Findel’s shareholders find Mike Ashley more Voldemort than Harry Potter

Outlook: Kitbag could be very valuable to Sports Direct. Its partners include several football clubs, not to mention the NFL and the NBA

Investors in the online sports and gifts retailer Findel are worried that Sports Direct might prompt the company towards administration (PA)

Amid all the controversy he generates, it shouldn’t be forgotten that Sports Direct founder Mike Ashley is an extraordinarily clever businessman, who has created a multinational retail juggernaut. It is perhaps with this in mind that two of internet retailer Findel’s big investors thought it mightn’t be such a bad idea to cozy up to him.

Findel has had problems in the past, and while it tried to wring some positives out of its most recent results, they were underwhelming at best. Profits on the company’s lacklustre sales were muted, while the proposed sale of sports retailer Kitbag appears to have stalled. Could a bit of the Ashley magic change that? Toscafund and Schroders appeared to believe it could, and sold him 19 per cent in the hopes that he’d play the role of Harry Potter and cast a Sports Direct success spell on to the embattled business. Unfortunately for them (they remain big investors) it seems Mr Ashley is intent on playing Voldemort, having nominated his catspaw Benjamin Gardener to play Lucius Malfoy on Findel’s board.

Mr Gardener previously served as a director of Sports Direct’s fashion chain USC, which went into administration in January having served some of its staff with just 15 minutes’ notice. A debt-free USC was bought back from the administrators by … you’ve guessed it, Sports Direct.

The company’s interactions with other retailers haven’t always been so malign. Under Mr Ashley’s guiding hand it has had a habit of buying stakes in other companies that it wants to do business with. Debenhams, which now hosts Sports Direct concessions, being a good example. Tesco, which has partnered with Sports Direct in Hungary, is another.

What is notable about the above two examples (and other similar arrangements) is that Sports Direct apparently felt no need to try to force its people on to their respective boards. But, then, there was no reason to. Findel is a little different. It isn’t in the best of health and its most troubled unit, Kitbag, could be very valuable to Sports Direct. The latter’s partners include several football clubs, not to mention the NFL and the NBA, whose European stores it runs. Some of those partners are leery of Mr Ashley, but they might be persuaded to change their tune if he were the only game in town, as he would be if the proposed sale fails. Thanks to Malfoy – sorry, Mr Gardener – Mr Ashley now has the inside track. The same goes for the wider Findel Group.

No wonder his fellow investors are starting to worry about dark wizards, and more besides. However, they’ve only themselves to blame. There’s a reason Mr Ashley and Sports Direct carry on as they do. It is because they can. When push comes to shove, such as with the re-election of the Keith Hellawell as chairman earlier this year, despite his being criticised by MPs as ineffectual, the City has always caved in. Bad publicity is water off a duck’s back as the company continues to rack up the revenues. Meanwhile, calls for investigations into (and possible action over) Sports Direct’s business practices have gone nowhere. Small wonder that Mr Ashley is laughing. Wouldn’t you be?

Is WH Smith boss worth a cool £4m remuneration?

WH Smith has been one of Britain’s more successful retailers over the past year, having managed to deliver the best sales since 2002. Good news for the company’s shareholders. Even better news for its chief executive, Stephen Clarke, who received a 55 per cent pay rise to £4m as a result, making even the likes of Marc Bolland (M&S, £2m) and Mike Coupe (Sainsbury’s, £1.5m) look like veritable paupers by comparison.

Of course, their businesses haven’t performed anything like as well. Because they don’t have a guru like Mr Clarke? Well, not exactly. It’s rather doubtful he’d do any better than Mr Coupe at Sainsbury’s, which, despite its relative struggles, has performed much better than its main rivals in the face of the disruptive challenge posed by Aldi and Lidl – a challenge Mr Clarke doesn’t face. Neither do the above have the advantage of WH Smith’s airport business, which benefits from a captive market of passengers who can be counted on to drop in for a browse and a buy or two to stave off the boredom of waiting for their planes to depart. There are a lot more bored browsers looking to spend money with the firm than there were. But Mr Clarke set up that business, right? So he deserves the credit? Erm, no. But it has been a strategic focus.

Let’s stop this exercise for the moment, because I’m not trying to argue that WH Smith’s recent success is all about luck. There is little doubt that Mr Clarke is a good retailer. But a £4m superman? That’s rather more debatable. Fortunately for Mr Clarke, the only debate the company’s remuneration committee has had is how much more they should pay him next year. They settled on 12 per cent. The staff, from whose hard work he benefits, are getting 2 per cent.

Australian offload to float NAB’s boat A 75 per cent stake in the newly independent Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank Group – or CYBG – is set to serve as a late Christmas present to shareholders in National Australia Bank. The “new” challenger bank will be seeking a listing in both London and Australia, with institutions being called upon to buy up the remaining 25 per cent. NAB tried for years to find a buyer for the whole thing, but without success. If nothing else, the new bank’s management ought to be motivated to prove there’s a story here that the rest of the industry has somehow managed to miss.

Australian offload to float NAB’s boat

A 75 per cent stake in the newly independent Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank Group – or CYBG – is set to serve as a late Christmas present to shareholders in National Australia Bank. The “new” challenger bank will be seeking a listing in both London and Australia, with institutions being called upon to buy up the remaining 25 per cent. NAB tried for years to find a buyer for the whole thing, but without success. If nothing else, the new bank’s management ought to be motivated to prove there’s a story here that the rest of the industry has somehow managed to miss.