Guest Geordiesned Posted January 29, 2015 Share Posted January 29, 2015 Sorry if this has already been posted (it's a week old) but it really highlights what a cunt Ashley is. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/analysis-and-features/mike-ashley-wields-his-iron-fist-once-more-at-usc-9994171.html Mike Ashley wields his iron fist once more at USC A factory stand-off. Debts unpaid. Workers laid off. Simon Neville investigates the messy demise of the billionaire's fashion brand By SIMON NEVILLE Thursday 22 January 2015 Most retailers, if singled out by the leader of the Opposition and held up as a symbol of poor business practice, might resolve to make some changes, or at least watch their step. But most retailers are not like Mike Ashley. The Sports Direct billionaire – denounced by Ed Miliband last year for his “Victorian” employment practices – is a busy man at the moment. He is trying to gain control of the floundering Scottish football club, Rangers. And yesterday Ashley confirmed that he had cashed in £116m-worth of Sports Direct shares, possibly to help finance that football deal. But the failure of Ashley’s fashion brand, USC, this month has thrown the spotlight back on to Ashley’s retail activities – and could end up landing him in hot water. USC announced it was going out of business on 8 January, but last Friday it was bought up by Republic, another arm of Ashley’s Sports Direct empire. This turned out to be a controversial “pre-pack” administration which, though perfectly legal, has left suppliers out of pocket and 88 staff redundant, with some of the costs to be picked up by the taxpayer. One senior politician yesterday called the behaviour a clear abuse of the insolvency rules and staff have outlined to The Independent how they believe they have been mistreated by their employer. Alastair Cook, who had worked for USC for eight years in the company’s Dundonald factory in Ayrshire before being made redundant last week, explained: “The first warning signs were on 4 January when we got some emails, saying we are doing a full warehouse stock-check. It’s not unusual, but it did raise a few eyebrows.” Five days later, at 7.30am, two senior workers from Sports Direct’s head office in Shirebrook, Derbyshire, arrived and told staff that they were to start loading up 50 Sports Direct trucks, which arrived an hour later. Mr Cook explained: “We weren’t told USC was going bust or going into administration. We made some calls to head office to ask what was happening, but no one told us anything. We knew something was up but were told to carry on loading the trucks. We were essentially digging our own graves.” On 8 January the situation turned farcical when the landlords of the warehouse, Sir Tom Hunter’s private equity group West Coast Capital, got wind of the stock being shipped out, and sent their own staff to blockade the departing trucks. By 2.30pm the trucks could not leave and the police arrived. Sir Tom was owed rent and a billionaire’s-standoff ensued which led to the power being shut off to the factory and an eight-hour negotiation. The landlord’s bill was finally settled. Before the power was cut, Mr Cook also noticed that the USC website said “© 2015 Republic.Com Retail Ltd” whereas it had previously said “© 2015 West Coast Capital (USC) Ltd”. “That suggested to us the sale was a done deal – before we had been told anything,” he said. But most retailers are not like Mike Ashley. The Sports Direct billionaire – denounced by Ed Miliband last year for his “Victorian” employment practices – is a busy man at the moment. He is trying to gain control of the floundering Scottish football club, Rangers. And yesterday Ashley confirmed that he had cashed in £116m-worth of Sports Direct shares, possibly to help finance that football deal. But the failure of Ashley’s fashion brand, USC, this month has thrown the spotlight back on to Ashley’s retail activities – and could end up landing him in hot water. USC announced it was going out of business on 8 January, but last Friday it was bought up by Republic, another arm of Ashley’s Sports Direct empire. This turned out to be a controversial “pre-pack” administration which, though perfectly legal, has left suppliers out of pocket and 88 staff redundant, with some of the costs to be picked up by the taxpayer. One senior politician yesterday called the behaviour a clear abuse of the insolvency rules and staff have outlined to The Independent how they believe they have been mistreated by their employer. Alastair Cook, who had worked for USC for eight years in the company’s Dundonald factory in Ayrshire before being made redundant last week, explained: “The first warning signs were on 4 January when we got some emails, saying we are doing a full warehouse stock-check. It’s not unusual, but it did raise a few eyebrows.” Five days later, at 7.30am, two senior workers from Sports Direct’s head office in Shirebrook, Derbyshire, arrived and told staff that they were to start loading up 50 Sports Direct trucks, which arrived an hour later. Mr Cook explained: “We weren’t told USC was going bust or going into administration. We made some calls to head office to ask what was happening, but no one told us anything. We knew something was up but were told to carry on loading the trucks. We were essentially digging our own graves.” On 8 January the situation turned farcical when the landlords of the warehouse, Sir Tom Hunter’s private equity group West Coast Capital, got wind of the stock being shipped out, and sent their own staff to blockade the departing trucks. By 2.30pm the trucks could not leave and the police arrived. Sir