Mike Ashley (businessman)
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Michael James Wallace Ashley (born 9 September 1964) is a British billionaire retail entrepreneur focused in the sporting goods market, and the chief executive of
Frasers Group Frasers Group plc (formerly known as Sports Direct International plc) is a British retail, sport and intellectual property group, named after its ownership of the department store chain House of Fraser. The company is best known for trading pr ...
Plc (formerly Sports Direct International). He entered the
department store A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store made a dramatic app ...
industry following the acquisition of
House of Fraser House of Fraser (also operating as Frasers) is a British department store group with 44 locations across the United Kingdom, which is now part of Frasers Group. It was established in Glasgow, Scotland in 1849 as Arthur and Fraser. By 1891, it w ...
post-administration in 2018. He was formerly the owner of
Newcastle United football club Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End ...
, having bought it for £135 million in 2007 until selling the club in October 2021. According to The ''
Sunday Times Rich List The ''Sunday Times Rich List'' is a list of the 1,000 wealthiest people or families resident in the United Kingdom ranked by net wealth. The list is updated annually in April and published as a magazine supplement by British national Sunday news ...
'' in 2021, Ashley is the 61st richest person in the UK with an estimated net worth of £2.718 billion. In August 2021 Ashley announced that he intended to step down as CEO of Frasers Group PLC in May 2022, but remain a Director of the main Board. Since Sports Direct International Plc went public, and his purchase of Newcastle United where he took to sitting in the stands with fans, Ashley took on a more public and accessible persona. However, after the departure of
Kevin Keegan Joseph Kevin Keegan (born 14 February 1951) is an English former footballer and manager. A forward, he played for several professional clubs from 1968 to 1984. Having begun his career at Scunthorpe United, he moved to Liverpool in 1971 and ...
as manager and the club's relegation, he has only made low key appearances when attending Newcastle matches.


