Newcastle owner Mike Ashley is having difficulty selling the club and now he faces a probe into his Sports Direct chain. He is under investigation over the purchase of 31 stores from rival JJB Sports. The Office of Fair Trading referred the case to the Competition Commission after Sports Direct failed to find buyers in five areas of the country where the OFT is concerned the retailer would gain a monopoly.
Newcastle owner Mike Ashley is having difficulty selling the club and now he faces a probe into his Sports Direct chain. He is under investigation over the purchase of 31 stores from rival JJB Sports. The Office of Fair Trading referred the case to the Competition Commission after Sports Direct failed to find buyers in five areas of the country where the OFT is concerned the retailer would gain a monopoly. The probe is the latest stage in a long-running battle by the OFT to expose the links between the country’s biggest sportswear retailers which could allow them to make bigger margins on kit bought by fans. Indeed, the margin on shirts and other football products is already very high. The news is another blow to Mr Ashley who saw pre-tax profits at Sports Direct fall by more than 90 per cent in the year to April.