Billionaires clash over future of beleaguered Asos amid fears it could become fast fashion’s latest victim
- Retail titan Mike Ashley raised his stake in Asos to 9.9% last week
- Danish billionaire Anders Povlsen has the biggest stake at 22%
- A further 13% of fashion firm is owned by US hedge fund baron William Barker
Fears are mounting that Asos, which is at the centre of a tussle between warring tycoons, could become fast fashion’s latest victim.
Once a lockdown winner and stock market darling, the retailer’s shares since the pandemic have plummeted as young women turn their backs on ordering cheap clothing online.
Dire trading and mounting debt saw the retailer forced to raise £75 million of fresh capital in May. The business clocked up a £291 million loss in the six months to March.
Last week, credit insurers withdrew cover amid fears it could struggle to meet its commitments to suppliers.
Holding: Retail titan Mike Ashley (pictured) raised his stake in Asos, held through his firm Frasers Group, to 9.9% last week
Shares are hovering around at £3.33, after peaking at £77.30 five years ago and trading close to £60 during the pandemic – making the business a ‘sitting duck’ as rumours fly about whether it could be taken over.
Its fate lies in the hands of its three largest shareholders, Danish billionaire Anders Povlsen, US hedge fund baron William Barker and retail titan Mike Ashley.
Povlsen has the biggest stake at 22 per cent. Barker, who models himself on his hero Warren Buffett, holds 13 per cent through his fund Camelot Capital.
Ashley raised his stake, held through his firm Frasers Group, to 9.9 per cent last week.
Clive Black, retail analyst at Shore Capital, said: ‘It’s real a cast of characters, all vying and jostling for position over Asos’s future. I’d love to be a fly on the wall when all three of them are in a room.’
Povlsen, 50, is a reclusive and the richest of the three with a fortune of £8.5 billion.
He is Scotland’s largest landowner and a real-life Monarch of the Glen, who drives around his properties in a battered VW Golf.
He and wife, Anne own 221,000 acres of land across 13 Highlands estates. The Dane owes his wealth to Bestseller, the vast fashion empire founded by his father, Troels, in 1975.
Top shareholder: Danish tycoon Anders Povlsen with his wife Anne
Starting with a single store in the Danish town of Brande, the company employs 18,000 people and owns brands such as Jack & Jones and Vero Moda.
Povlsen endured tragedy when three of his children were killed in the 2019 Sri Lanka terrorist attacks.
According to sources close to him, he believes he can still turn around the fortunes of Asos while it is listed on the London stock market.
However, matters might be taken out of his hands in the months ahead.
It was reported last week that Alibaba-backed Turkish e-commerce fashion firm Trendyol had proposed a £1 billion offer earlier this year.
It came to nothing, but since then the company’s value has fallen to just £400 million making it more attractive for a private equity raider or retail rival.
Povlsen’s most immediate rival comes not from Turkey but closer to home in the form of Ashley.
The two men ‘have history’, over the famous Jenners department store building in Edinburgh.
Povlsen owns the building while Ashley owns the brand.
They fell out over signage on the historic department store building.
Ashley last week raised his stake in Asos to nearly 10 per cent.
The effect is to place ‘his tanks on Povlsen’s lawn’ should a takeover tussle ensue. Black said that Barker will play kingmaker in any takeover bid.
‘An outside offer would need 50 per cent of shareholders to take control. That would mean getting two of the largest three shareholders on board. It puts Barker in the driving seat.’
