Frasers Group has reduced its holding in Boohoo Group plc, which trades as Debenhams Group, to 23.17 per cent of the voting rights, according to a notification of major holdings published on 4 November.
The filing says Frasers crossed a disclosure threshold on 3 November through a disposal of voting rights. Its position is now made up of:
- 331,925,000 ordinary shares, or 20.49 per cent of the voting rights
- a further 43,400,000 voting rights, or 2.68 per cent, held through a financial instrument described as a “right to recall”.
That gives a total of 375,325,000 voting rights. Frasers’ previous notification, made on 30 October, gave a total of 26.79 per cent, or 434,000,000 voting rights, of which 24.12 per cent was held directly in shares. Michael Ashley is named as the ultimate controlling person.
Background
TheBusinessDesk reports that Frasers first bought a stake in the business in June 2023 and later built it to 28.1 per cent. It also reports that Frasers’ holding has been large enough to block the company changing its listed name from Boohoo.
The group took the Debenhams name after buying the brand in 2021 and has been reshaping itself around the Debenhams marketplace. It returned to pre-tax profit in its latest results, helped by a one-off lease credit, and has introduced daily access to sales revenue for marketplace sellers.
Frasers, which owns Sports Direct, recently took majority control of Hugo Boss.
Neither company has commented on the change in the filing.
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