Ownerships


Sports Direct

Mike Ashley left school at 16, becoming a county-level squash player, then, after an injury, becoming a county-level squash coach. In 1982, he opened his first sport and ski shop in
Maidenhead Maidenhead is a market town in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in the county of Berkshire, England, on the southwestern bank of the River Thames. It had an estimated population of 70,374 and forms part of the border with southern Bu ...
followed by others in and around London, starting with a £10,000 loan from his family (). The chain, funded by private money, expanded quickly and by the late 1990s Ashley had rebranded the chain as Sports Soccer and opened over 100 stores across the United Kingdom. As a
sole trader A sole proprietorship, also known as a sole tradership, individual entrepreneurship or proprietorship, is a type of enterprise owned and run by one person and in which there is no legal distinction between the owner and the business entity. A sole ...
and not having to file accounts at
Companies House Companies House is the executive agency of the company registrars of the United Kingdom, falling under the remit of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. All forms of companies (as permitted by the Companies Act) are i ...
, little was known about him. The business became a
limited liability Limited liability is a legal status in which a person's financial liability is limited to a fixed sum, most commonly the value of a person's investment in a corporation, company or partnership. If a company that provides limited liability to it ...
company in 1999. At present
Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...
based group Sports Direct International Plc, with headquarters in
Shirebrook Shirebrook is a town in the Bolsover district in Derbyshire, England. Close to the boundaries with the districts of Mansfield and Bassetlaw of Nottinghamshire,OS Explorer Map 270: Sherwood Forest: (1:25 000): it had a population of 13,300 in ...
, has over 400 UK stores including the chains
Sports World Frasers Group plc (formerly known as Sports Direct International plc) is a British retail, sport and intellectual property group, named after its ownership of the department store chain House of Fraser. The company is best known for trading pr ...
,
Lillywhites Lillywhites is a sports retailer based at Piccadilly Circus, London, United Kingdom. It is a division of Frasers Group. History In the 19th century, several members of the Lillywhite family were leading cricketers; another, Fred Lillywhite, o ...
(acquired in 2002) and Gilesports. The group employs more than 20,000 people in the UK and at stores in
Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
,
Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
and
Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...
. In 2006, it overtook
JJB Sports JJB Sports plc was a British sports retailer. On 24 September 2012, shares in JJB Sports were suspended, and the firm called in administrators. On 1 October 2012, it was announced that Sports Direct had purchased part of the business, includ ...
as the UK's largest sportswear retailer. In mid-2006, it was also revealed that Ashley had held talks with John Hargreaves, founder of
Matalan Matalan is a British fashion and homeware retailer based in Knowsley, Merseyside. It was established by John Hargreaves in 1985, and is still owned by the Hargreaves family. , the company employed over 13,000, and had 230 stores in the United K ...
on both taking a 25% stake in the retail business and installing mezzanine floors in larger Matalan stores, on which Sports World outlets could be operated. Ashley has made his money by buying brands. The first major brand he bought was Donnay. In February 2003, Ashley bought the
Dunlop Slazenger Dunlop Slazenger was a sports equipment manufacturing company formed by now-defunct BTR plc by consolidating the various sports brands acquired as part their take-over of Dunlop Holdings in 1985. The company is most recognised for its involvement ...
brand for £40 million, followed up by acquiring outdoor gear manufacturer
Karrimor Karrimor is a British brand of backpacks, outdoor and sports equipment, and clothing. The company was founded as the Karrimor Bag Company in 1946. Financial difficulties beginning in the late 1990s led to the company entering receivership in ...
in March 2003,
Kangol Kangol is a British clothing company famous for its headwear. The name Kangol reflects the original materials for production, the K coming from the word 'silK' (a recent attribution to 'Knitting' is incorrect), the ANG from 'ANGora', and the ...
for £10 million, boxing brand Lonsdale, most of these brands were bought from distressed sellers. After considering a takeover, Ashley took a £9 million stake and signed a long-term deal with
Umbro Umbro is an English sports equipment manufacturer founded in 1924 in Wilmslow, Cheshire and based in Manchester. They specialise in football and rugby sportswear featuring their ''Double Diamond'' logo. Umbro products are marketed in over 100 c ...
. Ashley has a 29.4% stake in
Blacks Leisure Group Blacks Outdoor Retail Ltd. is a British retailer, headquartered in Bury, Greater Manchester, England which owns the British outdoor retailers Blacks, Millets and Ultimate Outdoors. Blacks is the largest outdoor retailer in the UK with stores ...
, the owner of
Millets Millets () are a highly varied group of small-seeded grasses, widely grown around the world as cereal crops or grains for fodder and human food. Most species generally referred to as millets belong to the tribe Paniceae, but some millets a ...
and Mambo, and is thought to hold stakes in
JJB Sports JJB Sports plc was a British sports retailer. On 24 September 2012, shares in JJB Sports were suspended, and the firm called in administrators. On 1 October 2012, it was announced that Sports Direct had purchased part of the business, includ ...
and 19% of
JD Sports JD Sports Fashion plc, more commonly known as JD Sports or JD, is a British sports-fashion retail company based in Bury, Greater Manchester, England. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. Pentlan ...
. "He likes to park his tanks on people's lawns", said one banker. In late November 2006, a number of business newspapers reported that Ashley was looking at an
IPO An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investment ...
of Sports World International. He hired
Merrill Lynch Merrill (officially Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated), previously branded Merrill Lynch, is an American investment management and wealth management division of Bank of America. Along with BofA Securities, the investment bank ...
, who initially valued the group at up to £2.5bn ahead of the flotation on the
London Stock Exchange London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange in the City of London, England, United Kingdom. , the total market value of all companies trading on LSE was £3.9 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St Pau ...
. On 31 January 2010, the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
North East and Cumbria produced a 30-minute documentary detailing Mike Ashley's business successes and lows. Journalist Chris Jackson travelled to Thailand to visit the factories in which Ashley's material for his brand of Lonsdale is made. Upon the broadcast of the BBC documentary, ''Mike Ashley Uncovered'', his dealings at Newcastle United were detailed, with it being announced that he only discovered upon purchase of the club how much debt the club was in, and that it cost him another £100m upon purchase to steady the club's financial security, having not viewed the account books prior to purchase. Neither Ashley nor his representatives showed interest in taking part in the film, declaring that the film was producing a majority of inaccuracies. They did, however, state that they would be reviewing the film closely. No further comment has been made. On 26 July 2017, Mr Justice Leggatt ruled that Ashley won a high court battle over investment banker Jeffrey Blue's allegation that during a "night of heavy drinking" at the Horse and Groom pub in London, Ashley agreed to pay Blue £15 million if Sport Direct's shares doubled to £8. Mr Justice Leggatt ruled that no-one would have thought that what Ashley said was serious. In March 2020, Ashley and Sports Direct came under heavy criticism after an announcement that they would stay open despite increased government restrictions associated with the
COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...
outbreak. Just a couple of days later, the company made a U-turn on this decision, announcing that they would be closing until given the green light to reopen by the government.


