Finance
UK retail tycoon Mike Ashley uses Frasers shares as collateral for loan
Published by Global Banking and Finance Review
Posted on December 9, 2025
1 min readLast updated: January 20, 2026
Global Banking and Finance Review
Company
Published by Global Banking and Finance Review
Posted on December 9, 2025
1 min readLast updated: January 20, 2026
Mike Ashley pledges £670 million in Frasers shares for an HSBC loan, reflecting strategic financial decisions amid recent investments.
Dec 9 (Reuters) - British retail tycoon Mike Ashley has pledged around 670 million pounds ($890.6 million) worth of shares in his sportswear and fashion retailer Frasers Group Plc as collateral for a loan from HSBC, according to filing on Tuesday.
Ashley's holding company, MASH Beta Limited, which holds the majority of Frasers' issued share capital, pledged about 103.6 million ordinary shares.
Frasers' shares were down about 1.3% at 646.5 pence as of Tuesday's last close.
This move comes after the company's heavy investments in newer geographies and taking or increasing shareholding in recent months across companies, from fashion groups to electrical retailers.
Mike Ashley holds roughly a 73% stake in Frasers, according to data compiled by LSEG.
The company whose portfolio includes Sports Direct, House of Fraser and Flannels, reaffirmed its full-year profit forecast earlier this month.
($1 = 0.7523 pounds)
(Reporting by Sruthi Narasimha Chari in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)
A loan is a sum of money borrowed from a lender that is expected to be paid back with interest over a specified period.
A share represents a unit of ownership in a company. Shareholders can benefit from dividends and capital appreciation.
A holding company is a parent corporation that owns enough voting stock in another company to control its policies and management.
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