Thousands of Sports Direct staff to cash in as bonuses hit total of £43m

TROUBLED retailer Sports Direct said it will dish out £43 million in share bonuses to staff.

Former Rangers’ shareholder Mike Ashley’s firm said nearly 2,000 workers would receive 11.1 million ordinary shares that had vested at 390p, creating a bonus pool of £43m.

It means staff that had taken part in a share scheme at the start of 2011 could net an average of £21,000 in shares.

The news comes days after chairman Keith Hellawell scraped a majority backing for his re-election from independent shareholders during the firm’s annual general meeting.

The former West Yorkshire Police chief constable also defended the company’s decision not to shift some temporary staff on to full-time contracts and ruled out an independent review of working practices and corporate governance.

Focusing on the bonus awards, chief executive Mr Ashley said: “The people at Sports Direct deserve every penny of these bonuses.

“It’s thanks to their magnificent achievements and fantastic loyalty we are able to make progress towards becoming the ‘Selfridges’ of sport.”

The bonuses will come on top of normal wages paid to staff.

The company said in its annual report permanent and temporary staff will receive awards of around £19m this year.

In 2013, approximately 2,000 Sports Direct staff secured an average of £70,000 after sharing £135m in shares.

A spokesman for Sports Direct said: “It is our policy to treat all people at Sports Direct with dignity and respect and we will continue to make positive difference.”

Mr Ashley, the owner of Newcastle United, recently won a long-running legal battle against a businessman who claimed he had reneged on a £15m deal during a drinking session in a pub.

Jeffrey Blue told a judge Mr Ashley promised to pay him £15m if he used his expertise to double Sports Direct’s share price to £8 a share. The claim was dismissed by a judge at the High Court in London.