Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group has announced plans to spend £60 million between now and and July despite warning less than a month ago that it would suffer a £200 million hit from the Covid-19 pandemic.
The company, which includes House of Fraser, Sports Direct, Evans Cycles and Jack Wills, among others, will start the buying spree on Tuesday – buying a maximum 10 million shares.
No reason was give for the decision but businesses typically purchase shares and hold them in reserve to reduce the number of shares available to the public, which tends to push up the share price.
Frasers said: “The purpose of the programme is to reduce the share capital of the company.”