Mike Ashley is an English entrepreneur dealing in sporting goods and clothing. He is the founder and Chief executive officer (CEO) of Sports Direct. He is the UK’s most reclusive billionaire and known for the highly paid divorce settlement.
Controversies Of Sports Direct & Team Ownership
Mike Ashley has 60% of ownership in Sports Direct. Sports Direct International PLC went public through an initial public offering and began trading on the London Stock Exchange in 2007.
The company is operated in more than 450 locations with 19,000 employees with its changed name Frasers Group PLC in 2019.
The Guardian reports that ISS criticized Sports Direct after shareholder advisory firms Pirc and Glass Lewis came out against Ashley. Glass Lewis said that Ashley was inextricably linked with the myriad controversies, past and ongoing.
The multiple delays to the company’s annual results were the most recent manifestation of a disregard for independent shareholders’ rights and concerns.
After the advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services joined calls for Sports Direct investors to vote against his directorship in the retail group, Ashley faced a shareholder rebellion.
At the time, ISS raised concerns about financial deals with Ashley’s brother and his daughter’s partner, Michael Murray, who received more than £5m before 2019.
theguardian.com reported that Sports Direct had failed to issue profit guidance for the year ahead after receiving an unexpected €674m (£605m) Belgian tax bill.
The group’s shares crumbled to 247p from about 400p in 2019.
How Much Does Ashley Worth About?
The Sports Direct boss, Ashley, has an estimated net worth of $2.3 billion, including a 33-bed house in London, four houses in Spain, £5million helicopter, high-street preppy clothing store Jack Wills worthing £12.75 million, £5 million mansions with landscaped gardens, and an outdoor pool, and £32m Miami mansion.
Ashley started to play squash at the age of 16. He opened his first sports shop in 1982 in Maidenhead. With the help of a £10,000 loan, he opened more than 100 sports stores and branding as a chain of Sports Soccer all over the UK by 1990.
In 1996 he bought Donny brand, Lillyhites, and Lonsdale. Ashley buys Carlton, Dunlop, Slazenger, and Karrimor companies. He got rapid acquisitions between 2005 and 2012 with these companies.
Also, he acquired Campri, LA Gear, No Fear, Title, Voodoo Dolls, Kangol, Everlast Worldwide, Field & Trek, Sport 2000, USC, Cruise, Van Mildert, Firetrap, No Fear, Hot Tuna, Eybl, Debenhams, and HoF at that time.
In 2007, Sports Direct International went public, which garnered $ 1.8 billion through Initial Public Offering.
The company opened the online store ‘SportsDirect.com,‘ and Sports Direct achieved £84 million in the same year.
The company purchased out rival retailer JJB’s brand name, twenty stores, and their website and its stock for £24 million in 2012.
Sports Direct bought 116 Republic stores and its brand name and the company’s head office in 2013.
Ashley purchased a professional soccer team, Newcastle United, with an approximate worth of £135 million in 2007. The team is based in Newcastle upon Tyne and plays in the Premier League. The team won the championship in 2017.
He bought a Scottish football team in 2014 based in Glasgow founded in 1882. This way, Ashley has earned a big name in the sports and business world.
Married to Linda Jerlmyr
Mike Ashley married Linda Jerlmyr in 1989 in Swedish. Linda is a Swedish-born economics graduate. They gave birth to three children Matilda, Anna, and Oliver.
After marrying for 14 years, they split in 2003.
They had a $50 million divorce settlement, which is one of the highest divorce settlements ever. Ashley handed over assets worth fifty million pounds and their sixteen-bedroom family home to Linda as a divorce settlement.
After separating from Mike, Linda gave birth to the son of businessman Simon Brodin.
Mike Ashley with hi ex-wife Linda Ashley(©:times.co.uk)
In 2016, Mike was forced to admit to MPs that Mike Ashley’s staff paid less than the minimum wage, and some were on controversial zero-hours contracts.
At that time, Linda Ashley came with him to Westminster despite their divorce.
Mike has attended the fifty birthday of Linda at the Majorca villa in June 2016.
As reported by dailymail.co.uk, Ashley and Linda confirm that they are back together after 14 years of divorce, living happily in neighboring mansions in London’s Beverley Hills.
Who Is Mike Ashley?
Mike Ashley is the founder and C.E.O. of the Sports Direct International Plc sporting goods company. He was born on 9 September 1964 in England.
John Ashley is the brother of Mike.
Education
56 years old businessman had completed his high school graduation from Burnham Grammar School at 16 years old in 1980.