Belgian authorities are demanding €674m (£605m) in unpaid taxes from Sports Direct, the company revealed as it published its delayed results.
The FTSE 250 business, which also owns Flannels, House of Fraser, Evans Cycles and sofa.com among others, also said its chief finance officer, Jon Kempster, will step down on 11 September and will be replaced by his deputy, Chris Wootton.
It said: “Jon came in during a transitionary period and his knowledge and experience has helped to guide the group through this stage in its development as well as passing on vital knowledge to those around him.
“Jon was proactive in forging improved relationships with the market and we believe we are in a better place in this regard than when he first started.”
Mike Ashley, Sports Direct’s chief executive, told investors there will be more House of Fraser closures in the short term, adding: “Some of the stores lose money on zero rent.”
1/11 Corbyn wishes Amazon a happy birthday
In a card sent to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos on the company’s 25th birthday, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn writes: “You owe the British people millions in taxes that pay for the public services that we all rely on. Please pay your fair share”
2/11 No deal, no tariffs
The government has announced that it would slash almost all tariffs in the event of a no-deal Brexit. Notable exceptions include cars and meat, which will see tariffs in place to protect British farmers
Getty
3/11 Fingerprint payment
NatWest is trialling a new bank card that will allow people to touch their hand to the card when paying rather than typing in a PIN number. The card will work by recognising the user’s fingerprint
NatWest/PA Wire
4/11 Mahabis bust
High-end slipper retailer Mahabis has gone into administration. 2 Jan 2019
Mahabis
5/11 Costa Cola
Coca-Cola has paid £3.9bn for Costa Coffee. A cafe chain is a new venture for the global soft drinks giant
PA
6/11 RIP Payday Loans
A funeral procession for payday loans was held in London on September 2. The future of pay day lenders is in doubt after Wonga, Britain’s biggest, went into administration on August 30
PA
7/11 Musk irks investors and directors
Elon Musk has concluded that Tesla will remain public. Investors and company directors were angry at Musk for tweeting unexpectedly that he was considering taking Tesla private and share prices had taken a tumble in the following weeks
Getty
8/11 Jaguar warning
Iconic British car maker Jaguar Land Rover warned on July 5, 2018 that a “bad” Brexit deal could jeopardise planned investment of more than $100 billion, upping corporate pressure as the government heads into crucial talks
AFP/Getty
9/11 Spotif-IPO
Spotify traded publically for the first time on the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday. However, the company isn’t issuing shares, but rather, shares held by Spotify’s private investors will be sold
AFP/Getty
10/11 French blue passports
The deadline to award a contract to make blue British passports after Brexit has been extended by two weeks following a request by bidder De La Rue. The move comes after anger at the announcement British passports would be produced by Franco-Dutch firm Gemalto when De La Rue’s contract ends in July.
The British firm said Gemalto was chosen only because it undercut the competition, but the UK company also admitted that it was not the cheapest choice in the tendering process.
11/11 Beast from the east economic impact
The Beast from the East wiped £4m off of Flybe’s revenues due to flight cancellations, airport closures and delays, according to the budget airline’s estimates. Flybe said it cancelled 994 flights in the three months to 31 March, compared to 372 in the same period last year.
1/11 Corbyn wishes Amazon a happy birthday
In a card sent to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos on the company’s 25th birthday, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn writes: “You owe the British people millions in taxes that pay for the public services that we all rely on. Please pay your fair share”
2/11 No deal, no tariffs
The government has announced that it would slash almost all tariffs in the event of a no-deal Brexit. Notable exceptions include cars and meat, which will see tariffs in place to protect British farmers
Getty
3/11 Fingerprint payment
NatWest is trialling a new bank card that will allow people to touch their hand to the card when paying rather than typing in a PIN number. The card will work by recognising the user’s fingerprint
NatWest/PA Wire
4/11 Mahabis bust
High-end slipper retailer Mahabis has gone into administration. 2 Jan 2019
Mahabis
5/11 Costa Cola
Coca-Cola has paid £3.9bn for Costa Coffee. A cafe chain is a new venture for the global soft drinks giant
PA
6/11 RIP Payday Loans
A funeral procession for payday loans was held in London on September 2. The future of pay day lenders is in doubt after Wonga, Britain’s biggest, went into administration on August 30
PA
7/11 Musk irks investors and directors
Elon Musk has concluded that Tesla will remain public. Investors and company directors were angry at Musk for tweeting unexpectedly that he was considering taking Tesla private and share prices had taken a tumble in the following weeks
Getty
8/11 Jaguar warning
Iconic British car maker Jaguar Land Rover warned on July 5, 2018 that a “bad” Brexit deal could jeopardise planned investment of more than $100 billion, upping corporate pressure as the government heads into crucial talks
AFP/Getty
9/11 Spotif-IPO
Spotify traded publically for the first time on the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday. However, the company isn’t issuing shares, but rather, shares held by Spotify’s private investors will be sold
AFP/Getty
10/11 French blue passports
The deadline to award a contract to make blue British passports after Brexit has been extended by two weeks following a request by bidder De La Rue. The move comes after anger at the announcement British passports would be produced by Franco-Dutch firm Gemalto when De La Rue’s contract ends in July.
The British firm said Gemalto was chosen only because it undercut the competition, but the UK company also admitted that it was not the cheapest choice in the tendering process.
11/11 Beast from the east economic impact
The Beast from the East wiped £4m off of Flybe’s revenues due to flight cancellations, airport closures and delays, according to the budget airline’s estimates. Flybe said it cancelled 994 flights in the three months to 31 March, compared to 372 in the same period last year.
Earlier on Friday the retailer was branded a “total shambles” after it delayed publishing its results for the second time in as many weeks.
Investors were keen to hear more about the takeover spree embarked on this year – with House of Fraser of particular interest – after bosses revealed in December last year that it had made a loss of £31.5m since it was bought for £90m last August.
But by 8am on Friday, when the stock market opened, the results were still missing, all planned calls with the media and analysts in the City were cancelled, and a presentation to investors at the retailer’s London head office was scrapped.
Shares dropped in early trading when the results did not appear but recovered and were flat by mid-morning on Friday.
