Sports Direct ditches trio of City brokers – Telegraph.co.uk

Liberum also counts four other founder-owned retailers, Joules, Ted Baker, Hotel Chocolat and Majestic Wine, on its list of brokerships, suggesting that it is used to companies with an entrepreneurial flair.

City sources said that the move to dump heavyweight firms Goldmans Sachs and Citi highlighted that “Ashley was not too fussed about playing the City game”.

“It suggests that he will be taking a break from buying more businesses or making more moves internationally, which have not paid off so far,” another source added. 

Rather than going on a spending spree, Sports Direct is understood to be considering the sale of more brands, such as Lonsdale and Donnay, following the $137.5m sale of its Dunlop brand in December. Sports Direct said at the time that it did “not currently have the bandwith to develop and manage international brands simultaneously”. 

The sportswear giant is currently struggling to revive sales by boosting its relationships with Nike and Adidas, which have refused to supply their latest premium ranges to Sports Direct due to its “pile it high, sell it cheap” strategy.

At the same time, the company has been engulfed by criticism around the treatment of its warehouse staff and its poor corporate governance.

Sports Direct did not return calls for comment.