Sports Direct International PLC’s (LON:SPD) billionaire boss, Mike Ashley today "welcomed" supportive comments from the company's largest City investor, which come after another stormy shareholder meeting for the under-pressure retailer last week.
The sporting goods stores chain said Ashley was speaking following newspaper comments made by hedge fund boss Crispin Odey of Odey Asset Management at the weekend.
In a statement, Sports Direct’s chief executive said: "I am grateful for Crispin's recent comments about Sports Direct and I'm glad that we will no doubt continue to have an interesting ride together.
“I consider his backing to be highly significant at a time when others have been less forthcoming.
"I'm particularly pleased that we are in agreement over the fact that Keith Hellawell is the right man to help deliver further progress.”
READ: Embattled Sports Direct chairman re-elected …
Last Thursday, 55%-shareholder Ashley overruled independent shareholders at a general meeting after his majority again helped generate enough votes to re-elect chairman Keith Hellawell to the group’s board.
Ashley added: “We now intend to concentrate on our medium and long-term goals in order to deliver shareholder value through becoming the 'Selfridges of Sport'," he added.
Odey Asset Management recently increased its holding in Sports Direct to above 5%.
Odey was quoted, in The Times on Saturday, as saying: "I'm very happy with him [Ashley]: he's a natural winner. From our point of view we always like to find entrepreneurs to back and I am very happy to be buying anything on eight times' earnings, especially when they have a proven track record like Sports Direct."
Hellawell backed …
Odey also confirmed in the interview that he had voted in favour of re-electing Hellawell as Sports Direct's chairman last week, and indicated that he will support Hellawell at the annual general meeting in September.
"We backed him, yes. We are part of that unusual group that are behind Mike on this one," Odey said in The Times article.
Hellawell’s re-appointment was opposed by a majority of the retailer's independent shareholders last Thursday, with the 54% of the votes cast opposing him unchanged from the number achieved at its annual general meeting last September.
Investors have blamed Hellawell, a former top policemen, for a string of management and governance failures at the sportswear group,
Hellawell said in September he had offered to resign his post, but the board had persuaded him to stay to oversee improvements in working practices and independent scrutiny.
Sports Direct was condemned by lawmakers last year for the treatment of workers at its warehouse in Derbyshire.