Newcastle United’s owner Mike Ashley knows his way around a boardroom (Picture: Reuters)

Billionaire businessman by weekday and Newcastle United chairman at the weekend, Mike Ashley is no stranger to complex business deals.

It’s fair to say, he’s very successful at them. It’s no secret the high street fashion and sportswear magnate likes to gamble, and more often than not his high-stakes bets pay off.

Earlier in January, Ashley’s Sports Direct retail operation surprised the City when it bought a 4.6 per cent stake in struggling department store Debenhams. In a move surely made to create shockwaves, like when Joe Kinnear was re-employed last summer, just days later Ashley’s empire sold the £46 million shares on.



In an even more bemusing move, the business took out the option of a larger stake of in the future. A move allegedly designed to put pressure on the management of Debenhams to stock Sports Direct’s brands. It could also see Sports Direct buy more of Debenhams shares fall in price and failing that it has even been suggested a third-party will buy Sports Direct’s shares out creating a profit.


Other business deals Mike Ashley has brokered include buying 20 JJB stores from administrators, the brand and the website for £24m.

It also snapped up all of JJB’s stock and the Slazenger Golf brand licences, as well as the company’s headquarters in Wigan.

Sports Direct has also bought 80 per cent of luxury chain Cruise and high street outlet USC and in early 2013 bought fashion store Republic which had also gone into administration.

In a bid to supposedly expand the Sports Direct brand’s out-door portfolio, the company bought Gelert, again a business in administration and at the same time bought failed music store HMV’s lease on its former flag-ship Oxford Street store.

Through a succession of shrewd deals for struggling companies who must sell or be shut-down, Ashley has seen his company’s inclusion in the FTSE 100, and a declared value of more than £4 billion.

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Newcastle United will make big money out of Yohan Cabaye (Picture: AP Photo)

All this sensible spending and well thought out expansion flies in the face of his antics at St James’ Park, where it’s well documented that Ashley paid in the region of £140 million for Newcastle United and in doing so saved the club from financial meltdown; a similar story and a continuation of Ashley’s business tactics.

The club owes Ashley interest free loans of up to £111 million which curiously remain on the club accounts but aren’t being repaid.

Although a poor performer commercially, Newcastle United is doing a great job of generating publicity and cash for Ashley’s Sports Direct brand.

Ashley has made the club self-sufficient and through wheeling and dealing brokered some transfer successes, such as Andy Carroll and no doubt shortly Yohan Cabaye, whose huge profits are grudgingly reinvested in the squad with no aspirations other than to keep it ticking over and support his other interests.



I don’t buy that Ashley sought our great club on a whim, the deal was as well thought out as any other transaction. In fact, it’s exactly what Ashley wants, and until all the ‘personal loans’ are repaid he’s ensuring no buyer will attempt to come in for the Toon.

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