I’M A POWER DRINKER ..HE’S A LIGHTWEIGHT
Mike Ashley tells trial he downs four pints an hour and claims his accuser could never have kept up
SPORTS Direct boss Mike Ashley yesterday told a High Court judge he likes to get drunk.
The former Rangers shareholder told Mr Justice Leggatt he was not a regular drinker but a “power drinker”.
He was giving evidence on the fourth day of a High Court trial in London after being sued by investment banker Jeffrey Blue – who he accused of being a “lightweight” at drinking.
Blue says the 52-yearold businessman promised to pay him £15million if he used his expertise to increase Sports Direct’s share price to £8 a share.
He says Ashley paid him only £1million and he is suing for £14million damages.
Ashley – who sold his remaining shares in Rangers last month but still owns Newcastle United – denies the claim and says Blue is talking “nonsense”.
The judge has heard that the dispute between Blue and Ashley relates to a conversation in a central London pub.
Blue says Ashley made a promise during a meeting in the Horse and Groom four years ago.
A lawyer representing Blue asked how much Ashley had drunk at the Horse and Groom.
Ashley calculated that within an hour, he would have drunk four to five pints.
He said: “It was a fun evening – drinking at pace. I like to get drunk. I am a power drinker.”
Ashley went on: “My thing is not to drink regularly.
“It is binge-drinking. I am trying to get drunk.”
He said he had been trying to “get p***ed and have a good night out” at the Horse and Groom.
Ashley was asked how much Blue had drunk.
He said: “He would never have been able to keep up.
“He’s a lightweight when it comes to drinking.
“I find it incredible that Mr Blue is actually suggesting that I made a binding agreement for £15million. It’s nonsense.
“If I did say to Mr Blue that I would pay him £15million if he could increase the share price to £8, it would be obvious to everyone, including Mr Blue, that I wasn’t being serious.”
Earlier, Ashley said he had never taken money out of Sports Direct and insisted that he actually propped the company up financially.
He told Mr Justice Leggat: “I have never taken a penny out of Sports Direct – salary or otherwise.
“As a matter of fact, I subsidise Sports Direct.”
He added that he was the “last person to know” at Newcastle United, saying: “They are really not interested in my opinion.”