Tom was owed rent and a billionaire’s-standoff ensued which led to the power being shut off to the factory and an eight-hour negotiation. The landlord’s bill was finally settled. Before the power was cut, Mr Cook also noticed that the USC website said “© 2015 Republic.Com Retail Ltd” whereas it had previously said “© 2015 West Coast Capital (USC) Ltd”. “That suggested to us the sale was a done deal – before we had been told anything,” he said. On the trucks were thousands of products bound for stores, including those supplied by Diesel, the company USC cites as the cause of its insolvency after the fashion label demanded remuneration for unpaid stock. Mr Cook said payment delays to suppliers were becoming a regular occurrence at USC. Once the warehouse was empty, staff say they were left to sit in the canteen for eight hours a day, waiting for information. Finally, two administrators from Gallaghers arrived and handed staff a letter informing them that the company was at risk of administration and a consultation period had started. Staff say that just 15 minutes later, a second letter was handed to them, telling them the company had indeed fallen into administration. They claim no one told them that a formal notice of intention to appoint receivers was filed with the High Court a few days earlier. One member of staff, who did not want to be named, said: “Because no information was given to us, we couldn’t even make arrangements for things like benefits, as we didn’t know if we would be redeployed into stores, or paid our owed wages and redundancy.” Adrian Bailey, the Labour MP and chair of the Business Select Committee, said the USC affair demonstrated why the law covering pre-packs should be reformed. “The abuse of pre-pack is usually in the context of directors buying back a bust business themselves. This is a slightly more sophisticated approach and demonstrates contempt for the due processes that regulation is supposed to impose, and also a complete indifference to staff, suppliers and landlords left out of pocket,” he said. “You might also say if they were able to pay the landlords in order to gain access to the warehouse, why can’t they live up to their responsibility and pay the staff?” Questions remain over exactly why USC fell into administration. The company was funded primarily through a £20m revolving loan from Sports Direct and its most recent accounts say “Sports Direct International Plc has agreed not to withdraw finance for the foreseeable future.” The company also made a £1.1m pre-tax profit in its most recently filed accounts, and there are no warnings over the company’s future. So why was the funding suddenly pulled? There were no answers coming from Sports Direct last night. A spokesman said: “Sports Direct notes factual inaccuracies in these allegations but has no further comment.” He failed to elaborate on the inaccuracies, but one thing is sure: Mike Ashley has pulled off yet another display of his iron fist-like retailing behaviour. But at what cost? Pre-pack facts: The real costs Landlords can lose out because the new (old) owners can demand a rent renegotiation or threaten to leave, as all former contracts become null and void. Suppliers can be hit because bosses might renegotiate payment terms for stock already in their possession. Under administration rules, an insolvent company cannot pay its staff, so laid-off employees must claim unpaid hours and statutory redundancy from the taxpayer-financed Insolvency Service. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlies Posted January 29, 2015 Share Posted January 29, 2015 He's just a despicable human really, a rich tight one at that. Its just a shame he wasn't knocking around with some djs in the 80s. Cunt. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilikenewcastle Posted January 29, 2015 Share Posted January 29, 2015 http://www.themag.co.uk/the-mag-articles/fans-reap-benefits-newcastle-head-coach-long-game/ I find it staggering that people can still be so naive. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eddy Chibas Posted January 29, 2015 Share Posted January 29, 2015 Fair play to the landlord (Hunter) for at least trying to prevent the recalcitrant debt dodger from fleeing the scene, like a thief in the night. So from reading all that, he's cut his empire's overheads by running a minor profit turning company into the ground, deliberately by pulling funding - including not paying warehouse rent? Ya, a business restructure alright. I hope the employees receive some of their entitlements. There are some stories out there about Ashley (back in his humble beginnings) ripping off suppliers, by resorting to strong arm tactics (preventing delivery trucks from leaving his shop premises) in order to alter previously agreed to terms. This guy does have thick skin, and seemingly no conscience either. Isn't he still the only sporting clothes mogul who refuses to sign to the anti-child/sweat shop labour treaty? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minhosa Posted February 2, 2015 Share Posted February 2, 2015 It's pretty shit when you realise that January will never be a 'quiet' month for NUFC on the outgoings front. Ashley must fucking love the concept of the window, distressed sellers but, more importantly, pressured buyers meaning he can ramp prices/terms, everything. He must be sat with a fucking rager every new years eve just thinking about how many millions he can make. Clearly the interest in Sissoko wasn't concrete because he'd be gone by now if it was. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
