Mulberry has rejected retail tycoon Mike Ashley’s efforts to join the luxury handbag retailer‘s board, the Times reports.
Ashley’s Frasers Group owns a 36.8% in the business, which is still ultimately controlled by Malaysian billionaire Ong Beng Seng and his wife, Christina, who own more than 56%.
In recent weeks, the Sports Direct founder is understood to have met Mulberry’s executive team in a bid to get voice in the boardroom as he grows frustrated about the alleged “lack of transparency” around the retailer’s poor performing Asian business.
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In 2017, Mulberry partnered with the Ong’s Singapore company, Challice, in a joint venture to expand the luxury brand in the Far East. Challice carries a 40% stake the venture.
However, Ashley is currently understood to be seeking more information about how the arrangements operate and whether it rents property from Challice and how the Ongs benefit from the deal.
The request has not yet been granted or turned down.
“We have a constructive dialogue with all our shareholders and we do not provide public commentary on the details of these conversations,” a spokesman for Mulberry said.
Chief executive Thierry Andretta dismissed Ashley’s attempts to gain a seat on the board.
He said that while Ashley is “an important shareholder, a successful businessman . . . we don’t consider he has the expertise that we need to grow the company”.
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