Asos pays tribute to co-founder Quentin Griffiths after death in Thailand fall

Mr Griffiths co-founded Asos in 2000 as a site for fashion aficionados seeking clothes at discount prices

Mr Griffiths co-founded Asos in 2000 as a site for fashion aficionados seeking clothes at discount prices (Hepple/City Am/Shutterstock)

Asos has paid tribute to co-founder Quentin Griffiths, after the entrepreneur died in a fall from a building in Thailand.

The online fashion retailer said Mr Griffiths, 58, “played an important role” in the company’s earliest days and it will be “forever grateful for his contribution”.

The British national reportedly plunged from an 18-foor complex in Pattaya, a seaside city south of Bangkok, on February 9.

In a statement, the company said: “We’re saddened to hear about the passing of Quentin, one of our original co-founders.

“He played an important role in Asos’s earliest days and we’re forever grateful for his contribution.

“Our thoughts are with his family and friends.”

Mr Griffiths co-founded Asos in 2000 as a site for fashion aficionados seeking clothes at discount prices.

The exact cause of death will be determined following a full post-mortem, and the investigation is ongoing.

A Foreign Office spokesperson said: “We are supporting the family of a British national who has died in Thailand and are in contact with the local authorities.”

Mr Griffiths helped establish Asos in 2000 alongside Nick Robertson and Andrew Regan. The business was originally an online fashion start-up, but went on to become a £3bn global retailer. High-profile figures, including the Princess of Wales and Michelle Obama, have worn its own-label designs.

A former advertising executive, Mr Griffiths, stepped down as marketing director in 2005 but remained a significant shareholder. He made around £15m from selling shares in 2010, and received a further stock windfall in 2013.

In later years, Mr Griffiths became involved in legal and financial disputes. He sued his accountants at the company Binder Dijker Otte (BDO), alleging he had been given incorrect advice on minimising tax liabilities linked to the sale of shares in Asos and Achica, an online retailer he also co-founded.

At the time, a BDO spokesperson said the firm “will be defending the claim brought against us, which relates to tax advice given by BDO in the UK and in Guernsey between 2013 and 2015, but are unable to comment further at this stage given the legal process is ongoing”.

Mr Griffiths’ Thai ex-wife accused him of stealing £500,000 from a company they operated together, according to reports.

Last year, he was arrested and questioned by detectives after she alleged he had forged documents to sell land and shares in the business without her knowledge. He denied the allegations and was released after questioning, but the investigation was ongoing at the time of his death.

Police have also said he was involved in two ongoing court cases.

Mr Griffiths moved to Thailand around 2007.

He is survived by his three children.