Sports Direct founder Mike Ashley has sold a 2.7% stake in the retailer worth £106m just eight months after pledging not to sell any shares for a year.

Ashle said in February, when he sold £100m of shares in the sportswear retailer, he would not sell any more of his stake for at least 12 months.

But the Telegraph reported Ashley had asked house brokers Goldman Sachs to waive the lock on him selling off shares in an unusual request.

Ashley retains a 61.7% share holding in Sports Direct, a stake valued at £2.5bn.

Demand for Sports Direct shares has risen rapidly this year and last month the retailer entered the FTSE 100.

On Wednesday, Sports Direct reported group profit jumped 19.4% to £199.8m in the nine weeks to September 29 as sales advanced 15.1% to £463.7m.

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