Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley has raised £100m by selling 4 per cent of his stake in Sports Direct. There have been a number of explanations advanced for the move which took the stock market by surprise. At one time he was interested in House of Fraser, but this has now waned, and if he wanted to bid for retail assets he could do so through Sports Direct. Some think it was just intended to improve liquidity in the stock.
Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley has raised £100m by selling 4 per cent of his stake in Sports Direct. There have been a number of explanations advanced for the move which took the stock market by surprise. At one time he was interested in House of Fraser, but this has now waned, and if he wanted to bid for retail assets he could do so through Sports Direct. Some think it was just intended to improve liquidity in the stock.
Will Newcastle United benefit from the sale? Mr Ashley’s relations with the club’s supporters are better than they were once were. In 2008 he put the club up for sale after a series of protests by supporters.
One view is that he is more likely to invest in the infrastructure of the club than star strikers. However, the infrastructure could be said to be in good shape.