Mike Ashley wins court battle with banker over alleged £15m deal he dismissed as 'pub banter'

Sports Direct boss' lawyers hailed a 'comprehensive victory' after the judge said no one at the meeting would have deemed Mr Ashley’s words were serious

Following a colourful court case, the judge describe the claim against the Sports Direct boss as ‘wishful thinking’ (PA)

Sports Direct boss Mike Ashley has won a court case brought by an investment banker over a £15m deal he said was made during a boozy meeting at a central London pub.

Jeffrey Blue told the High Court that the Newcastle United owner had paid him just £1m of the fee he was promised for helping Sports Direct’s share price more than double to £8. Mr Ashley disputed the claim, saying that the suggestion he made business decisions in the pub was “total crap”. His lawyers had described Mr Blue’s case as an “opportunistic try-on”.

The Sports Direct boss was not in court to hear the ruling but his lawyers hailed a “comprehensive victory" after the judge said no-one at the meeting would have deemed Mr Ashley’s words were serious.

During the course of the case the court heard colourful evidence from Mr Blue about Mr Ashley’s conduct. The financier described a separate occasion on which Mr Ashley vomited in a pub fireplace at a company meeting after drinking 12 pints of lager with vodka chasers.

Mr Ashley said that on the night when the £15m deal was allegedly made, he met Mr Blue and three others at the Horse and Groom pub and “consumed a lot of alcohol”.

“I can't remember the details of the conversations that we had in the pub as it was a heavy night of drinking,” Mr Ashley had said. “I do remember that we had a lot of drinks and a lot of banter.

He confirmed that he said he would pay Mr Blue the £15m if Sports Direct’s share price to £8 but that it was “obvious” the offer was not serious. He said the £1m he paid Mr Blue was not related to that night.

In a statement issued after the ruling, Mr Ashley said: “The only reason the Sports Direct share price exceeded £8, and will hopefully do so again, is because of the sterling efforts of all the people who work at Sports Direct.”

“In the course of a jocular conversation with three investment bankers in a pub on the evening of 24 January 2013, Mr Ashley said that he would pay Mr Blue £15m if Mr Blue could get the price of Sports Direct shares (then trading at around £4 per share) to £8,” said the judge. “Mr Blue expressed his agreement to that proposal and everyone laughed.

“Thirteen months later the Sports Direct share price did reach £8. But no reasonable person present in the Horse and Groom on 24 January 2013 would have thought that the offer to pay Mr Blue £15m was serious and was intended to create a contract, and no one who was actually present in the Horse and Groom that evening – including Mr Blue – did in fact think so at the time. They all thought it was a joke.

“The fact that Mr Blue has since convinced himself that the offer was a serious one, and that a legally binding agreement was made, shows only that the human capacity for wishful thinking knows few bounds.”

Additional reporting by Press Association