Following the sale of Blacks Leisure to JD Sports for £20 million, Sports Direct has urged the Office of Fair Trading to look closely at the outdoor and sports retail markets to ensure they operate in the best interests of the consumer.
The Mike Ashley-owned retailer described the deal as disappointing, in particular, it said, given the dismissal of Sports Direct’s offer for the business at 62p a share in 2010, adding its offer was turned down by a previous Blacks Leisure board for being “wholly inadequate”.
Sports Direct, which was a major shareholder in Blacks Leisure, confirmed the total share value written off as a result of the JD pre-pack administration deal was £52.6 million.
