Timeline: Mike Ashley's eleven-year campaign to take control of Debenhams
Back in 2020, Mike Ashley's Frasers Group was in last-minute talks to save department store chain Debenhams after it entered liquidation. However, Boohoo Group swooped in and acquired the British retailer in January 2021 kicking off a great retail rivalry.
Debenhams had been in administration since April 2020 – its second administration in the space of a year – and was marketed for sale by its investors, with expressions of interest in all or parts of the business coming from Frasers Group, Reliance Retail, M&S, NEXT, and THG, which was particularly interested in its valuable online business.
Frustrated by what it described as a lack of information, Frasers had initially walked away from previous sale talks with Debenhams advisers, only to swoop back in when administrators were appointed, reviving interest in a business Mike Ashley had been eyeing since 2014 (his retail empire, formerly known as Sports Direct International, had previously grown a near 30% stake in the old Debenhams business, which was wiped out amid a refinancing in 2019).
However, unlike Ashley, who wanted to snap up Debenhams' stores, Boohoo Group (now known as Debenhams Group) was solely focused on gaining ownership of the retail giant's e-commerce platform, and managed to gain the upper hand, leaving Ashley fuming.
In January 2021, Boohoo Group announced it had paid £55 million for the Debenhams name and website, with plans to build an online, multi-brand platform around the name – expanding the Boohoo Group into new territories such as beauty and home, alongside its fashion offering (brands in the group include Boohoo, Oasis, Warehouse, Karen Millen and Coast among others). Debenhams' website was considered the strongest part of the business and was estimated to turn over £400 million with a highly engaged customer base.
Boohoo's last-minute takeover of Debenhams kicked off a rivalry between Mike Ashley and Boohoo founder Mahmud Kamani, which continues to rumble. Ashley has been ominously building up a stake in the new Debenhams Group and has even tried to have Kamani deposed as chair and himself installed as CEO. Ultimately this move was thwarted but this week, Ashley has made another attempt to increase his influence over Debenhams Group by offering financial support in its debt refinancing.
Four years after failing to land the Debenhams business, Ashley still has the bit between his teeth, and is once again sitting on a sizeable stake in the new Debenhams Group; Frasers' stake is just under the 30% threshold after which it would be obliged to make any takeover bid intentions clear.
See below for the landmark moments in Ashley's campaign to gain control of Debenhams. Some 11 years after first buying a stake, will he finally succeed?
Debenhams, Oxford Street
Timeline: Mike Ashley's pursuit of Debenhams
2014: Sports Direct International (now Frasers Group) acquires a 4.3% stake in Debenhams.
August 2017: Sports Direct increases stake to 21% after Debenhams reveals a 44% drop in profits due to the costs of its turnaround strategy.
January 2018: Debenhams issues shock profit warning, sending shares down by 20% and wiping £70 million off its valuation.
March 2018: Mike Ashley ups his stake to 29.7%.
September 2018: Sports Direct issues statement saying it does not intend to make a bid for the firm.
October 2018: Debenhams announces plans to close 50 stores over the next three to five years and announces the biggest loss in its history of £500 million.
December 2018: Mike Ashley offers a £40 million loan but is rebuffed.
January 2019: Mike Ashley uses his voting power to oust chairman Sir Ian Cheshire and have CEO Sergio Bucher removed from the board. Retail veteran Terry Duddy is appointed Chairman.
February 2019: Debenhams receives a £40 million lifeline from lenders.
6 March 2019: Debenhams issues its fourth profit warning in a year.
7 March 2019: Mike Ashley launches bid to have himself installed as CEO.
11 March 2019: Debenhams confirms it is in talks with lenders over a £150 million refinancing plan.
13 March 2019: Ashley offers an alternative £150 million refinancing plan on the provision that he can become CEO and up his stake.
21 March 2019: Debenhams reveals it has secured a £200 million refinancing plan that would wipe out existing shareholders, including Ashley.
25 March 2019: Ashley offers £61.4 million cash bid.
6 April 2019: Ashley again makes a £150 million refinancing deal and offers to underwrite the rescue.
9 April 2019: Ashley improves his offer to £200 million but is rejected, and the company is placed into administration and is immediately sold to an entity owned by its investors, called Celine.
