal as Debenhams chairman.
Chief executive Sergio Bucher was also removed from the board but still runs the retailer.
In last night’s statement to the stock market, Ashley demanded a general meeting of Debenhams’ shareholders to discuss his latest plan ‘during this business-critical period’ for the company.
Ashley has repeatedly tried to gain control of Debenhams, and launched a scathing attack on management in December when it refused to accept a £40m loan from him. At the time he likened Cheshire, who was still chairman, to a doomed Christmas turkey in an extraordinary outburst during a results presentation.
The billionaire proposed the interest-free loan in exchange for an additional 10pc stake in Debenhams. When the offer was turned down, he warned the company ‘has a zero chance for survival’.
Debenhams accused the tycoon of ‘pure mischief making’.
Ashley has built up a £1bn war chest to snap up ailing retailers.
In the past year he has plucked House of Fraser and Evans Cycles out of administration for a combined £100m, and bought online furniture firm Sofa.
A Debenhams spokesman last night said: ‘The board has been engaging with Sports Direct and our other stakeholders and is disappointed that it has taken this action. In the meantime, we remain focused on delivering the restructuring of our balance sheet, and our discussions are well advanced.’