Mike Ashley admits role in surveillance of former JD Sports chair

Frasers Group founder Mike Ashley has admitted for the first time that he orchestrated the surveillance of Peter Cowgill, the former executive chair of rival retailer JD Sports, in an interview with The Financial Times. 

Cowgill was recorded in a car park in 2021 meeting with Barry Bown, the chief executive of Footasylum, with the leaked footage leading to a regulatory investigation and the eventual departure of Cowgill from his position.

The Competition and Markets Authority subsequently fined JD Sports £4.3m after finding that Cowgill and Bown had exchanged commercially sensitive information while a takeover was pending.

Ashley told the Financial Times that he wanted to remove Cowgill from his post and confirmed that associates in his employment recorded the video.

According to the paper, people close to Cowgill said the executive discovered tracking devices on his vehicle and received a hand-delivered note at his home indicating he was being watched.

Ashley said he was not “hiding from the fact” that he wanted to topple Cowgill.

He said: “He shouldn’t have been in the car park and maybe I shouldn’t have been in the bushes. No one is perfect.”

In this latest interview, Ashley also discussed his significant stake near-30% in Boohoo, a company co-founded by Debenhams owner Mahmud Kamani. Since Frasers became the largest shareholder in the online retailer, Ashley has voted against Kamani’s re-election and accused the board of “serious mismanagement”. 

Several Boohoo executives reported to police in 2024 that they were being stalked, and the company also claimed to have discovered surveillance equipment outside its Manchester headquarters.

When asked if he was responsible for the surveillance at Boohoo, Ashley said he had warned Kamani. He added that he was motivated by a belief in fairness.

Ashley concluded: “I’m not Mary Poppins – when you get in a fight with me, I’ll come back at you. But I’m not devil incarnate.”