Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group launches fresh £80m share buyback scheme
Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group has launched a fresh share buyback scheme, prompting shares to rise over three per cent.
The retail behemoth, which owns brands such as Jack Willis, Flannels and Sports Direct, will work with Jefferies to repurchase ordinary shares up to a maximum of £80m.
Back in February, the sporting giant announced a similar scheme which ran for 11 weeks and ended on Sunday the 28th of April.
Frasers said: “The aggregate purchase price of all shares acquired under the programme will be no greater than £80,000,000. The maximum number of shares that may be purchased under the programme will be 10,000,000 ordinary shares.”
“The purpose of the Programme is to reduce the share capital of the company. The shares repurchased by the Company will be held in treasury pending cancellation or re-issue.”
Shares in the firm rose over three per cent on Monday morning as investors responded to the news.
Frasers’ share price is down by over 10 per cent since the start of 2024, and the company has spent much of the first few months of the year upping its stake in businesses such as AO World and Boohoo.
The retailer now owns around a quarter of the electrical retailer.
Back in January, it also upped its stake in fast-fashion retailer Boohoo to 22 per cent.
Frasers, which is known for buying troubled retail brands, last month put Matches Fashion into administration less than three months after buying it in a cut-price deal worth £52m.
Frasers’ takeover offered a lifeline for the designer online retailer, which has struggled in recent years due to the actions of former leaders.
Last November, it also offloaded its Misguided to Shein – the ultra-fast fashion brand eyeing a listing in London.
In the 26 weeks to last October, Frasers reported a 4.4 per cent rise in group revenue to £2.7bn.