Boohoo has said “desperate people do desperate things” in response to Frasers’ latest open letter to shareholders as the Sports Direct owner shrugged off what it labelled as “grossly exaggerated” conflicts and governance concerns.

Frasers said that the competition and corporate governance concerns from the fashion giant were used as a “thinly-veiled excuse” not to appoint Mike Ashley and Mike Lennon as directors.

“Boohoo put forward an unreasonable list of purported governance requirements that it wants from Frasers. These requirements are a massive overreach, with no basis in law, any rulebook or acceptable corporate practice,” it wrote.

Frasers claimed that the online fashion group’s board “even admitted in private” that Ashley’s background and experience would bring “significant benefits” for all shareholders.

Responding to competition concerns, the Sports Direct owner argued there is “virtually no overlap between the two businesses”.

It said that House of Fraser “could be considered a retail competitor” to Boohoo’s Debenhams but that its own retailer “represents a more upmarket brand offering than Debenhams’ current position in the market”.

Frasers said that it is “not an insider of Asos”, of which it holds a 21% stake, and that it “only has access to the same information provided to any other shareholder”.

“We do not consider there to be any competition concerns with regard to Frasers’ minority shareholding in Asos,” it said.

It is the latest in the ongoing battle between the pair as Boohoo shareholders start to cast their vote on whether to approve or dismiss Frasers’ suggested board appointments ahead of the meeting on 20 December.

Boohoo proxy advisor Glass Lewis recommended that shareholders vote against the resolutions this morning (12 December) as it concluded that “shareholders would not be well served supporting the appointment” of Mike Ashley and Mike Lennon to Boohoo’s board.

The business is standing firm against Ashley despite its poor performance in recent years following the rise of fast-fashion giants like Shein and Temu, with their ultra-cheap fashion offerings.

Frasers – which holds 27% of Boohoo – demanded at the end of last month that Mike Ashley takeover as chair, alongside restructuring expert Mike Lennon as director, to turnaround the loss-making fashion group and put an end to what it described as “dismal results, lack of transparency, terrible refinancing, and further supply chain allegations”.

Click here to sign up to Retail Gazette‘s free daily email newsletter