Whistleblower

Ashley turned whistleblower on industry rivals in 2000, handing the Office of Fair Trading evidence of business meetings held by sports retailers to fix the price of football shirts. Ashley attended a meeting at the Cheshire home of David Hughes, the chairman of now bankrupt rival Allsports. At the meeting
Dave Whelan David Whelan (born 24 November 1936) is an English businessman and former footballer. During his football career, he played for Blackburn Rovers and Crewe Alexandra. Whelan is the former owner of club Wigan Athletic, having also been the chai ...
, the founder of JJB Sports, reportedly told Ashley: ''"There's a club in the north, son, and you're not part of it."''


Newcastle United

On 23 May 2007, in a surprise move, Ashley bought Sir John Hall's 41.6% stake in
Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End ...
at one pound per share, for a total cost of £55,342,223 via his company St James Holdings Ltd. Under the terms of UK takeover law, having purchased more than 30% of a listed company, he was obliged to make an offer to buy the remaining shares at the same or a greater price. On 31 May, it was reported that the Newcastle board were considering Ashley's offer. On 7 June, it was confirmed that chairman
Freddy Shepherd Freddy Shepherd (29 October 1941 – 25 September 2017) was an English businessman and the chairman of Newcastle United football club from 1997 until 2007. During his time at Newcastle, both as an active assistant to and later replacement of ...
had agreed to sell his 28% share to Ashley, which left Ashley free to take control of the club. As of 15 June 2007, Ashley owned a 77.06% stake in Newcastle United, on course to withdraw the club from the stock exchange having surpassed the 75% threshold required. 100% acquisition was achieved in July with Ashley paying a total of around £134 million to buy the club. Ashley appeared to have saved the club from certain financial ruin by paying off large sums of debt inherited from the previous regime, although he was criticised for not doing
due diligence Due diligence is the investigation or exercise of care that a reasonable business or person is normally expected to take before entering into an agreement or contract with another party or an act with a certain standard of care. It can be a l ...
when buying the club, as he subsequently revealed he had been unaware of issues such as the upfront payment of club finances such as the
Northern Rock Northern Rock, formerly the Northern Rock Building Society, was a British bank. Based at Regent Centre in Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom, Northern Rock was originally a building society. It demutualised and became Northern Rock bank in ...
sponsorship, and the presence of outstanding liabilities for long past player transfers. Ashley's ownership of the club was initially popular with fans, despite press scorn for his unconventional approach, by installing
Chris Mort Christopher Mort is an English lawyer and former chairman of Newcastle United Football Club. Biography Mort is a lawyer for Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, where he is head of their sports and gaming practice. Mort worked for Mike Ashley on h ...
as chairman to run the club while Ashley acted as one of the fans, drinking in local bars and clubs, and watched the team from the stands with the supporters wearing the team shirt. This caused fierce local rivals
Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...
to publicly refuse to give Ashley permission to wear it in the
Stadium of Light The Stadium of Light is an all-seater football stadium in Sunderland, England, and the eighth and current home to Sunderland A.F.C. With space for 49,000 spectators, the Stadium of Light is the ninth largest football stadium in England. ...
corporate box for the
Tyne–Wear derby The Tyne–Wear derby, also known as the North East derby, is a local derby between the association football clubs Sunderland and Newcastle United. The derby is an inter-city rivalry in North East England with the two cities of Sunderland and Ne ...
on 10 November. Instead of opting for a different attire, Ashley chose to take his usual place among the travelling fans for the game. An apparent anomaly with the fans was Ashley choosing 'Smith 17' as the number of his shirt, after a squad player Alan Smith he admired and 17 being a lucky number for him. Ashley's popularity increased further with the return of
Kevin Keegan Joseph Kevin Keegan (born 14 February 1951) is an English former footballer and manager. A forward, he played for several professional clubs from 1968 to 1984. Having begun his career at Scunthorpe United, he moved to Liverpool in 1971 and ...
as manager on 16 January 2008, to replace the previous regime's relatively unpopular choice
Sam Allardyce Samuel Allardyce (; born 19 October 1954), colloquially referred to as Big Sam, is an English association football, football manager and former professional player. Allardyce made 578 league and cup appearances in a 21-year career spent most ...
