Mike Ashley has appointed his youngest daughter, Matilda Ashley, as a director of Mash Holdings, signifying the increasing influence of family connections in his expansive retail and property empire.
Recent filings with Companies House reveal that Matilda Ashley, 27, has assumed a significant role within Mash Holdings, the entity central to managing Mike Ashley’s extensive interests. This appointment follows her departure from Double Take, a beauty business she founded in 2015 and that was reportedly acquired by Frasers Group for £1 last year, without disclosing this acquisition to shareholders. Double Take owns SportFX, a cosmetics brand sold in Sports Direct stores, and has navigated the pandemic with financial backing from Mash Holdings.
The appointment is expected to draw attention within the City, as concerns over corporate governance and potential nepotism resurface. Matilda’s boyfriend, David Al-Mudallal, serves as the Chief Operating Officer of Frasers Group and was appointed to its board, making him one of the youngest directors in a FTSE 100 company. Furthermore, Michael Murray, who is married to Anna Ashley, Mike Ashley’s elder daughter, and became CEO of Frasers in 2022, holds a significant position within the group.
The intertwining of family and business in Ashley’s empire has faced past scrutiny. In 2016, Sports Direct encountered shareholder criticism for not initially disclosing that a company owned by Ashley’s brother managed its international deliveries. Despite stepping down from the board in 2022, Mike Ashley maintains a 73% ownership stake and exerts considerable influence in a consultancy role.
Mash Holdings, which oversees a multitude of well-known high street brands including House of Fraser, Sports Direct, and Jack Wills, among others, has seen exponential growth since the establishment of Frasers Group’s initial shop in Maidenhead, Berkshire in 1982. The group now encompasses over 1,500 stores across 20 countries, illustrating its extensive reach and influence.
The strategic appointment of Matilda Ashley underscores the deepening entanglement of familial ties within Mike Ashley’s retail empire, raising questions about governance but solidifying the family’s influence over the business’s future direction.
