Mike Ashley admits role in exit of former JD Sports Chair Peter Cowgill
Mike Ashley, founder of Frasers Group, has admitted to playing a role in the ousting of former JD Sports Chair Peter Cowgill from the sportswear retailer in 2022.
In a rare interview with the Financial Times, Ashley told the newspaper that he had arranged the surveillance footage that ultimately led to Cowgill’s exit from JD.
Ashley, who stepped down as CEO of Frasers Group in 2022, still retains a 73% stake in the company, which also encompasses House of Fraser, Flannels and Sports Direct.
In 2021, Cowgill, who had served as Executive Chairman of JD Sports for 18 years, was secretly filmed in a car talking to Barry Bown, the boss of JD rival Footasylum.
At the time, JD Sports was in the process of acquiring the trainer retailer and the two companies were not allowed to share commercially sensitive information.
The footage, which Ashley has now revealed was filmed by associates employed by him, was seen by the The Sunday Times and triggered a regulatory investigation that ultimately led to a £4.3 million fine from the competition watchdog and Cowgill’s exit from JD Sports.
Ashley told the FT that Cowgill “shouldn’t have been in the car park and maybe I shouldn’t have been in the bushes”, adding that he was not “hiding from the fact” that he wanted to oust Cowgill.
Following the incident, Andrew Higginson took over from Peter Cowgill as Chairman, and Régis Schultz was announced as the group’s new CEO.
In 2022, JD Sports confirmed that Cowgill would receive £5.5 million over the following three years under an arrangement made by the company’s board of directors, which included a non-compete clause and a consultancy agreement.
At the time, Higginson commented on the agreement: "Peter has hugely valuable experience built over 18 years which we do not want to lose and both Régis and I are delighted to be able to benefit from his considerable talent and advice. This caps off what, by any measure, has been a remarkable period of executive leadership by Peter who has been such a core part of the business's incredible success story to date."
In a separate development, Higginson announced in April his intention to step down from the role in July, with reports suggesting that his departure follows a failed attempt to convince the board to oust Schultz.