NG32 Posted February 2, 2015 Share Posted February 2, 2015 John Hall wants shot for selling his shares of NUFC to this bandit. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sempuki Posted February 2, 2015 Share Posted February 2, 2015 As he goes to so many games you would think he would at least like to see a decent side. Cunt. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
NG32 Posted February 2, 2015 Share Posted February 2, 2015 As he goes to so many games you would think he would at least like to see a decent side. c***. Nah, its purely a business. Awful. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sempuki Posted February 2, 2015 Share Posted February 2, 2015 As he goes to so many games you would think he would at least like to see a decent side. c***. Nah, its purely a business. Awful. No balance sheets on show though. Seems a lot of effort to travel around the country to watch a load of shite if you are not interested. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minhosa Posted February 2, 2015 Share Posted February 2, 2015 As he goes to so many games you would think he would at least like to see a decent side. c***. Nah, its purely a business. Awful. No balance sheets on show though. Seems a lot of effort to travel around the country to watch a load of shite if you are not interested. Keeping an eye on his next sale, innit? It's much easier to flog something, anything in fact, if you can talk about it a bit to potential buyers. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
r0cafella Posted February 2, 2015 Share Posted February 2, 2015 Mad that he doesn't really get much grief at games Aye, can't believe a few hundred of our fans haven't stormed the pish seats and got him told. His security would be totally overwhelmed. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minhosa Posted February 2, 2015 Share Posted February 2, 2015 The management of the press is what has prevented this from even looking like happening. He's got them all shit scared nowadays and the ones that aren't (Telegraph/Times) are not exactly lying around the staff canteen for the resident morons likely to attack the cunt. If only the sun/star/chronicle didn't choose to tow the party line. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stifler Posted February 2, 2015 Share Posted February 2, 2015 My step dad was getting all excited because some fucking randomer on true faiths Facebook page said he had sold up to Arabs and will be leaving in the summer. I admire his positivity to cling on to any shred of hope. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pedro111 Posted February 3, 2015 Share Posted February 3, 2015 Just had the displeasure of spending the day with a Newcastle fan who says he likes Mike Ashley. Basically his argument was that he has stabilised the club and written off our debt and that we have the worst and most demanding fans in the league who ARE THE REASON we never get anywhere as a club. Also said that the Keegan and Robson eras were 'blips' and we are currently at our real level. Said Pardew was a good manager and aarl. Apparently because he was going in the McKeag era and that I was a mere child then makes him right and me wrong. Didn't know whether to laugh or cry tbh. Hard to believe these fuckers actually exist, but they do. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledGeordie Posted February 3, 2015 Share Posted February 3, 2015 Just had the displeasure of spending the day with a Newcastle fan who says he likes Mike Ashley. Basically his argument was that he has stabilised the club and written off our debt and that we have the worst and most demanding fans in the league who ARE THE REASON we never get anywhere as a club. Also said that the Keegan and Robson eras were 'blips' and we are currently at our real level. Said Pardew was a good manager and aarl. Apparently because he was going in the McKeag era and that I was a mere child then makes him right and me wrong. Didn't know whether to laugh or cry tbh. Hard to believe these f***ers actually exist, but they do. That's just genuinely bizarre :-/ Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilikenewcastle Posted February 3, 2015 Share Posted February 3, 2015 Just had the displeasure of spending the day with a Newcastle fan who says he likes Mike Ashley. Basically his argument was that he has stabilised the club and written off our debt and that we have the worst and most demanding fans in the league who ARE THE REASON we never get anywhere as a club. Also said that the Keegan and Robson eras were 'blips' and we are currently at our real level. Said Pardew was a good manager and aarl. Apparently because he was going in the McKeag era and that I was a mere child then makes him right and me wrong. Didn't know whether to laugh or cry tbh. Hard to believe these f***ers actually exist, but they do. There's quite a few older fans with genuinely terrible opinions like this. Sounds like this old **** is winding you up! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Rustin Cohle Posted February 3, 2015 Share Posted February 3, 2015 Maybe we'd be in a better position to comment if we were actually around in the 70's and 80's to watch NUFC. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mickthemagpie Posted February 3, 2015 Share Posted February 3, 2015 Just had the displeasure of spending the day with a Newcastle fan who says he likes Mike Ashley. Basically his argument was that he has stabilised the club and written off our debt and that we have the worst and most demanding fans in the league who ARE THE REASON we never get anywhere as a club. Also said that the Keegan and Robson eras were 'blips' and we are currently at our real level. Said Pardew was a good manager and aarl. Apparently because he was going in the McKeag era and that I was a mere child then makes him right and me wrong. Didn't know whether to laugh or cry tbh. Hard to believe these f***ers actually exist, but they do. I was going in the McKeag era, tell this guy he's a twat. