Frasers Group set to accuse Boohoo of undisclosed payments to founder’s son
Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group is set to open a new front in its war of words with Boohoo this evening, accusing the fast fashion firm of allegedly paying its founder’s son £2m-a-year but failing to tell shareholders, CityAM has learned.
In the latest attack of a long-running spat between the two companies, Frasers is expected to allege that Umar Kamani, the son of Boohoo’s founder, Mahmud Kamani, is receiving payments of around £200,000 a month for providing “consultancy services” to its subsidiary PrettyLittleThing (PLT).
Umar Kamani founded PLT and sold the business to Boohoo in 2020.
Frasers did not provide evidence for the allegations when asked by CityAM. Boohoo did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
However, Ashley’s firm will claim that any consultancy arrangement raises “conflict of interest” concerns and the company is expected to call on Boohoo to share details of the arrangement with shareholders.
“Frasers remains deeply troubled by Boohoo’s governance practices and lack of transparency of material arrangements,” Frasers is expected to say in an open letter.
The allegations mark the most personal barb yet in what has been a long-running public battle between the two retail giants.
The spat stretches back to October when Boohoo chief executive John Lyttle left the firm abruptly following a run of lacklustre results and profit warnings.
Frasers, which owns some 27 per cent of Boohoo, then launched a campaign to have Ashley appointed as chief executive.
After Boohoo dismissed the calls, Frasers attempted to install Ashley and another ally to Boohoo’s board, a move rejected by shareholders.Frasers’ latest attempt to force an overhaul was defeated yesterday, when shareholders voted against a motion to remove Mahmud Kamani from his seat.