20 July 2018
SPORTS DIRECT INTERNATIONAL PLC
("Sports Direct" or the "Group" or "SD")
Strategic Investment Companies
During a year-end results presentation by Sports Direct at the Stock Exchange on 19 July 2018, Mike Ashley read aloud a brief statement about the Group's relationships with its strategic investment companies. This statement has led to interest from various parties, and in response to this we are publishing the statement in order to make it freely available to all.
The statement read by Mike Ashley is as follows:
"One of our biggest challenges this year end has been an assessment of our relationships with our strategic investment companies. A number of these such as Game and Findel consider us to have significant influence over them by virtue of signalling us as a related party in their accounts.
I do not believe that we have significant influence over these companies. I do not believe they apply the core SD principles of being conservative, consistent and simple.
I want a show of hands of those people in this room that disagree that applying our core principles of being conservative, consistent and simple, and thus increasing our significant influence within these strategic investments would be a bad thing? I want to be crystal clear, if you disagree with this put your hands up?
Now you know why I don't think we have significant influence. We will be contacting our strategic investment companies in the next few months and urging them to adopt our core principles of being conservative, consistent and simple, and we will let you know at the half year where we have got to.
Sports Direct believe accounts should be shown in a form that can be understood and relied upon and I am sure you would agree."
Sports Direct International plc Cameron Olsen, Company Secretary |
T. 0344 245 9200 |
KBA PR Keith Bishop |
T. 0207 734 9995 E. sd@kbapr.com |