Boohoo has said it is “not deliberately seeking confrontation” as it urged shareholders to vote against Frasers’ demands for Mike Ashley to be appointed as chair.
The fashion giant wrote to shareholders to reiterate its stance that Frasers was acting in its “own commercial self-interest” and claimed the group’s recent campaign has been “designed to destabilise boohoo”.
Boohoo said it was “not the first time” that the Sports Direct owner has launched an attempt to oust the leadership team and replace it with its own representatives at a business for which it is a shareholder of.
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It alleged that Frasers had previously “exert[ed] significant pressure” on the management team at Studio Retail, which “included attempts by Ashley to be appointed as chairman”. Boohoo said the online retailer was then put into administration and snapped up by Frasers for £1.
The fashion giant had previously flagged concerns about Frasers’ involvement with Asos, of which it holds a 27% stake, and said that these issues are “real and entirely valid”.
It argued Frasers’ “flippant response” to these concerns in its open letter of 21 November 2024 provides a “clear indication of its attitude to minority Shareholder protection”: “Conflicts and competition? – Not an issue!“.
As such, Boohoo wrote to shareholders that the board “rejects in the strongest terms the strong-arm tactics used to pursue Frasers’ demands to date and does not accept Frasers’ proposal that Mike Ashley or Mike Lennon are suitable independent candidates for appointment to your board”.
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