Ashley and the £14m verdict
BANKER CLAIMED UNITED OWNER MADE DEAL IN PUB
NEWCASTLE United owner and Sports Direct boss Mike Ashley is waiting to see whether he has won a High Court battle with an investment banker over a £15 million deal allegedly made in a London pub.
Investment banker Jeffrey Blue says 52-year-old Mr Ashley promised to pay him £15 million if he used his expertise to double Sports Direct’s share price to £8 a share.
He says Mr Ashley paid only £1 million and he wants £14 million damages.
Mr Ashley denies the claim and says Mr Blue is talking “nonsense”.
A judge has finished analysing evidence at a High Court trial in London.
Mr Justice Leggatt said he aimed to deliver a ruling in the near future.
A barrister representing Mr Ashley told the judge on Wednesday that the businessman had come across as “larger than life” but honest.
“Mr Ashley was obviously robust and a larger-than-life character, “said David Cavender QC.
“But he was honest. He was an honest bloke - sometimes disarmingly so.”
Mr Cavender added: “He came here to give evidence for two days because he does not believe there was any agreement with Mr Blue.”
Mr Cavender said Mr Blue had taken no note of conversations he said he had with Mr Ashley about the £15 million deal.
He said that was “quite extraordinary” and suggested that Mr Blue was the “sort of man who would take a note if he coughed”.
“This claim just doesn’t work,” said Mr Cavender.
“It is, we say, the story of a disappointed, aggrieved man.”
Mr Cavender said Mr Blue had not behaved like a man with an “entitlement”.
“It is the behaviour of a man who thinks he may be able to get something from Mike,” said Mr Cavender.
“He thinks he may, in some way, possibly get a bonus if he plays his cards right.”
Mr Cavender said Mr Blue could not distinguish between “what is banter and what is not”.
A barrister representing Mr Blue said Mr Ashley had reneged on the £15 million deal.
“Mr Blue has seen Mr Ashley in action over the years, doing business in pubs, hotel bars and casinos,” Jeffrey Chapman QC told Mr Justice Leggatt.
“Doing business with enormous success.”
Mr Chapman said evidence aired suggested that Mr Ashley was a “power-drinking, moneymaking machine”.
“The deal he entered into with Mr Blue was, like so many of his deals, a brilliant one for Mike Ashley,” said Mr Chapman.
“Incentivising Mr Blue into working hard to try and double Sports Direct’s share price, which is what he did.”
Mr Chapman added: “Mr Ashley reneged by paying Mr Blue £1 million.”
He said explanations Mr Ashley had given when denying any £15 million deal were “fanciful” and added: “(Mr Blue) has got enough experience of the world of Mr Ashley to be able to tell the difference between a joke and something that is serious.”
Mr Chapman suggested that Mr Ashley had been unable to give a “coherent, commercial” explanation for the £1 million payment.
“He’s not Santa Claus,” said Mr Chapman. “He’s the sort of man who will drive a hard bargain.”