Boohoo slams Mike Ashley as 'not suitable' to be boss in blistering attack
Summary
Boohoo has called on its shareholders to reject Mike Ashleys bid for leadership of the beleaguered fast fashion group, stating that Ashley is "not suitable" and faces conflicts of interest due to his role at Frasers.The two companies have been publicly at odds over the future direction of the company for the past month, as reported by City AM.Frasers has levelled accusations of "long-term mismanagement" leading to "value destruction" at the retailer, and criticised its \xa3222mn refinancing. ".In response to the tensions with Frasers Group, Dan Finley, CEO of boohoo, commented: "I reiterate the commitment I made on my appointment to working to unlock significant value for all shareholders. We are taking decisive steps to deliver on this promise and will continue to do so during the coming months as I begin replicating the success I achieved at Debenhams. "In a separate update, Boohoo publicised a successful fundraise totalling \xa339.3m, stating this morning that it had been "significantly oversubscribed".The company also unveiled its half-year results.In terms of performance, revenue saw a descent by 15 per cent in the first half to \xa3729.1m, from the previous \xa3619.8m, while the adjusted loss before tax climbed to \xa327.4m, up from \xa39.1m last year.Adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) slipped down 10.5 per cent to \xa320.8m from the earlier \xa331.3m.There was an uptick in net debt, which grew from \xa335m to \xa3143.1m. However, Boohoo stated it managed to slash operating costs by \xa3128m year-on-year.The firm has projected an increase in returns and a stronger adjusted EBITDA performance for the second half of the year.Like this story?