Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group lowers stake in AO World
Mike Ashley’s retail empire Frasers Group has lowered its stake in white goods giant AO World.
The owner of brands including House of Fraser and Sports Direct has reduced its holdings in the Bolton-headquartered company from 24.7 per cent to 23.8 per cent, according to a new filing with the London Stock Exchange.
Frasers Group, which is majority owned by Mike Ashley and also listed on the LSE, first invested in AO when it snapped up a 20 per cent stake in June 2023 in a £75m move.
It later upped its holdings to 23 per cent to make it AO’s largest single shareholder.
Frasers Group still remains AO’s largest single shareholder ahead of the likes of Camelot Capital Partners and founder and chief executive John Roberts.
The move comes after shares in AO surged after the white goods electrical supplier revealed its profit had surged during its latest financial year.
The group posted a pre-tax profit of £36.4m, up from £7.6m, surpassing forecasts.
However, AO reported in its annual results to March 31, 2024, that its revenue had fallen from £1.1bn to £1bn.
The group’s stock price rose 4.5 per cent on the morning its results were revealed and is up over 38 per cent in the last year.
In June, AO said it was confident in its ability to reach double digit revenue growth next year, while pushing up profit before tax to between £36m and £41m, despite the ongoing macroeconomic challenges.
Also last month, Frasers Group launched a new share buyback programme of up to £80m.
At the end of May, the group also upped its stake in fashion brand Hugo Boss, bringing its total share in the company to £305m.
Frasers Group said it now controlled 2.47 per cent of the company’s shares, or 16.4 per cent when accounting for shares via the sale of put options.
The group previously cut its large stake in the company at the start of 2023, bringing its total investment in the group from £770m to £580m.