23 April 2019: Debenhams proposes CVA that will involve the closure of 22 of its stores.
May 2019: Despite opposition from Mike Ashley, it wins approval for CVA. Ashley's bid to trigger an investigation into the CVA fails.
July 2019: Debenhams seeks additional £40 million in funding.
August 2019: Chairman Terry Duddy stands down as new CEO Stefaan Vansteenkiste is appointed.
October 2019: Mike Gifford appointed as Chairman. Mike Ashley tells MPs to investigate Debenhams’ collapse.
January 2020: Debenhams kicks off the new year with a further 19 store closures.
March 2020: Closes all stores as the UK goes into COVID-19 lockdown.
April 2020: Enters "light touch" administration; announces permanent closure of seven further stores.
May 2020: Announces the closure of five more stores and a raft of job cuts. Ashley’s bid to trigger an investigation into the company’s fall into administration fails.
June 2020: 124 remaining stores across England, Wales and Scotland re-open after lockdown.
August 2020: Debenhams considers sale as part of its exit plan from administration; cuts 2,000 jobs across stores and warehouses.
September 2020: India’s Reliance Retail considers bid while Frasers Group claims it is being "frozen out" of the sale process and that it is impossible for it to make a bid for the £300 million asking price given the lack of information it has been given.
October 2020: Reliance and Frasers walk away from a deal, while NEXT and M&S are reported to have been interested in some stores, with THG placing a bid for the website.
November 2020: JD Sports Fashion emerges as a surprise bidder and enters into exclusive talks.
30 November 2020: Arcadia, which operates numerous concessions in Debenhams, collapses into administration.
1 December 2020: JD confirms it has halted talks to buy the business, and Debenhams confirms that liquidators have been appointed.
2 December 2020: Stores re-open after the second lockdown in England and will continue to trade until the liquidation process is completed. Large queues form outside its stores as shoppers are keen to grab bargains.
6 December 2020: It is revealed that Mike Ashley's Frasers Group is in last-minute talks to save the business.
January 2021: Boohoo Group announces it will acquire the Debenhams brand and website for £55 million, but not the stores or staff. Debenhams prepares to close permanently, ending a 242-year legacy on the high street.
May 2021: All remaining Debenhams physical stores close for good.
April 2021: Boohoo relaunches the Debenhams website, initially focusing on beauty as a major category, before gradually expanding into fashion, homeware, and other lifestyle products.
June 2023: Frasers Group acquired its first 5% stake in Boohoo Group (owners of Debenhams), marking the beginning of its strategic investment.
July 2023: Frasers raised its stake from 5% to 6.7%. The stake was further increased to 7.8%.
August 2023: Frasers raised its stake to 9.1%, solidifying its position as a significant shareholder.
October 2023: Frasers stake was increased to 13.4%.
November 2023: Frasers raised its stake to 16.5%, becoming the largest single shareholder in Boohoo.
December 2023: Fifth time wasn't the charm, and the stake was further increased to 17.2%.
July 2024: Frasers raised its stake to 21%.
September 2024: The stake was increased to 26.19%.
October 2024: Frasers demands that Boohoo appoint Mike Ashley as CEO after H1 revenues dropped by 15%.
November 2024: Frasers urged Boohoo shareholders to vote to appoint Ashley and restructuring expert Mike Lennon as directors at its shareholder meeting on 20 December.
December 2024: Boohoo ignores Frasers' demands and appoints Dan Finley CEO. Boohoo offered Frasers Group a seat on its board – but not for Mike Ashley.
January 2025: Frasers raised its stake to 27%. In the same month, Boohoo shareholders "overwhelmingly" voted against Frasers Group's request to remove founder and Executive Vice Chair Mahmud Kamani as a Director. Frasers hits back, accusing Boohoo of making undisclosed payments to its founder's son.
March 2025: Boohoo Group confirmed it was rebranding to Debenhams Group, despite failing to achieve the required support from shareholders, with Frasers Group rejecting the proposal
May 2025: Frasers increased its stake to 28%. In the same month, it's revealed Debenhams Group is in early talks to secure a refinancing package worth up to £175 million.
June 2025: Mike Ashley made another attempt to increase his influence over Debenhams Group by offering financial support in debt refinancing.
Words by Lauretta Roberts & Chloé Burney.
