Accounts for Mike Ashley’s company Mash Holdings outlines just how much his retail spending spree has stepped up a gear over the last two years.
As well as detailing activities at Newcastle United, Sports Direct and his other well known business interests, the accounts include a list of acquisitions, share purchases and property deals completed in the financial year, ended April 2018 – as well as several this year.
Deals mentioned in the 86-page document include the acquisition of the trade and assets of Bob’s Stores and Eastern Mountain Sports in the US, plus the acquisition of the remaining shareholdings of Lovell Sports and Brasher Leisure Ltd, which trades as Sweatshop.
The most notable acquisition of the year for Mr Ashley’s retire giant Sports Direct was House of Fraser, which was completed in August 2018, for £90m - a purchase he has since admitted he regrets making .
Since then, he revealed, a similar amount has been invested “to kick start the supply chain”, and the Sports Direct group bought the firm's flagship Frasers building in Glasgow, “to show that they are serious with their investment and strategy”.
During October 2018 Evans Cycles was acquired for £8.8m.
On June 21 2019 – the same day that Sports Direct completed the sale and leaseback of the firm’s Shirebrook HQ in a £120m deal – the firm completed the acquisition of Sofa.com limited and its subsidiaries for just £1, following approval from the FCA, confirming reports which circulated at the time how he fought off competition to buy the business for a nominal sum.
Just over two weeks later on July 8 Sports Direct obtained control of Game Digital, and in August the firm ceased to be listed on the London Stock Exchange.
On August 5 Sports Direct took over ailing fashion firm Jack Wills , for a cash consideration of £12.75m.
Meanwhile at the firm’s HQ Shirebrook, Sports Direct has also been investing in ‘partial automation’ to improve productivity on internet fulfilment orders and also mitigate any shortfall in staff after Brexit.
The most recent deal saw Sports Direct acquire the Brookfield Shopping Centre in Chesthunt, Hertfordshire, as part of a £25.4m deal, a month after it was reported that he was preparing to buy up the retail park.
