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06.01.2016

Sports Direct: at it again

Sports Direct has announced that they will be paying more than the minimum wage from now on.  So that's good.  They have also appointed Mike Ashley's daughter's 26 year old boyfriend, Michael Murray, as Head of Property.  The couple live in a £10m house in Belgravia, London and Mr Murray's previous experience appears to have been in organising student events.  It seems that it's not quite nepotism (because Mr Murray and Mr Ashley are not actually related, yet) but it does appear to give credence to the calls for the company to be put on a more professional footing with less influence over the board of directors by Mr Ashley.

One step forward and two steps back.

Sports Direct has released information about the role of its head of property, Michael Murray, who is also said to be the boyfriend of founder Mike Ashley’s daughter.
The sportswear retailer says Murray heads its UK and international property team, whose main job is to find sites for large stores and a new format combining a shop and a gym.
In a statement to the stock exchange, the company said Murray was paid no salary and was not a director of any Sports Direct company. It said he would be paid based on “creating value”, although it did not explain how the added value was calculated.”