Frasers retail founder Mike Ashley adds to bet on London property project

Mr Ashley allocated £150m (€175m) during May to McGrove Developments, which was established in 2014 and is owned through his personal investment firm, Mash Holdings

The move boosts one of Mr Ashley’s biggest bets outside the sector that made his fortune and will help finance the project, which consists of 78 high-end apartments, an on-site gym and concierge services. Picture: Nick Ansell/PA

Wed, 05 Jul, 2023 – 18:57

Founder of retail group Frasers, Mike Ashley has shifted more of his money into a company he set up to drive the development of a luxury residential project in Chelsea, one of the most exclusive parts of London.

Mr Ashley allocated £150m (€175m) during May to McGrove Developments, which was established in 2014 and is owned through his personal investment firm, Mash Holdings, according to UK registry filings.

The move boosts one of his biggest bets outside the sector that made his fortune and will help finance the project, which consists of 78 high-end apartments, an on-site gym and concierge services.

The latest funds should provide “the necessary capital” to complete the project located on a former site of UK retailer John Lewis, Mash Holdings said in its 2022 results. McGrove Developments had £237m of loans from Mash outstanding as of April 2022.

Mr Ashley has also bought properties in Miami and was the owner for more than a decade of Premier League football team Newcastle United, which he sold to a Saudi Arabia-controlled consortium during 2021 for £305m.

Mr Ashley, who pledged Frasers Group shares in March to secure a loan from HSBC, now has a net worth of about €4.5bn, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Mr Ashley, known for his dealmaking, started building up his business empire during the 1980s, originally calling his retail company Sports Direct. He sold almost £1bn of the retailer’s shares during its 2007 initial public offering in London and surfaced as the main financier for the Chelsea residential development eight years later.

Bloomberg

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