Billionaire Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group Plc urged shareholders of Boohoo Group Plc to remove the fast-fashion company’s co-founder as a director, in the latest spat between two of the UK’s most prominent retail tycoons.
The group accused Boohoo’s Mahmud Kamani of presiding over a “multi-year share price collapse and value destruction” and a “sustained track record of governance failures and a ‘back pocket’ board,” in an open letter Thursday.
The statement came the same morning as Boohoo announced Tim Morris as its new chair and Kamani as executive vice chair, a change from his previous title as executive chair. The fashion business said this would allow Kamani to continue his day-to-day work while adding independence to the board.
Boohoo also said Kamani had assured the board that he would not be involved in rival companies’ decisions and has no intention of making a takeover bid for the company.
Frasers — founded by Ashley — repeated its demand for board seats, calling on Ashley and restructuring expert Mike Lennon to be installed. The letter was entitled “A simple choice: win with Mike Ashley or lose with Mahmud Kamani.”
Ashley owns 28 percent of Boohoo, while Kamani owns over 12 percent, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The retail bosses have clashed in the past, including during Frasers’ failed attempt to rescue Debenhams, the department store, whose website and brand were ultimately bought by Boohoo.
By Jennifer Creery
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