Sports Direct chairman survives protest vote

Sports Direct chairman Keith Hellawell has survived an attempt to oust him.
At the firm’s AGM yesterday, Hellawell was re-elected to the post, but only secured 53% backing from independent shareholders.
Hellawell had been under pressure to quit over concerns around the way the under-fire retailer is run.
Several investors, including Aberdeen Standard, Royal London Asset Management and Hermes had pushed for a protest vote against Hellawell.
With owner Mike Ashley’s votes taken into account, Hellawell received 88% of votes in favour of him remaining chairman.
Ashley did not attend the AGM. Sports Direct’s share price closed yesterday up by 1.1% at 389.6p.