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mickthemagpie Posted February 3, 2015 Share Posted February 3, 2015 Just had the displeasure of spending the day with a Newcastle fan who says he likes Mike Ashley. Basically his argument was that he has stabilised the club and written off our debt and that we have the worst and most demanding fans in the league who ARE THE REASON we never get anywhere as a club. Also said that the Keegan and Robson eras were 'blips' and we are currently at our real level. Said Pardew was a good manager and aarl. Apparently because he was going in the McKeag era and that I was a mere child then makes him right and me wrong. Didn't know whether to laugh or cry tbh. Hard to believe these f***ers actually exist, but they do. There's quite a few older fans with genuinely terrible opinions like this. Sounds like this old **** is winding you up! Less of the old ya young upstart! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flartyblartclart Posted February 3, 2015 Share Posted February 3, 2015 Just had the displeasure of spending the day with a Newcastle fan who says he likes Mike Ashley. Basically his argument was that he has stabilised the club and written off our debt and that we have the worst and most demanding fans in the league who ARE THE REASON we never get anywhere as a club. Also said that the Keegan and Robson eras were 'blips' and we are currently at our real level. Said Pardew was a good manager and aarl. Apparently because he was going in the McKeag era and that I was a mere child then makes him right and me wrong. Didn't know whether to laugh or cry tbh. Hard to believe these f***ers actually exist, but they do. There's quite a few older fans with genuinely terrible opinions like this. Sounds like this old **** is winding you up! Less of the old ya young upstart! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jesse Pinkman Posted February 3, 2015 Share Posted February 3, 2015 Some people are as thick as mince no matter what decade they were born in. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wisdom Body Posted February 3, 2015 Share Posted February 3, 2015 our real level Your 'real level' is where you are at the moment. It's determined by how much competence, dedication and investment is put into the club by the people running it. Every fan of every club has the right to ask for these basic factors from the club's administrators. Chelsea, Man City, Southampton, Bournemouth, Man Utd and Liverpool are currently at their real level. There are no God-given rights to success or failure. You'd think that this simple fact of life would be understood by someone old enough to have been "going in the McKeag era." That last quoted gem comes from believing that how things were at some random point in the past is how they are meant to be or that greater age equates to a higher moral ground and greater possession of truth. In reality all most people do as they get older is search for ways to reinforce whatever distorted truths they learned in their youth. Thus, that time when "...I was fifteen and we were battling against relegation to the third division..." is how things should be. That later time when there were people with talent, passion and resources who brought success to the club was simply an accident. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paully Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 http://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/feb/03/sports-direct-zero-contract-workers-compensation Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
merlin Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 Maybe we'd be in a better position to comment if we were actually around in the 70's and 80's to watch NUFC. I was - the 70s had some good times(reaching FA Cup Final in 74, LCF in 76 and some great moments from the likes of Supermac, Tommy Craig, Alan Kennedy, Irving Nattrass who were excellent players), some bad times(the FA Cup Final Freezing resulting in a public humiliation by the Scousers, and relegation in 79 after a period of club in-fighting). The 80s were mainly up and down - poor team until Cox and Keegan arrived in late 82 then a few years of excitement with KK etc. The emergence of Waddle, Beardsley and Gazza, then all 3 being sold and the club relegated - again - in 89. We never really started to fulfil our potential until SJH and KK were running the club and we started to go backwards once they went - only SBR's tenure between 2001 & 2003 saw us get anywhere near to what we had been 6 years earlier, so people who think we are a mediocre club have been brought up on mediocrity ; those who followed the club in the late 40s and 1950s certainly did NOT believe we were a mediocre club and many stopped going after the club started going backwards under an unambitious board.....now why does that sound familiar somehow..! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
NG32 Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 My old man went from the 60s all the way through to the end of the 80s, he cant get over what AShley has done. Its not a gernation thing. Plenty of young lads think AShley has the club in a good way. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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