SHAREHOLDERS of online fast-fashion retailer Boohoo have firmly rejected billionaire Mike Ashley’s attempt to secure a seat on its board. The decision, made at a shareholder meeting on Friday (20), follows a series of heated exchanges between Boohoo and Ashley’s Frasers Group.
A decisive 64 per cent of votes were cast against allowing Ashley and his associate, Mike Lennon, to join Boohoo’s board. Excluding Frasers Group’s 28 per cent stake in Boohoo, nearly all remaining investors voted against the proposal, reported the Financial Times.
This vote comes after Frasers criticised Boohoo for "continued chaos" and a sharp decline in its stock value, which has plummeted by 90 per cent since its peak in mid-2020. Shares rose slightly after the meeting, trading at 33p, giving Boohoo a market value of approximately £461 million.
Boohoo, in response, accused Frasers of trying to "destabilise" the company and disrupt its plans to improve shareholder returns. Chair Tim Morris acknowledged the tensions, calling the process “disruptive” but said the outcome “speaks volumes” about shareholders’ confidence in the board’s strategy.
The fast-fashion retailer, co-founded by Mahmud Kamani, faces additional scrutiny as shareholders will vote in January on whether Kamani, who also serves as executive vice-chair, should remain on the board. Frasers initiated the call for his removal.
Kamani, once a close ally of Ashley, dismissed the billionaire’s efforts as ineffective, saying, “I gave birth to Boohoo, and his antics won’t scare me.” Kamani’s son, Adam, along with co-founder Carol Kane and other board members, attended the meeting, which lasted under 15 minutes.
Newly appointed CEO Dan Finley, who has been in the role for just 50 days, expressed satisfaction with the outcome, calling Boohoo a “massively undervalued” company. He pledged to focus on turning the business around, despite ongoing challenges.
A retail investor at the meeting remarked that while Boohoo’s declining share price has been disheartening, the board needed to resist Frasers’ attempts to gain control. “Mike Ashley won’t go away,” the investor warned.
Frasers Group has yet to comment on the outcome. Representatives from law firm White & Case and shareholder adviser Georgeson attended the meeting on its behalf.
According to FT, the retailer remains under pressure to deliver on promises of growth and stability amid ongoing shareholder disputes.
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Sunder Katwala is the director of thinktank British Future and the author of the book How to Be a Patriot: The must-read book on British national identity and immigration.