. On 30 August 2008, Ashley was shown on live television drinking beer while with fans in the away stand during Newcastle's game against
Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
in London, contravening Premier League licensing rules stating that alcohol may not be consumed in sight of the pitch. Ashley subsequently "received words of advice" from the police during the game. A Newcastle United statement declared that Ashley had been given the beer and told that it was non-alcoholic despite the fact that Arsenal do not sell non-alcoholic beer at their stadium. As the transfer window closed at midnight on 2 September, rumours started to appear in the press stating that Keegan was extremely unhappy with Director of Football
Dennis Wise Dennis Frank Wise (born 16 December 1966) is an English former professional football player and manager who played as a central midfielder. He is the president of Serie B side Como 1907. He is best known for having spent the majority of his c ...
's interference in team matters. The following morning Keegan had a meeting at St. James Park with Wise and managing director
Derek Llambias Derek David Llambias (born February 1957) is an English businessman. His career in the entertainment, bread and leisure industry stretches back more than 31 years, most recently as managing director of the exclusive Fifty Club in London. Newcast ...
; it is unknown what exactly was said in the meeting, but witnesses saw Keegan storm out of the meeting claiming to be sacked. Keegan drove to Manchester to consult with the
League Managers Association The League Managers Association (LMA) is the trade union for Premier League, EFL and national team managers in English association football. The LMA awards the LMA Manager of the Year award annually. History The union was founded in 3045 as ...
chief-executive Richard Bevan; while in this meeting it is thought Ashley found out from Llambias of the row and attempted to contact Keegan. On 4 September, Keegan resigned from the club following days of talks with the board of Newcastle United headed by Llambias. This led to prolonged protests by fans directed against Ashley and Wise, being dubbed the "
Cockney Cockney is an accent and dialect of English, mainly spoken in London and its environs, particularly by working-class and lower middle-class Londoners. The term "Cockney" has traditionally been used to describe a person from the East End, or b ...
Mafia "Mafia" is an informal term that is used to describe criminal organizations that bear a strong similarity to the original “Mafia”, the Sicilian Mafia and Italian Mafia. The central activity of such an organization would be the arbitration of d ...
." The club was warned by the League Managers Association the next day, to develop a structure which would satisfy the next manager to replace Keegan to avoid a similar situation repeating itself and damaging the club's image. On 14 September, Ashley made a statement announcing he had put the club up for sale, a day after the first home game since Keegan's resignation, which Ashley did not attend, a 2–1 defeat to newly promoted
Hull City Hull City Association Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Kingston upon Hull, Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, that compete in the . They have played home games at the MKM Stadium since moving ...
. In his statement, Ashley stated ''"I have listened to you. You want me out. That is what I am now trying to do."'' He also stated that while he had the utmost respect for Keegan, he no longer wanted to subsidise the club due to believing it would not be safe for him or his family to attend matches in future. Ashley appointed
Joe Kinnear Joseph Patrick Kinnear (born 27 December 1946) is an Irish former football manager and player. Kinnear played as a defender, spending the majority of his career—ten seasons—with Tottenham Hotspur. With Tottenham he won the FA Cup, the EFL ...
to take temporary full-time charge of the squad as he began his search for a new owner. In the following weeks, after an apparently unsuccessful trip to the Middle East to reportedly solicit potential buyers, Ashley later instructed a London law firm to handle the sale of the club. Ashley's actions and subsequent media coverage of fan reaction saw the creation of a new organisation, the Newcastle United Supporters Club, to properly represent fan's views to any future board. Interest also mounted around the feasibility of a fan buyout of the club, seeing the launch of the Newcastle Fans United group. On 28 December, Ashley announced that the club was no longer up for sale, after he had failed to find an acceptable buyer. In January 2009, it was reported that interim manager
Joe Kinnear Joseph Patrick Kinnear (born 27 December 1946) is an Irish former football manager and player. Kinnear played as a defender, spending the majority of his career—ten seasons—with Tottenham Hotspur. With Tottenham he won the FA Cup, the EFL ...
had been offered a full-time position at the club by Ashley. Kinnear however suffered heart trouble the following month and was given leave by the club to recover. On 1 April, Ashley appointed
