Sports Direct tycoon Mike Ashley intends to embarrass rival JJB Sports executive chairman Sir David Jones at JJB’s AGM tomorrow.
Ashley or his representatives intend to go to the meeting and confront Jones with awkward questions about his £1.5m loan from the Sports Direct founder.
Although Jones has paid back the cash, news that he had borrowed from Ashley raised concerns over a potential conflict of interest. As well as being a competitor, Sports Direct is a supplier to JJB Sports.
The row centres around when exactly the loan was arranged. JJB insists it was “initiated” before Jones joined JJB’s board. Ashley contends it was arranged afterwards.
Jones has been attempting to turn around JJB. Investors have so far backed him and view the loan row as a distraction from the challenge of reviving the company.
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