The spat between Boohoo Group Plc and its largest shareholder Mike Ashley broke out again on Friday, as his Frasers Group Plc voted against the online fast fashion retailer’s name change to Debenhams Group.
Some 62 percent of shareholders voted in favour of Boohoo’s renaming, below the 66.6 percent threshold for the resolution to pass. The retailer said its rebranding as Debenhams Group will be unaffected — though the result means the holding company will continue to be named Boohoo Group Plc.
“It is no surprise to the board that Frasers, a major competitor of the group, has voted against the resolution, and continues to act in its own self-interest,” Boohoo said in a statement.
Ashley’s company hit back on Friday. Frasers doesn’t see Boohoo as a competitor “to any part of our business,” chief financial officer Chris Wootton said in a statement, and will back its proposals when it “stops destroying shareholder value.” Frasers still wants a seat on the board, he said.
The move from Frasers follows months of wrangling over board representation. Ashley’s company has accused Boohoo co-founder and executive chairman Mahmud Kamani of wrecking the retailer’s value, and has tried to remove him as a director. Police have also investigated claims of stalking of several Boohoo executives, The Times newspaper has reported.
Ashley has previously tried to position himself to succeed chief executive officer John Lyttle after he stepped down last year as part of a strategic review. Boohoo appointed Dan Finley instead.
The company announced its rebranding this month as part of its shift to a marketplace model, where the platform sells a range of third-party brands. It is using Debenhams — which it overhauled after buying the department-store chain out of administration in 2021 — as a model for the rest of the business.
“Debenhams is back, and we continue to move forward as Debenhams Group,” Finley said in the statement Friday. “The successful turnaround of Debenhams is the blueprint for the turnaround of the wider group.”
By Katie Linsell
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