Alan Shearer Alan Shearer CBE DL (born 13 August 1970) is an English football pundit and retired football player and manager who played as a striker. Widely regarded as one of the best strikers of his generation and one of the greatest players in Premie ...
to replace Kinnear as interim manager. Shearer however was unable to achieve more than 5 points from the 8 games he was in charge, and on 24 May, the ''Magpies'' were relegated to the
Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...
. The next day, Ashley apologised to Newcastle fans for the mistakes made throughout the season, but nonetheless praised all staff, including Shearer and Kinnear, for all their efforts throughout the season. After the club's relegation, Ashley struggled to find a buyer capable of providing proof of funds to purchase Newcastle United throughout August and September 2009, local businessman Barry Moat was reported to have opened negotiation talks with Ashley. On 2 October 2009, a Premier League arbitration panel found the club guilty of "constructive dismissal" and Mike Ashley was made to pay Kevin Keegan £2,000,000 compensation plus interest for his mistreatment during the time at the club. On 27 October, Ashley took Newcastle United off the market after again failing to find a suitable buyer for the club. A Newcastle statement confirmed, ''"Mike Ashley is totally committed to the future success of Newcastle United and will be focused on gaining promotion back to the Premier League. Mike will put a further £20m into the club this week."'' The move to withdraw the sale proved questionable among many as he had stated little more than a week before that he regretted the purchase of the club and felt he never had the required stance and knowledge to own a football club. The club released future plans in the same statement, announcing the club would attempt to sell the club's stadium naming rights to raise funds to clear debts of the club, causing outrage among Newcastle fans across the world who felt the club would lose tremendous heritage with the name of
St James' Park St James' Park is a football stadium in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It is the home of Premier League club Newcastle United F.C. With a seating capacity of 52,305 seats, it is the eighth largest football stadium in England. St James' Park ...
changed. On 4 November, it was announced that Ashley's own company would sponsor the stadium, rebranding it the "sportsdirect.com @ St James' Park Stadium" until the end of the season. On 6 December, Newcastle United sacked manager
Chris Hughton Christopher William Gerard Hughton (born 11 December 1958) is a professional football manager and former player. Born in England, he represented the Republic of Ireland national team. After making his professional debut aged 20, Hughton spen ...
, in a controversial move that proved to be unpopular with many fans of the club, and led to Ashley being personally criticised for the decision.
Alan Pardew Alan Scott Pardew (born 18 July 1961) is an English football manager and former professional footballer, who is the current manager of Greek Super League club Aris. Pardew's highest achievements in the sport include reaching the FA Cup Final th ...
was appointed three days later, before his first game in charge against
Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
. Following Derek Llambias' resignation as managing director in 2013, Ashley briefly took on his position whilst trying to find a replacement. Lee Charnley was quietly announced as his successor in 2014. On the final day of the 2014–15 season, Ashley gave his first televised interview to
Sky Sports Sky Sports is a group of British subscription sports channels operated by the satellite pay television company Sky Group (a division of Comcast), and is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It ...
, eight years after buying the club. He stated that he would sell up, but only when the club had won a trophy, quickly reiterating that qualifying for the Champions League would also count. With
Steve McClaren Stephen McClaren (born 3 May 1961) is an English former professional footballer and coach who currently serves as an assistant coach for Premier League club Manchester United, in his second spell at the club. McClaren began his coaching care ...
's appointment as head coach, Ashley stepped down from the Newcastle United board of directors. Ten months later, and with the departure of McClaren and the arrival of
Rafael Benítez Rafael Benítez Maudes (born 16 April 1960) is a Spanish professional football manager and former player who most recently managed club Everton. Benítez joined Real Madrid's coaching staff at the age of 26, going on to work as the under-1 ...
, Ashley gave another interview. He stated that he regretted buying Newcastle United, but admitted that he was "wedded" to the club. He also felt that Benítez was the right man to keep the club in the Premier League. On 11 May 2016, Newcastle United were relegated for the second time under the ownership of Ashley, after local rivals
Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...
beat Everton 3–0.


