Sports Direct owner loosens his grip on Frasers Group

Bloomberg

Mike Ashley is stepping down from the board of Frasers Group Plc four decades after he founded his retail business and just months after son-in-law Michael Murray became CEO of the Sports Direct-owner.
The 58-year-old Ashley still holds an almost 70% stake in Frasers and said he remains “100% committed” to the business even though he won’t seek re-election at next month’s AGM. He said his support as a shareholder is stronger than ever.
Ashley will be available in an advisory capacity and will provide the company with an additional £100 million ($114 million) of funding on the same terms as its borrowing facilities. The unpredictable retail tycoon started the business with one store in Maidenhead, under the name Mike Ashley Sports, in 1982.
Ashley’s decision marks another definitive move away from his company after Murray, 33, took over as chief executive officer in May, succeeding his father-in-law. Murray married Ashley’s daughter, Anna, this summer.
Since joining, Murray has focused on upgrading stores, and the extra funding from Ashley is intended to support this strategy of investment in retailing. Under Ashley, Frasers has grown from the main Sports Direct brand which was known for a pile-it-high, sell-it-cheap approach to retail. The group now includes premium brands at Flannels and House of Fraser as well as previous acquisitions Game, Evans
Cycles and Jack Wills.
It will be interesting to see if Frasers acquires fewer stakes in other retailers after Ashley’s departure, said Clive Black, a retail analyst at Shore Capital. The company may focus more on its existing business and only core M&A around that, though Ashley’s influence will surely remain, he said. “He is a major shareholder and he’s also a lender to the business,” said Black. “It would be naive to think that Mike Ashley’s influence on Frasers has materially eroded.”