Ashley channels Star Wars and Bond in court
Mike Ashley, the Sports Direct tycoon, made a colourful appearance in the High Court, which has heard lurid tales of his business dealings. In cross-examination, he joked about Star Wars, James Bond and how he had so much money that he had bought his neighbour’s house.
IN THE austere surroundings of the High Court, a fight over £15million and lurid claims of drunken debauchery would leave most businessmen petrified of the damage to their finances and their reputation.
But not billionaire Mike Ashley, who turned the air blue during an hour-anda-half-long rant which included jokes about Obi-wan Kenobi, Bond villains and how he had so much money that he had bought his neighbour’s house.
During cross-examination the Sports Direct owner held his head in his hands and banged the table before ending the day telling the judge: “Please don’t ask to touch me, please.”
He is being sued by Jeffrey Blue, an investment banker, who alleges Mr Ashley reneged on a deal made in a pub to pay him £15million if Sports Direct’s share price hit £8 within three years.
The court has heard lurid tales of Mr Ashley’s business dealings, centring around boozy meetings held in pubs and casinos, including one in which he was allegedly applauded by his management team as he triumphantly vomited in to a fireplace upon winning a drinking contest after downing 12 pints with vodka chasers.
But rather than taking a sober occasion to correct the myths, Mr Ashley’s colourful appearance in the witness box did little to change his “larger than life” persona.
When asked about “spoofing” for a £750,000 legal bill with a Merrill Lynch banker, in which he said he would pay it if the banker guessed how many coins he had in his hand – and lost – Mr Ashley said he would “do it again tomorrow”.
He said: “The City might laugh at me for the next 15 years, but I could have saved Sports Direct £750k.”
News of that game in a casino on the night that Sports Direct was floated on the stock market caused the company reputational damage, he admitted.
He told the judge: “We were all celebrating. Splish, splash, splosh, that’s the real world.”
He said that floating the company was a “disaster”, adding, when it was pointed out he had made £929million from it personally: “I was already fabulously wealthy. What do you think I did with the money in the morning? Went out and bought the neighbour’s house? I already owned it.” Within five minutes his irritation with the questions from Jeffrey Chapman QC, representing Mr Blue, was obvious.
Denying that Sports Direct was entirely his company, he leant forward on his elbows and snapped: “I am not Obiwan Kenobi in charge of the Death Star OK, let’s be clear.”
He later joked that he was not “sitting in an office stroking a big white cat” in apparent reference to Bond villain Blofeld.
Mr Ashley saved most of his fury for Mr Blue’s claim that he made undocumented payments of up to £1million a year to Dave Forsey, then Sports Direct’s chief executive.
Describing the banker as a “liar”, Mr Ashley became animated and made hand gestures as he said the allegation was “utter b ******* ” that had left him “furious”.
The case against the 52-year-old entrepreneur centres on a night in the Horse and Groom pub in Fitzrovia in January 2013, when Mr Blue claims that he was promised a £15million bonus if Sports Direct’s share price doubled to £8 in front of three brokers who were later employed by the company.
Despite the three men taking to the witness box yesterday to back up Mr Ashley’s claims that this was just “drunken banter” and not a business agreement, he said that he only at- tended the evening as a favour to Mr Blue.
“I probably would rather put needles in my eyes than go to a thing like that,” he said.
He said that people who “rolled him out” would not accept another executive as: “They need to touch you, they need to see you, they need to feel you”.
When Mr Chapman QC suggested that was a good time to break, Mr Ashley agreed and thanked the judge, adding: “Please don’t ask to touch me, please.”
He will morning. resume his evidence this