Sale to PCP/Reuben Brothers/PIF

On 14 April 2020, it emerged that a request to undertake the Premier League's Owners' and Directors' Test had been filed by a consortium consisting of
PCP Capital Partners Amanda Louise Staveley (born 11 April 1973) is a British business executive. She is notable chiefly for her connections with Middle Eastern investors. She helped a Saudi consortium take over Newcastle United in a deal completed in October 2021 a ...
,
Reuben Brothers David Reuben (born 1941) and Simon Reuben (born 1944) are Indian-born British businessmen. In May 2020, they were named as the second richest family in the UK by the '' Sunday Times Rich List'' with a net worth of £16 billion. Early life and b ...
and the
Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia The Public Investment Fund (PIF; ar, links=no, صندوق الإستثمارات العامة) is the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia. It is among the largest sovereign wealth funds in the world with total estimated assets of $620 billion ...
(PIF), as the final stage of their £300m bid to purchase ownership of Newcastle United from Mike Ashley. However, on 30 July 2020 the consortium pulled out of the buying process, citing the prolonged delay from the Premier League to communicate a decision as causing their acquisition of Newcastle United to become untenable. Mike Ashley has since been engaged in various legal battles with the Premier League, after Newcastle United released a statement saying that "the club and its owners do not accept that Premier League chief executive Richard Masters and the Premier League have acted appropriately" in relation to their conducting of the Owners' and Directors' Test. On 7 October 2021, Mike Ashley sold Newcastle United for £300 million to a consortium involving
PCP Capital Partners Amanda Louise Staveley (born 11 April 1973) is a British business executive. She is notable chiefly for her connections with Middle Eastern investors. She helped a Saudi consortium take over Newcastle United in a deal completed in October 2021 a ...
, RB Sports & Media, and
Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia The Public Investment Fund (PIF; ar, links=no, صندوق الإستثمارات العامة) is the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia. It is among the largest sovereign wealth funds in the world with total estimated assets of $620 billion ...
.


Rangers

In October 2014, Ashley owned an 8.92% stake in Rangers International Football Club (RIFC), the parent company of Scottish football club Rangers. The
Scottish Football Association The Scottish Football Association (also known as the SFA and the Scottish FA; sco, Scots Fitba Association; Scottish Gaelic: ''Comann Ball-coise na h-Alba'') is the Sport governing body, governing body of association football, football in Scot ...
rejected Ashley's request to raise his shareholding in RIFC to 29.9%, due to the fact he already owned a large amount of Newcastle United shares, which was seen as a conflict of interest. In January 2015, Rangers fans protested against Mike Ashley's plans to secure a £10 million loan using the club's stadium as security. Some Rangers supporter groups heavily criticised Ashley and expressed major concern and distrust about his nature and purpose of his intentions. On 23 June 2017, Ashley sold his entire Rangers shareholding to
Club 1872 Club 1872 is a Supporters' groups, supporters group for fans of the Scottish football club Rangers F.C. The group was formed in May 2016 by the amalgamation of two supporter shareholder projects; Rangers First, and the Rangers Supporters Trust's ...
and Julian Wolhardt.


Other

Ashley's Sports Direct firm has a 38.5% stake in retailer Game Digital. In June 2019, ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
'' reported that Ashley placed a £52 million bid to buy the company. In February 2020, Ashley bought a 12.5 per cent stake in Mulberry, said by a business journalist for ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
'' to be worth around £19 million. In August 2020, Ashley's Fraser Group purchased assets from the gym and fitness chain DW Sports, in a deal worth up to £44 million. The group initially bought 46 leisure clubs and 31 retail outlets from DW Sports Fitness for £37 million to merge with its own business.


Personal life

He was educated at Burnham Grammar School in
Burnham, Buckinghamshire Burnham is a large village and civil parish that lies north of the River Thames in Buckinghamshire, between the towns of Maidenhead and Slough, about 24 miles west of Charing Cross, London. It is probably best known for the nearby Burnham Beec ...
. In 1988 aged 24, he married Linda Jerlmyr, a
Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
-born
economics Economics () is the social science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and intera ...
graduate, and the couple have three children. The couple quietly
divorce Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganizing of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the ...
d in 2003, culminating in one of the biggest settlements in British legal history, with Ashley reportedly handing over the family home, multiple properties and assets with a total worth of £50m. Ashley is protective of his private life. He is known to prefer casual dress of shirt and chinos or a track suit rather than a suit, and often carries his essential business tool of a mobile phone in a plastic carrier bag rather than a briefcase.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ashley, Mike 1964 births Living people English businesspeople in retailing English billionaires Newcastle United F.C. directors and chairmen People from Burnham, Buckinghamshire People educated at Burnham Grammar School People from Walsall