Boohoo board rings bell for round two of battle with Mike Ashley
Fast fashion group Boohoo has written to shareholders slamming a demand by its biggest shareholder – retailer Frasers Group that founder Mahmud Kamani be removed from office as a director of the Manchester-headquartered business.
Frasers’ latest demand to be tabled at a General Meeting requisitioned by Frasers on 21 January 2025 pre-dated the dramatic general meeting on the 20th of December where Boohoo’s board thwarted an attempt to put Frasers’ founder Mike Ashley and his colleague Mike Lennon in charge of Boohoo.
The letter to shareholders says Frasers’ demands, including its current attempt to remove Kamani, are part of a ongoing campaign to “destabilise Boohoo” and disrupt plans to unlock and maximise shareholder value.
“The Board is of the view that in pursuing this campaign, Frasers is acting solely in its own commercial self-interest. In its previous communications with Shareholders the Board has also highlighted a number of instances in which Frasers has behaved in similar ways in relation to other companies,” it says.
The attempt to unseat Kamani was received after the appointment of Tim Morris as Independent Non-Executive Chair, replacing Kamani who is now executive vice chair.
In defence of their founder the letter says Kamani is “an integral part” of the leadership team.
It goes on to say: “His counsel, guidance and insight to Dan Finley, Group Chief Executive Officer, the rest of the Board, and the wider business remains invaluable. The question for Shareholders to consider ahead of voting at the General Meeting is not therefore whether Mr Kamani should remain as the Company’s Chair, but whether he should remain as a director having already stepped down as Chair.
“The Independent Committee is unanimous in its view that Mr Kamani should remain as a director of the Company given his critical role in the business. As a co-founder, Mr Kamani built the Company from the ground up, transforming it to a global leader in online fashion. His entrepreneurial spirit, industry expertise and unwavering commitment to boohoo has been and remains, a key asset for the business. In addition, as previously announced, Mahmud Kamani has agreed to waive his current salary from boohoo for the next 12 months.”
Boohoo claims the business is taking action to lift the share price from the low 30p range, including the appointment of Dan Finley as CEO and selling off assets – such as the London office – to reduce debt.
It claims Finley has identified “a further £30 million in cost savings” and is exploring the sale of non-core assets.
The debt facility has been reduced from £325m to £125m, using funds raised from a share placing, and proceeds from the disposal of its London office in Soho.
