Sports tycoon Mike Ashley’s fury over high street bailout

SPORTSWEAR tycoon and House of Fraser owner Mike Ashley is set fora show down with MPs tomorrow over a £900 million Government hand out to help high street retailers that sees his company receive less than £ 89,000 a year.

The billionaire is understood to be livid at what he regards as a bungled attempt by Chancellor Philip Hammond in last month’s Budget to help Britain’s high streets.

Ashley will appear in front of a parliamentary committee tomorrow to discuss the future of the high street after volunteering an hour of his time for the event.

His representatives said he is keen to shine a spotlight on the rapid changes sweeping high streets and his belief that the Government’s response is inadequate.

However, another industry source familiar with the situation said he is particularly distressed about rates rebates that do so little to help big firms. One said: ‘He regards himself as being at the vanguard of efforts to save the high street – its saviour, if you like – and he feels that Government efforts to help are falling well short. The Budget announcement was received very badly in Ashley’s camp.’

One Ashley source previously described the Budget plan as ‘the work of a child’.

Ashley swooped on House of Fraser in the summer after it collapsed and he has already secured renewed lease agreements with landlords on a third of the stores.

But there are concerns that the gloom sweeping many town centres may be terminal.

Hammond’s business rates giveaway was part of a £1.6 billion package to ‘help high streets to evolve’. It will help cut business rates bills for smaller retail units by a third, ‘benefiting up to 90 per cent of retail properties,’ documents said. But EU state aid rules restrict the amount the Government can hand to bigger firms to €200,000 (£178,500) over the period to April 2021.

Last night, a Treasury spokesman said the money was targeted ‘where we think it is most needed, on the small shops and cafes that are so important to our high streets’ – adding that the aid package over five years now amounts to £13 billion.

But Robert Hayton, head of UK business rates at analysts Altus, said the Budget was ‘great for independent retailers’ but ‘does nothing to help those major retailers who are reducing their store portfolios and headcount’.

Altus said the biggest 10 per cent of retail premises pay more than two thirds of business rates.

Others giving evidence tomorrow include Marks & Spencer’s head of public affairs, Tony Ginty, and Richard Collyer, chief financial officer at fashion chain New Look.