People

Sports Direct chair quits

David Richardson has resigned as chairman of Sports Direct because “he has been unable to establish a strong working relationship with the executive team”. Simon Bentley, a non-executive director, has been appointed acting chairman until a permanent replacement is found.

The Independent’s Jeremy Warner (1 June) commented that even those with their doubts about Sports Direct’s suitability as an investment would have been unlikely to have anticipated meltdown at the speed at which it has progressed.

Founding shareholder Mike Ashley, said Warner, seems to have spent a lot more time looking for ways to spend the £1bn he received from the company’s share float last February than running the business.

Richardson, argued Warner, has done the only thing he could by resigning, but at least this gesture ought to give his successor the leverage he lacked in demanding a properly constituted board.

June 2007