Ashley teed off by ‘fraud’

Tycoon in court fight over golf cash

NEWCASTLE United owner Mike Ashley is suing a former “trusted friend” over a luxury golf course deal.

The Sports Direct tycoon is demanding Tony Jimenez returns £3million he says was for the project in France’s Loire region.

Jimenez was a vice-chairman of Newcastle in 2008 and went on to buy Charlton Athletic in 2011.

High Court papers claim Ashley agreed in 2008 to invest £3million, via his property firm, in the course, in exchange for a five per cent stake in the business behind the project.

Former Rangers shareholder Ashley has accused Jimenez of “deliberate fraud” and taking “the investment sum for himself ”, and is suing him for breach of contract.

Jimenez claims the £3million was late arriving and it was agreed the money would instead be used to find a buyer for Newcastle United.

Lawyers say Ashley was prompted to act after Jimenez lost a separate High Court case brought by ex-England star Dennis Wise relating to a £500,000 investment in the same course.

Wise was director of football at Newcastle with Jimenez.

Neither Ashley nor his law firm were available for comment.

Jimenez is quoted as calling the claims “fabricated and malicious”.

The court fight comes after Ashley last month won a High Court action brought by investment banker Jeffrey Blue over a supposed £15million deal made in a pub. Mike Ashley up 27.8 at 7365.3 GKN GlaxoSmithKline Halfords Hays HSBC Imperial Brands International Airlines Grp ITV Kingfisher Land Securities Legal & General Lloyds Marks & Spencer Morrison National Grid Next Old Mutual Pearson Prudential Reckitt Benckiser 319.2 1517.0 313.3 172.8 749.1 3188.5 601.0 156.9 295.5 999.5 259.3 63.6 317.5 245.2 965.7 4046.0 205.9 604.5 1789.5 7299.0 +4.7 +18.5 -0.8 +3.1 +6.5 -3.5 -8.5 +3.9 +3.5 +9.0 +0.2 -0.2 +3.0 +3.1 +3.9 -14.0 -2.6 -8.0 +2.0 +2.0 Oil = $51.72 1665.0 300.0 3679.0 909.5 390.5 665.5 248.5 235.8 1408.0 2253.0 108.6 387.3 2158.5 951.5 1379.0 1845.0 172.3 772.5 429.8 199.4 197.8 RELX Rentokil Initial Rio Tinto Rolls-Royce Royal Mail RSA RBS J Sainsbury SSE Severn Trent Serco Sports Direct Shell Sky Smith & Nephew Smith WH Stagecoach Standard Chartered Standard Life Aberdeen TalkTalk Taylor Wimpey SHARES in tool hire chain HSS crashed by 12 pe cent yesterday after th plunged deeper into the Losses nearly quadruple £30.1million for the six mo to July 1, from £7.8millio year earlier. Bosses insis a turnaround plan wa starting to work. +4.0 +4.4 +17.5 +12.5 +3.0 +4.5 -2.3 +5.1 +10.0 +12.0

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-1.9 +2.6 +2.4 THE Co-op Group have begun exclusive talks to buy Nisa, elbowing out Sainsbury’s as the frontrunner.

They are thought to have tabled a £140million bid for the convenience store operator, whose 1300 shopkeepers run 3000 stores.

It follows Tesco’s £3.7billion merger with wholesalers Booker. Sainsbury’s are said to be awaiting findings of a Competition and Markets Authority probe into Tesco’s deal before making a move. Tesco Thomas Cook Unilever United Utilities Vodafone Trinity Mirror 182.4 124.0 4461.5 911.0 218.6 97.0 +1.5 0.0 -37.5 +1.0 +1.9 +0.2