Ashley to hand retail empire to son-in-law
Sports Direct founder will become deputy chairman again, with his daughter’s fiancé expected to step up
Mike Ashley is preparing to step down as chief executive of his retail empire and hand over day-to-day control to his future son-in-law. The billionaire is expected to assume the role of deputy chairman of Frasers Group in an announcement that may come as soon as tomorrow alongside the company’s annual results. City sources cautioned that Mr Ashley could change his plans, however. Mr Ashley is planning to hand over to Michael Murray, 31, who is engaged to his daughter Anna.
THE Sports Direct billionaire Mike Ashley is preparing to step down as chief executive of his retail empire and hand over day-to-day control to his prospective son-in-law, The Daily Telegraph can reveal.
The 56-year-old is expected to assume the role of deputy chairman of Frasers Group in an announcement that may come as soon as tomorrow alongside the company’s annual results.
City sources cautioned the famously mercurial retailer could change his plans, however.
Mr Ashley is planning to pass the baton to Michael Murray, who is engaged to his daughter Anna and currently serves as Frasers’ “head of elevation”.
The role has put him at the centre of efforts to modernise and go up market, which have won reluctant praise from retail pundits and contributed to a surging share price.
Frasers shares are at their highest level since 2015 and investors are predicting a strong pandemic performance this week.
As part of the handover, Mr Murray, 31, is expected to be awarded a potentially lucrative bonus plan. He has earned more than £10m from Sports Direct in recent years via his consultancy vehicle MM Prop Consultancy, making him better paid than most FTSE 100 chief executives. Mr Ashley was previously executive deputy chairman of Sports Direct until 2016, when long-serving chief executive Dave Forsey resigned. Asked why Mr Ashley was absent during a recent tour of the revamped Sports Direct store on Oxford Street, Mr Murray said the tracksuit tycoon didn’t want to have “his handwriting” on the future direction of the firm.
Mr Murray added: “It can’t really be easy when someone comes and rips something up you’ve done for 30 years, but this is what we’re going to be doing for the next 30 years.”
A handful of young executives such as Liam Rowley, the head of investments, Carl Tallents, who is in charge of brands at Flannels, the upmarket department store; and David Epstein, running House of Fraser, have been working alongside Mr Murray on the “elevation” strategy.
Mr Ashley founded the business as a single store in Maidenhead in 1982 and has grown it into a £3bn company with almost 1,000 stores. It has amassed a stable of brands through acquisitions, often buying them out of administration, and it owns Evans Cycles, Game, Jack Wills, Flannels and House of Fraser among others. Over the years,
‘Mr Murray, 31, is expected to be awarded a potentially lucrative bonus plan’
he has been at loggerheads with “greedy” landlords, in his own words, and launched a coup attempt to seize control of now defunct department store chain Debenhams.
The self-described “power drinker” still owns almost two thirds of Frasers. Mr Ashley has been snapping up shares in the company in recent months, including stock worth £60m in May, signalling confidence in Frasers’ postcovid future.
Mr Ashley has also been putting pressure in recent months on the Premier League to allow him to offload Newcastle United to a Saudi Arabian-led consortium.
The prospective owners rejected the Premier League’s offer of arbitration to determine who would own the football club and ended its £300m bid to buy the club from Mr Ashley in July last year.
He bought Newcastle United for £135m in 2007.
Frasers did not respond to requests for comment.