Mike Ashley has moved into pole position in the race to buy Jack Wills, the fashion retailer, in a move which risks inflaming growing tensions between the billionaire tycoon and City investors.

Sky News has learnt that Mr Ashley's Sports Direct International has this weekend become the preferred bidder for Jack Wills, which has been seeking a buyer for the last month.

A deal between Sports Direct and Jack Wills, known for its 'preppy' fashion ranges popular among students, could be announced as soon as Monday.

Sources said that it was expected to be structured as a ‎pre-pack administration, repeating many of the previous takeovers which have made Mr Ashley one of the most prolific buyers of British retail brands.

One insider cautioned on Sunday that a deal had yet to be signed, and warned that it could yet fall apart.


If a pre-pack administration does take place, it would be handled by KPMG, the professional services firm, sources indicated.

Sky News revealed on Friday that Sports Direct and Edinburgh Woollen Mill Group, which is headed by ‎rival billionaire Philip Day, were locked in a two-way fight to buy Jack Wills.



If the deal with Mr Ashley goes ahead, a substantial restructuring of the business is seen as inevitable, which will have implications for some of Jack Wills' 1800 employees and 110 standalone stores.

Any redundancies would add to the grim toll of retail employees who have found themselves out of a job as dozens of prominent chains have either collapsed or been forced into emergency restructurings.



More notably, Sports Direct's acquisition of another big retail name will alarm many of the company's City investors who are already furious at the company's poor governance record and disregard for the views on institutional shareholders.

Last month, Mr Ashley launched a vicious tirade against many of his critics, including the bosses of some of the retailers he has acquired during a costly takeover spree.



In a delayed, chaotic and rambling full-year results announcement‎, Mr Ashley described House of Fraser's problems as potentially "terminal" less than a year after he acquired the department store chain out of administration.



In the last 12 months, Mr Ashley has also engineered takeovers of Evans Cycles and Sofa.com, as well as mounting unsuccessful bids for Debenhams, HMV and the collapsed cafe chain Patisserie Valerie.



The Newcastle United owner's retail empire also owns stakes in French Connection and Goals Soccer Centres, which last week confirmed a Sky News report that an accounting scandal would force it to delist from the stock market.



Mr Ashley has repeatedly denied any intention to take Sports Direct private, going so far as to say recently that being listed gave him "discipline".



"Imagine if I was private, I'd be uncontrollable," he said.



Many of Sports Direct's City shareholders would be dismayed at a low-ball attempt to take the company private given the 45% slump in its share price during the last 12 months.

Many, however, would be privately relieved that the corporate governance of a company which is now struggling to find an auditor willing to supervise its accounts was no longer their concern.

The myriad distractions facing Sports Direct ‎suggest it could yet pull out of its latest retail acquisition.



Jack Wills is owned by BlueGem, an investment firm which has backed a number of UK retailers.



BlueGem is unlikely to see a return from the sale of Jack Wills, although the position of its creditors, including HSBC, is unclear.

The long-term position of Suzanne Harlow, the former Debenhams executive who took over as Jack Wills' chief executive last September, is also uncertain.



Jack Wills has already received more than £20m in additional funding to keep it afloat during the last year.



If it does get sold through a pre-pack process, through which some of its liabilities would be left behind, it would join chains including Poundworld, Debenhams and HMV in having experienced a stint in administratio‎n during the current retail crisis.



Jack Wills, KPMG and EWM all declined to comment, while Sports Direct was unavailable for comment.