Friday 29 March 2019 8:09 am | Updated: Monday 03 June 2019 12:52 am

‘No justice’: Mike Ashley voices anger as Debenhams thwarts his takeover bid

Mike Ashley has railed against Debenhams’ move yesterday to thwart his takeover offer, saying “if there were any justice in the world the majority of the advisors would be put in prison”.

The billionaire owns a 30 per cent stake in the department store chain through his Sports Direct firm but that will likely be wiped out as Debenhams got the green light to push ahead with a £200m deal with lenders.

A majority of bondholders approved the board’s bid to borrow the sum from lenders including Barclays and Bank of Ireland despite it risking shareholders’ stakes being reduced to nothing.

Ashley issued a blistering statement this morning, saying: “Now the results of the vote are known and we have also been subsequently advised that the supportive HSBC are no longer part of Debenhams RCF [revolving credit facility], I think that if there were any justice in the world the majority of the advisors would be put in prison.”

Debenhams shares sank yesterday as it appeared the retailer could now fall into the hands of its lenders, hitting a fractional 2.09p.

Ashley was considering a 5p per share £61.4m bid to install himself as chief executive and take control from the current bord but never made an official offer.

Previously the high street magnate had seen Debenhams reject other routes to put himself in the driving seat.

Through Sports Direct, he made a £100m offer for Debehams' Danish arm, Magasin Du Nord, that would have seen him installed as Debenhams boss, as well as a £150m loan offer conditional on putting him in charge.

However, Debenhams is now a clear step closer to securing a £200m loan from its lenders, after which it could look at a pre-pack administration or a debt-for-equity swap to pay off the debt.

It came as Facebook was set to take over Debenhams' Rathbone Place London headquarters yesterday as the retailer surrendered its lease.