{
  "id": 15714833,
  "title": "Mike Ashley’s Frasers loosens grip on Burberry",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/20/mike-ashleys-frasers-loosens-grip-on-burberry",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-10-20T06:53:18.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "City AM",
    "slug": "city-am",
    "url": "https://www.cityam.com/mike-ashleys-frasers-loosens-grip-on-burberry/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Mike Ashley's Frasers Group has reduced its stake in Burberry, despite increasing its pursuit of high-fashion brands. The retail giant, which owns Sports Direct and Flannels, had built up a position in Burberry recently but has now eased its grip. Frasers Group had increased its holding in Burberry up to 7.4% as recently as last week. However, recent filings indicate the stake has been reduced to 6%. The company holds the stake through put options, allowing Frasers to sell them at a fixed price. Despite this change, the value of Frasers Group's holding in Burberry remains significant, being worth about £240 million given Burberry's current value of over £3.8 billion. Ashley's firm first acquired a 4.2% stake in Burberry in July. Burberry is currently in a turnaround phase under CEO Joshua Schulman, who aims to reposition the luxury group in the mid-market following its earlier attempt at ultra-high fashion. The group has recently cut thousands of jobs but recently reported a 5% revenue increase in the three months to July. Ashley's pursuit of Burberry is part of his efforts to upscale his fashion empire, a strategy endorsed by Schulman, who recently commended Flannels for bringing \"the energy of a fashion capital to key regional cities, giving more customers the opportunity to buy a Burberry trench coat in their home town.\" Frasers Group has also recently acquired luxury department store Harvey Nichols, which it plans to use to scale up its Flannels brand. The retail group has also been pursuing Hugo Boss, holding about 48% of the German fashion house and seeking majority control. Frasers CEO Michael Murray, Ashley's son-in-law, was appointed chairman of Hugo Boss' supervisory board recently following its previous CEO's departure.",
  "summary": "Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group has loosened its grip on Burberry, despite ramping up its pursuit of high-fashion names. The retail giant, which owns Sports Direct and Flannels, had built up a position in Burberry over recent weeks but has now faltered in its pursuit of the group. Frasers Group had increased its position in Burberry [...]",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}