Mike Ashley wins boardroom battle at Boohoo as chairman quits
Mike Ashley wins boardroom battle at Boohoo as chairman quits
Chris PriceFri, September 18, 2026 at 8:10 AM UTC
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Mike Ashley was made chairman of Debenhams in November 2024 - Jamie Lorriman
Boohoo has announced the sudden departure of its chairman, a year after Mike Ashley accused him of ignoring investors’ best interests.
The online retailer announced on Friday that Tim Morris will step down from his role with immediate effect.
His exit comes a little more than a year after Mr Ashley’s Frasers Group wrote to Mr Morris threatening to hold a shareholder vote over his position.
Frasers, Boohoo’s biggest shareholder, sought to eject Mr Morris after it struck a loan deal that Mr Ashley’s representatives claimed was damaging to the business.
Boohoo, which trades as Debenhams Group following a rebranding last year, said on Friday that Iain McDonald, a former director, would return as executive chairman following Mr Morris’s departure. Mr McDonald had remained a significant shareholder in the business.
Dan Finley, chief executive at Debenhams, said: “I would like to thank Tim for the significant and critical contribution that he has made to our turnaround.
“The business has been significantly strengthened during his tenure as chair. We wish him all the very best in his future endeavours.”
Mr Morris joined the company’s board in May 2021 and was made chairman in November 2024.
Under his tenure, the company suffered a major shareholder revolt amid criticism over millions of pounds in bonuses paid to bosses last year. More than 40pc of investors voted against Boohoo’s remuneration report in a significant rebuke last September.
That was a month after Mr Morris came under fire from billionaire retail tycoon Mr Ashley following the announcement of a £175m borrowing facility for Boohoo, which carried an interest rate of 7.3pc above the Bank of England base rate.
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Frasers had offered a month earlier to provide financing at what it called “substantially more favourable terms”. Mr Ashley’s company offered Boohoo a £125m loan facility with an interest rate of 2.5pc above the base rate.
In the letter to Mr Morris, Mr Ashley’s lawyers said: “How is it in the best interests of Boohoo, its shareholders and its other stakeholders for so much money to be sucked out of the Boohoo group, when cheaper financing was available?
“Throughout this period, you have ignored the requests for a meeting, you have ignored the potential for synergies with Frasers and you have ignored the superior financing offer made by Frasers.
“Because you have led Boohoo to a very expensive financing while ignoring a far better proposal from Frasers, you should expect a shareholder meeting for a vote on your personal position on the Boohoo board.”
The departure of Mr Morris is the latest chapter in the long-running tensions between Mr Ashley and Boohoo, led by rival tycoon Mahmud Kamani. The pair first clashed in 2021 when Boohoo beat Frasers in a battle to control Debenhams.
Frasers owns a near-27pc stake in Boohoo, built up after the latter company beat Mr Ashley to buy Debenhams out of administration.
Announcing his departure, Mr Morris said: “It has been a privilege to chair this business through such a pivotal period.”
His replacement, Mr McDonald, added: “It was a very difficult decision to step away from the board of Debenhams earlier this year, and it is a great honour to be asked to return in the role of chair.
“I am a material investor both personally and via the funds managed by my business, Belerion Capital Group, and this is a measure of the degree to which I believe in the potential of the business.
“The progress made over the past six to 12 months is significant and there is a real feeling of momentum in the business. I look forward to supporting the management team in their efforts to restore value and to engage constructively with all shareholders.”
Source: “AOL Money”
