British retail tycoon Mike Ashley failed on Friday in his attempt to be appointed to the board of Boohoo (BOOH.L) after shareholders in the struggling online fast-fashion group voted against the move.
Boohoo said 64% of votes cast at its investor meeting opposed the election of Ashley, the founder and majority shareholder of rival Frasers (FRAS.L), to the board. Frasers is Boohoo's biggest shareholder with 28%.
With Boohoo's share price down by 90% in five years, Ashley had accused its board of "gross mismanagement". He said he could bring "fresh ideas" and wants to avoid a fire sale of assets, including Boohoo's Debenhams business. He also wants to explore options for more cost-effective and sustainable financing.
The same percentage of votes cast also opposed the election of restructuring professional Mike Lennon to the Boohoo board, as proposed by Frasers.
Boohoo's board and investor advisers Glass Lewis and Institutional Shareholder Services had recommended shareholders vote against Ashley and Lennon's appointment.
“I would like to thank our shareholders for their support of the board," Tim Morris, Boohoo's independent non-executive chair, said.
"We remain focused on delivery of our Business Review with the objective of unlocking and maximising value for all shareholders."
(This story has been refiled to fix a typo in paragraph 7)
